With A New Guitarist, Alien Ant Farm Returns

(andPOP) - Four years after a bus accident that killed their driver and seriously injured their lead singer, Alien Ant Farm are back with their fourth album and a new guitarist.

Singer Dryden Mitchell thinks current fans will be pleased with the new material and others will also be impressed with what they hear.

The album has "14 songs that we seem to like and we just hope that people who wanna dig it can dig it," Mitchell told andPOP last week.

The album, "Up In the Attic," took about six weeks to record, Mitchell said, and was released on iTunes last month, while it will hit stores July 18.

Mitchell said the band decided to release it digitally first because of the popularity of online downloading. However, he doesn't think that will stop anyone from illegally downloading the music.

"Kids are savvy and they know what to do. Some people want the product as far as the packaging and all that comes with it and some people want to burn it and any way is fine with me. The label's making that money anyway, it's like go ahead and steal it," he said, laughing.

The band's new guitarist, Joe Hill, replaces Terry Corso. Mitchell said he grew up with Hill, and because of that the band lucked out in finding him.

"We've kind of had a tight-knit click in our hometown and I've known him since I was a little kid. So it was a pretty cool and easy transition to go to someone we know so well rather than throw out that we need a guitar player and have people come and go for the spot," he said, adding that recording the album without Corso was quite easy.

He said although there is no bad blood between him and Corso, the two guys were more like two brothers who just can't seem to get along.

"I'm sure he was thrilled and I was thrilled," he said about the split.

Four years ago, while on tour, Mitchell broke his C2 vertebrae (the same injury that paralyzed the late Christopher Reeve).

Mitchell said he's still in pain every now and then, but he tries to ignore the pain and not complain about it too much.

"There's not much anyone else can do so there's really no use for me to be down or bitch about it. I'm pretty lucky to be walking so I think I'm doing pretty good," he said.

The band has been through more in the last five years than most bands face in the careers, and Mitchell said the tragedies and difficulties the band has faced has only made them stronger.

The band's biggest hit to date, arguably, is a cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." Mitchell said he still finds that hard to believe. However, he had a feeling while recording it that it was going to be a big hit.

"It's that ridiculous and weird like why would a band do that song," he laughed.

Mitchell said the band is traveling and doing interviews across the U.S., and hopes to add Canada to the itinerary. His father and wife are from Vancouver, a city he loves to visit.

As for his favourite track on the album? He said it's the 14th track, "She's Only Evil," which has a line in it that gave the album its title.

"I think that's kind of cool," he said.