Alien Ant Farm frontman Dryden Mitchell breaks down new album ~mAntras~ one track at a time…
After nine years away, nu-metal(ish) underdogs Alien Ant Farm are back with new album ~mAntras~ that brings together everything old-school fans love but also shifts things into a bold new era. On the day of release, vocalist Dryden Mitchell takes us through each song on the record, what they mean to him, and why he chose to take on another iconic ’80s pop track.
"Although this record is not, we wanted to reintroduce the band through a slightly more spacial, edgy lens. 'What’s this? It sounds like the singer, but the rest is saucy and almost hits post-apocalyptic R&B!'"
"If someone asked me in the early days, what’s Ant Farm? I’d probably show you [2001 track] Sticks And Stones. From there we could twist and turn and go deeper, sadder, more technical, and all of the things that make Ant Farm stick out like the true black sheep of our time. But today I’d show you Last dAntz. From there we can go deeper, sadder, and more technical into all the things that make our music a cut above ourselves. We are better when we are together. All of us!"
"This track is a solid rock’n’roll banger – short but sweet and with a perfect tempo. We learned a lot from Robert and Dean DeLeo when they produced our record [2003's] truANT, and I feel like it translates here. Guitars and guitars. I can hear the wood seeping through the speakers on these sturdy but swaying riffs."
"This track is so special to me. [It comes from] a ton of walks and jogs through the park, working out my sobriety and what I really wanted to do with this chapter and particular moment in my life. The song was around for a minute, and I completely scrapped the vocals for something I felt more fitting. I always loved the music and rhythms and I'm glad we got it on the record."
"This track has so much texture from a world music/acoustic flow, with hints of gospel music at the finale. Storms Over is a slow build of glassy melodies, simmering punchy percussion on the verge of a boil, and a torrential downpour of thunderous bass. A semi-autobiographical catastrophe leads you right into a seismic guitar build for the ages. Controlled chaos is the mantra. Keeping it steady through the eye of the storm. Everything will all work out."
"This band loves dynamics, and this song certainly highlights that with ultra-controlled, tricky timed verses [that go into] a pop-metal chorus a la 2001. Terry [Corso]’s guitar solo is a spectacular dive into prog madness. Yes, we sniff around prog rock. Die-hard fans know this to be a reality!"
"This is as close to disco death metal as we can get. I love how simple this one spins out and it just feels proper on vinyl and through the speakers. Rocksteady and a killer metronome for all your jogging and workout needs."
"The darker side of Ant Farm – no pop sensibility here. Like old times, kids aren’t trying to write hits, they’re just trying to do this thing, translating sound the best way they know how. Is this what you want to communicate, without interference or influence? Absolutely. This track comes from the heart with every note. Prosperous futures for all!"
"This acoustic track I had sitting in my back pocket for maybe 15 years or so – collecting dust and ageing for this moment. We seem to always sneak a more ballad-feeling song on our records, it's probably my influence, but this one is so so strong with everyone’s accompaniment, it’s so far from a ballad by the final note. For selfish reasons maybe, this might be my favourite song on the album, or in a sentimental way, my favourite Ant Farm song of all time. This one sings to me – forever the pessimist but slowly turning a new leaf."
"So we all know this is an old ’80s Wham! song, right? George Michael is so top-tier in the vocal department, I didn’t wanna touch this with a 10-foot pole. The music is so slick and heavy and such a departure from the original because of the weight of the distortion, but somehow it just rolls out beautifully. King of pop Michael Jackson? King of pop George Michael? Bring it on! This shit is fun as hell, baby! This was our childhood radio guilty pleasure."
"So basically we started tinkering with overdubs recorded by our great friend Patrick Hanlin. These were unused overdubs from the aforementioned song Glasses – we loved the vibe of these recorded bits of organ and percussion and wanted to use them in some way. I started singing an original vocal over the top that was pretty cool, but then I stumbled on kind of going through the history of our little old band with lyrics and melodies spanning all of the past records. The few friends we showed this to were really taken with the homage to our history in this neat little package, so we decided to put it on the record. It gets me all misty and teary-eyed to listen to our most-treasured musical stories in a three-minute song. I’m old, I cry. Piss off."
~mAntras~ is out now via Megaforce Records.
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