This alternative metal outfit was formed in Riverside, California, USA in 1996 by Dryden Mitchell (b. 15 June 1976; vocals), Terry Corso (guitar), Tye Zamora (bass) and Mike Cosgrove (drums). Their strange moniker arose from Corso's concept of humanity being watched by aliens like a child watching his ant farm. The quartet built up a strong following on the west coast of America, and even ventured into Europe for some well-received festival dates. Their cheekily named debut Greatest Hits, was released on the band's own Chick Music imprint in 1999, and was named best Independent Rock Album at that year's L.A. Music Awards. A recording contract with Papa Roach's New Noize imprint followed, giving Alien Ant Farm all the benefits of the label's distribution contract with the major DreamWorks. ANThology, released in March 2001, received good reviews and made inroads into the US national chart. The second single from the album, a quirky cover version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" with an excellent promotional video pastiching the singer's physical mannerisms, helped push the album into the upper regions of the Billboard 200 album chart.
The band took a break in the summer of 2002, following a serious road accident involving their tour bus, which left Mitchell with a broken neck. They returned to the recording studio with Dean and Robert DeLeo of the Stone Temple Pilots to record their new album, truANT. Zamora and Corso left the band in 2004, with the latter joining Powerman 5000. They were replaced by Alex Barreto and Joe Hill respectively, with both musicians making their debut on the band's first album for the New Door label, Up In The Attic.
