ANThology

by

Alien Ant Farm

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I bought this cd after hearing their first single "Movies". Upon hearing the song the first time I thought the leader singer, Dryden Mitchell, sounded similar to Brandon Boyd of Incubus. It piqued my interest and I wanted to hear the rest of the cd to see if these guys were just some kind of Incubus spin-off, coming from Incubus's latest string of success. Well I was surprised to find that I was totally wrong in my assumption. When the cd opened up with the song "Courage" I was blown away. It started heavy with a guy screaming, then it slowed down when Dryden started singing. It was unexpected, it was great. Then i decided to look on the cover to find a song with an interesting name, that's when i saw "Smooth Criminal", and not realizing it was a Michael Jackson cover until later, I found I couldn't stop listening to the awesome and extremely catchy, guitar work and excellcent vocals. Next, I listened to "Death Day" it was a slower song with odd lyrics, but the vocals were strangely attracting and I found myself repeating the song over and over until finally I could sing along. After jumping around a bit I landed another couple of songs that I found were very appetizing with great vocals, drumming and guitar playing, these songs were "Flesh and Bone", "Whisper", and "Calico". "Summer" and "Sticks and Stones" are the two weaker tracks, but I can't help but keeping pace with the vocalist on these songs, as well. "Attitude" slows the album down a bit, but it has great vocals and drumming so it keeps up the quality of the cd. "Stranded" has strange lyrics but has moving guitar work to make it a memorable song. "Wish" pulls off some heavy riffs and stronger vocals to make it an amazing listen. To end the cd "Universe" slows down, but has great instrumental work and passionate vocals that make it another great listen for me. Be sure to wait a while after "Universe" to hear the hidden track its an interesting song, much different than any of the other tracks, very similar to slower Deftones tracks.

Excellent vocals, sometimes odd, punk-influenced lyrics and great instrumental work all around, make this a memorable cd that is hard to take of the cd player. And with their second single "Smooth Criminal" picking up steam this cd is sure to be a hot buy. If you like the Deftones or Incubus, than this cd is defintely recommended, if you don't, well, it's still recommended

I was impresssed with thier first single "Movies" so after downloading the opener, "courage," I went out and got this album. I must say that Im not all that impressed after hearing it. Musically, these guys are great, but Alien Ant farm leaves something to be desired withthier lyics. the wordplay nad puns in songs like "Stranded" and "Summer" get really irritating after a while, and the song "Death Day" is a complete waste of space on this album.

There area good points on this album like "Wish" and "Courage," but this needs some improvement in their songwriting. If you like this album though, Id reconmend "greyest of blue skies" by Finger Eleven. It's similar style, with better production.