The Alien Ant Farm Albums Ranked
Alien Ant Farm’s nu metal-inflected “Smooth Criminal” cover will always be supremely nostalgic to me. And even today, it’s a great version, an ideal cover in how it effectively reimagines its source material. It doesn’t just rehash it or take it into abominable territory. “Smooth Criminal,” as the band’s biggest hit, really represents the early 2000s sonic aesthetics that can very possibly not sync up with me (as does its music video for visual, hair, and clothing styles, which is awesome in spite or maybe because of that). Often unfairly called a one-hit wonder (OK, to be fair, nothing has topped the success of that early smash), Alien Ant Farm is distinguished from their contemporaries in the nu metal or nu metal-ish scene by…being good, mostly. There is a certain levity, goofiness, and even earnestness behind AAF’s lyrics and often poppy composition, which augments the expectations of the genre and background they came out of when formed in 1996. Across the band’s six albums released in the nearly 25 years since 1999, Alien Ant Farm has distinguished itself with offbeat yet extremely listenable tunes that have definitely faded into the background of “Smooth Criminal’s” still huge and nostalgic success.
#6 — ALWAYS AND FOREVER (2015)
Favorite track: “Crazy Love”
As you will see, I appreciate how Alien Ant Farm have evolved their sound over the years. For the most part, that doesn’t apply to ALWAYS AND FOREVER, which came after a nearly nine year recording hiatus. The result is a record that is very conflicted. Overt pop songs (like the admittedly catchy “Crazy Love”) dominate the tone over the more “classic” AAF sound, streamlined for a song like “Simpatico.” There are just too many cringe-y songs that rankle with overproduction; the decent tracks can’t keep up. ALWAYS AND FOREVER is an easy choice for Alien Ant Farm’s worst album, but there are a couple of decent listens to pick out of its wreckage.
#5 — ~MANTRAS~ (2024)
Favorite track: “The Wrong Things”
~MANTRAS~ is AAF’s newest album at the time of this writing, the impetus for this piece, and the ender of the band’s longest record hiatus after just over nine years since ALWAYS AND FOREVER. The wait wasn’t exactly worth it, but AAF obviously course-corrected essentially effectively. Unlike its predecessor, ~MANTRAS~ doesn’t sound confused or too poppy. Sometimes, however, its more rocking cohesion can settle into a malaise. On the other hand, its darker atmosphere makes for a compelling listen and the band still finds avenues to integrate catchy melodies. ~MANTRAS~ doesn’t exactly hearken back to AAF’s pre-breakout days, but it is similar to their first album in that it as at once “less accessible” as alt-pop-rock and gleaming with savvy showmanship just above the grit.
#4 — GREATEST HITS (1999)
Favorite track: “Movies”
Cheekily titled GREATEST HITS, AAF’s first album was recorded for an indie label and you can hear that (or at least in the shape the record is in online now). I have a feeling the band felt some type of negative way about it as well because many of their debut’s songs were re-recorded for the next couple records. What’s all the more impressive about that is the pure appeal of the songs, like perhaps AAF’s best (in its later form), “Movies,” and an early version of their “Smooth Criminal” interpretation. The scrappiness of GREATEST HITS is endearing and only slightly obscures the songwriting and performing talent of the band, and maybe only then in the context of the refinement to come. The songs “stranded” on the record aren’t exactly slouches either, but they do fit more squarely into the band’s earliest raw sound. I like them but they pale in comparison to the exciting nuggets that would be streamlined in short order. Ultimately, GREATEST HITS is a solid debut and an entertaining listen in its own right, not just as the progenitor of some of AAF’s best songs.
#3 — UP IN THE ATTIC (2006)
Favorite track: “Around the Block”
UP IN THE ATTIC is right behind ALWAYS AND FOREVER as Alien Ant Farm’s poppiest record, but that works in its favor unlike its successor. A song like “Around the Block” teeters on the edge of glaring cheese, but instead it’s a rollicking and bright work of alt rock informed by the deterioration of nu metal and transition of pop punk instincts. But tracks like that standout one are complemented by more “traditional” approaches from the band, such as “What I Feel Is Mine.” UP IN THE ATTIC risks being totally overshadowed by AAF’s two better albums, and while it’s not nearly an all-killer-no-filler release (in fact, none of the band’s records are quite to that level), its hidden gems sustain it.
#2 — ANTHOLOGY (2001)
Favorite track: “Movies”
Alien Ant Farm’s sophomore album and major label breakout, ANTHOLOGY is their most successful record, most likely on the strength of “Smooth Criminal” and “Movies,” the latter of which is their second biggest hit and probably my favorite song from the band. But the rest of the album is also very strong, as AAF weave some clever influences into their nu metal and punk origins. I mean, again, they covered Michael Jackson. I’ve yet to mention the voice of frontman Dryden Mitchell, but it’s a big part of what makes Alien Ant Farm successful. Mitchell has a remarkable talent of blaring out in the vein of “the genre,” but he pops in here and there with high-pitched vocalizations or breathy affectations that really make the songs feel less rote and self-serious. But you can take him seriously when he belts earnestly, or at least I can. That vocal approach is just the frontal layer, as it were, of a sound and structure that is just fun yet often affecting in an angsty way. ANTHOLOGY is nearly the best example of this in AAF’s discography.
#1 — TRUANT (2003)
Favorite track: “These Days”
Amid the presumably small and perhaps passionate fanbase of Alien Ant Farm, I have a feeling ANTHOLOGY is the favorite for best album. But there’s something about TRUANT, ANTHOLOGY’s follow-up, that moves with a verve and evolves the band’s sound just enough to put it ahead for me. “These Days” is a great re-record of another GREATEST HITS track, but “Sarah Wynn” is a close second for favorite track on TRUANT because of its fusion of driving and catchy songwriting with fairly emotional and grim lyrics. I’m not really a lyrics guy, so if I pay attention to a story, something about it is special to me. I don’t really know what Alien Ant Farm’s standing is like today in the spheres of their influence from their heyday. And I’ve always felt like the band is a bit of a guilty pleasure because of their renown as “the ‘Smooth Criminal’ cover guys” and place in a very specific time period and musical movement. But I think there’s something, if not extremely exceptional, special and affecting that runs throughout Alien Ant Farm’s music. The dudes just maybe don’t get enough credit for not only doing a genre of music well that is often mocked today (again, the nu metal connection), but also not being neatly pegged into that from day one anyways. I wouldn’t say I’m an AAF superfan, but a handful of their songs stand out as killers from a nostalgic era that still hold up. They have in common a heavy drive fused with bounce and groove and an awareness and execution of great pop hooks. TRUANT simply has the greatest number of that kind of songs on any Alien Ant Farm record, shoring up a collectively interesting evolution of the band’s breakthrough sound and making it their best album yet.
