Artist:Alien Ant Farm
Song:Smooth Criminal
Album:ANThology
Alien Ant Farm (AAF) scored a top 30 pop hit with this cover of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. The band's success was curtailed by record company problems. AAF's music is a mix of alternative rock and metal sometimes called Alt Metal or Nu Metal. AAF were formed in 1996 in Riverside, CA by lead singer Dryden Mitchell, guitarist Terry Corso, bassist Tye Zamora and drummer Mike Cosgrove. Corso says the band name came from a daydream he had about an alien invasion. They recorded a couple of demos and released an album independently. It got enough buzz in Los Angeles that they became friends with the band Papa Roach and that led to a record deal with Dreamworks SKG. The 2001 album ANThology was their major label debut. The album was produced by Papa Roach producer Jay Baumgardner. The band wrote all the songs with the exception of Smooth Criminal. It looks like Mitchell writes the lyrics but the band splits the royalties evenly. AAF performed riffs from Smooth Criminal just to warm up before shows. When audience members asked them to perform the whole song, it went over so well they included it on the album. Smooth Criminal was the lead single. It topped the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart and reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. In May 2002, AAF was in a bus accident while on tour in Spain. The driver was killed and Mitchell was hospitalized with a broken back. By the time AAF released the 2003 album TruANT, Dreamworks closed the record label. Universal bought the Dreamworks contracts and AAF was moved to Geffen Records. Corso left and was replaced by Joe Hill. They recorded an album but Geffen refused to release it. Bootleg copies turned up at AAF live shows. Universal did eventually release it on Universal Music Enterprises, their catalog label. They were trying to bury AAF. The 2006 album Up in the Attic was also released on that label. Zamora left the band to go to school. AAF split up in 2007 but reformed when Corso and Zamora returned. AAF has been touring since then Zamora left in 2014 and was replaced by Tim Peugh. They released an album in 2016 and a new album is coming as a single was recently released. So like I said, the record company problems sunk Alien Ant Farm. They could have been much bigger. Here's the video for Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm.
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