Alien Ant Farm Release Long Awaited New Album '~mAntras~'

Alien Ant Farm have released their long awaited, highly anticipated new album ~mAntras~ out now through Megaforce Records. 

The band previously released the single and music videos for “So Cold”, “Fade”, and “Last Dantz”, which were wildly welcomed and acclaimed by fans old and new.

~mAntras~ is a record that will not only challenge your preconceptions of the band, but will also firmly reassert their place in the world. The band’s sixth full-length, it was shaped by personal change and growth, and it represents as close to a new beginning as a band first formed in 1996 can get. At the same time, it’s not a record that dismisses and disregards the past. Far from it. A record of deep contemplation, ~mAntras~ was born out of various trials and tribulations—its songs don’t just take the listener on a musical journey, but, as its title suggests, also on a personal and spiritual one.

Alien Ant Farm have encountered a lot of adversity since blowing up in 2001 with two iconic songs—first their own composition, “Movies”, and then their classic, generation-defining cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal”—but none more so between the release of Always And Forever and this record. It’s no surprise, then, that a lot of it has been captured on the 11 tracks that make up ~mAntras~. As guitarist Terry Corso puts it: “Growing up, divorce, children, family, death, band break-ups, surgeries, illness, health—everything is in this record. It’s literally a product of all the f*cking s, good and bad, that we went through.”

All of it, though, was channeled into crafting the most confident and self-assured album of the band’s career (“The manure makes the flower grow,” quips vocalist Dryden Mitchell). And despite the false start, when Alien Ant Farm felt they could pick things up again in terms of making new music, they did just that. What’s more, they found themselves thoroughly reinvigorated and re-inspired. Older and wiser and no longer as eager to please the music industry, the band really leaned into what it meant to be themselves on this album.

~mAntras~ Tracklisting

1. The Wrong Things

2. Last dAntz

3. Fade

4. No. 1

5. Storms Over

6. So Cold

7. What Am I Doing

8. Prosperous Futures

9. Glasses

10. Everything She wAnts

11. ~mAntras~

“For a band that released “Smooth Criminal”, we are a crazy prog band,” chuckles Mitchell. “If you scratch that just a couple of songs in, there’s some real goodness going on in there.”“Longevity has kind of become the luxury,” adds Corso, “because it lets us do all this stuff that we want to do. It gives us a bit wiggle room to have those prog tendencies and move in ways that feel good to us.”

Alien Ant Farm recently announced an upcoming headline tour that kicked off April 12 in Las Vegas, NV with support on select dates from The Ataris and Kaleido. Additional dates have been added with Drowning Pool, Saliva and Driveways. Tickets are on sale now at www.alienantfarm.com. A full list of tour dates can be found below. The band will also perform at Welcome To Rockville, Louder Than Life and Aftershock festivals taking place this year.

Alien Ant Farm – Upcoming Tour Dates

April 27 @ Launchpad: Albuquerque, NM

May 1 @ Marquis Theater: Denver, CO

May 10 @ Welcome to Rockville: Daytona Beach, FL

May 13 @ Hangar 1819: Greensboro, NC

May 14 @ The Basement East: Nashville, TN w/Drowning Pool & Saliva

May 15 @ The Vogue: Indianapolis, IN w/Drowning Pool & Saliva

May 17 @ Open Chord Stage: Knoxville, TN w/Driveways

May 18 @ Center Stage (The Loft): Atlanta, GA w/Driveways

May 19 @ Workplay: Birmingham, AL

May 22 @ House of Rock: Corpus Christi, TX

May 24 @ Scout Bar: Houston, TX

May 26 @ Come and Take it Live: Austin, TX

May 30 @ Cosmic Eye: Sioux City, IA  

June 1 @ Wildwood: Iowa City, IA

June 2 @ Turf Club: St Paul, MN

June 4 @ Bottom Lounge: Chicago, IL

June 5 @ District 142: Wyandotte, MI

June 7 @ The Song & Dance: Syracuse, NY

June 9 @ Saint Vitus Bar: Brooklyn, NY w/ Kaleido

June 11 @ Lovedraft's Brew Co: Mechanicsburg, PA

June 13 @ King of Club: Columbus, OH

June 14 @ Paramount Arts Theater: Ashland, KY

June 15 @ Rotten Apple Fest: Sparta, IL

June 28 @ Cheyenne Depot Plaza: Cheyenne, WY

July 20 @ Rock the Mountains (Canal Place): Cumberland, MD

July 27 @ Rockin' the Tee Box (Apex Sports and Entertainment): Jackson, MI

Sept 27 @ Louder Than Life (KY Expo Center): Louisville, KY

Oct 12 @ Aftershock (Discovery Park): Sacramento, CA

Photo credit: Natalie Schaffer (Big Picture Media)

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