for some "real minor stuff", such as switch parts around. Baumgardner mixed the recordings at NRG, with help from Daniel Certa, before Tom Baker mastered Anthology at Precision Mastering in Hollywood. Composition and lyrics Musically, critics have described the sound of Anthology as alternative metal and nu metal, taking influence by alternative rock, and drawing comparisons to Make Yourself (1999) by Incubus and Mer de Noms (2000) by A Perfect Circle. The band attempted vocal harmonies in the vein of the Electric Light Orchestra, Steely Dan, and Queen. Mitchell's vocals were compared to Maynard James Keenan of Tool; he wrote many of the tracks during a breakup. The opening track "Courage" details a relationship which has reached its breaking point. "Movies" uses staccato guitar parts against a funk-esque bassline. Mitchell said the song is about comparing a relationship to cinema. "Flesh and Bone" recalls the Police with Cosgrove's reggae-esque drum rhythms; Tye Zamora's brother Jon contributed additional background vocals to the song. At the suggestion of Zamora, Mitchell wrote the lyrics around religion, asking questions about people's beliefs. "Whisper" is an attack on the music industry; Cosgrove said it was about being turned down by labels after doing showcases for them. The guitarwork in "Sticks and Stones" earned it a comparison to the work of Helmet and Prong. "Attitude" has a Latin beat, with percussion by Toto member Lenny Castro. The song is from the perspective of a girl expressing her anger, with the narrator explaining that her boyfriend is worse off. "Stranded" includes slide guitar by Dredg vocalist Gavin Hayes; "Wish" is the first-ever song Alien Ant Farm wrote and is indebted to the band's metal roots. "Smooth Criminal" is done in the nu metal style. Mitchell, whose first ever concert experience was seeing Jackson, explained that during one performance, Cosgrove and Zamora played a short snippet of it, which caught the attention of the crowd. Cosgrove subsequently bought a cassette of Bad so that the band could learn the track. The closing track "Universe" features a string arrangement by David Campbell. The hidden track "Orange Appeal" incorporates slide guitar by Hayes and flute by Yanick Vincent. It is a demo that dates from the band's first month of existence; Corso said they "kept putting stuff on top of. It was cool enough in the end to actually go on the album". Release and touring Initial promotion and "Smooth