California pop-rockers, Alien Ant Farm are back with the follow-up to their 2001 debut, "ANThology." "truANT," on Dreamworks Records, stands a milestone for the band who has endured its fair share of trails and tribulations throughout the past year.

A little more than a year ago, on May 21, 2002, while touring through Spain, A.A.F. was involved in a tragic accident after their tour bus collided with a truck. The accident killed the bus driver, Christopher Holland, and left all of the band members injured. Guitarist Terry Corso broke his ankle, bassist Tye Zamora injured his foot, and drummer Mike Cosgrove sustained cuts and bruises. But, Singer, Dryden Mitchell suffered the worst injuries with a fractured C-2 vertebra (the same vertebrae Christopher Reeve broke) requiring surgery which entailed fusing two vertebrae and screws to be drilled into his skull. He has since undergone the surgery and completed a lengthy rehabilitation process.

"That whole thing definitely changed the way I think," says Mitchell in a dry monotone voice which is quite different from his usual up-beat and wacky vibe he'd given off in the past. "It's not really haunting or anything. I'm glad I went through it, I'd never want to go through it again, but it happened so.I don't know, it kinda showed me like how far a body could go without going all the way, I guess and it's kind of a good thing."

It truly is a 'good thing' that Mitchell is even walking around today. The majority of those who suffer a C-2 fracture usually become either a paraplegic or a quadriplegic. Luckily for Mitchell, he beat those odds and aside from permanent nerve damage, is mobile and able to function and perform normally. "I constantly questioned if I'd ever be able to play shows again," he admits, "I mean, I knew that I'd be able to play music but I just didn't know how severe this would end up being and that was my only fear."

With tedious rehabilitation and physical therapy Mitchell was soon back on his feet. His recovery has been remarkable, given the severity of his injuries. However, he admitted that even though he's been occupying himself the last several months by writing and recording "truANT" as well as performing, the crash still haunts him. Before A.A.F.'s gig at New York City's B.B. Kings on Wednesday (July 23rd) Mitchell said that he's still dealing with the aftereffects of the crash and his injuries. "I don't think I'll ever completely get over it. I have a lot of nerve damage. My whole upper body constantly feels like a really bad sunburn... You kind of want to tear your skin off, but that's what comes with, like, a spinal cord injury is permanent nerve damage. I'm just really glad that I have this second opportunity,"

The second opportunity comes with his second album. "truANT" is scheduled for a August 19th release and Mitchell and crew are psyched to get this out to the masses. "It's a good record and we were in good hands. Everyone had like a brand new love and liking for music after what had gone on," Said Mitchell, "It was quick and I'm glad that we didn't waste much time, you know."

Although there aren't any songs that consciously chronicle the accident on the album, Mitchell explains that the first single "These Days," which was written before the band was even signed, eerily parallel's his current mind state. "It's a love song, but I kinda dug the irony of it because the song basically says to take advantage of the short time we have here and in a weird way it kind of relates to what had happened to us."

Mitchell said that he didn't want to exploit this horrific ordeal by writing songs specifically about the accident for the album, but he did confess to writing at least one song about the tragedy. The song is called "Spain In The Neck." "It was more of a positive song and it didn't make the record," he said, "I'll probably be on some B-side."

The accident may have left Mitchell with a few physical scars on his neck and forehead, but it is the emotional scars that remain the hardest to deal with. "I'm definitely nervous," he says about getting back on the tour bus. "I don't sleep very well. I mean, like in any car you're gonna hit bumps and swerve or whatever and just, in the bus, I have a lot of anxiety and I don't want to be on one. But, I love playing the shows and stuff, I have no problem being on tour in that sense, I just really don't want to be on a bus.If I never got on a bus again it wouldn't bother me. But, look this is a cool job, I can't complain about it, I just get on the bus everyday and try to pretend that I'm not on it. which is impossible"

A.A.F. are slated to tour Europe with Staind later this summer and as a result from the accident, they will skip the shows in Spain and understandably so. "It's kind of superstitious," Mitchell said, "because the odds of it happening again aren't that great, but the last two dates were in Spain and I asked if we could just bail out before those last two dates, so I guess we're not gonna go to Spain."

For now, Mitchell and A.A.F. are just anxious to get "truANT" out there to the people. They recently recorded a video for "These Days" in which they crashed the B.E.T. Awards by playing on a rooftop right next door to the B.E.T. red carpet. The video features everyone from James Brown to Janet Jackson. "They didn't know what the f**k was going on," Mitchell recalls, "and we just ruined their broadcast for 15 or so minutes.it was a lot of fun."

A.A.F. is a band that has been through some of the toughest days and has gotten through it virtually without skipping a beat. With the accident now a year behind they only look to the future ahead. "The only goal is to service and promote this record," Mitchell simply said. "I want it to be reasonably successful, you know. I'm not praying and wishing for some f**king multi-crazy-platinum sales, I just want us to be a relevant entity within the rock world. I think we're a good band and we deserve it, you know."

For more on Alien Ant Farm log to: www.alienantfarm.com

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