Wikipedia

The Hives

This article is about the Swedish band. For the disease known as hives, seeUrticaria.For other uses, seeHive.

The Hivesare a Swedishrockband formed inFagerstain 1993. After gaining traction in Sweden through the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during thegarage rock revival.The band's line-up—consisting ofHowlin' Pelle Almqvist(vocals),Nicholaus Arson(lead guitar, backing vocals),Vigilante Carlstroem(rhythm guitar, backing vocals),Dr. Matt Destruction(bass), andChris Dangerous(drums)—remained unchanged from 1993 until 2013, when Matt Destruction retired for health reasons and was replaced by The Johan and Only, the formerRandybassist.

The Hives
The Hives performing in July 2018; from left to right: Vigilante Carlstroem, The Johan and Only, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, Chris Dangerous, Nicholaus Arson
The Hives performing in July 2018; from left to right:Vigilante Carlstroem,The Johan and Only,Howlin' Pelle Almqvist,Chris Dangerous,Nicholaus Arson
Background information
OriginFagersta,Sweden
Genres
DiscographyThe Hives discography
Years active1993–present
Labels
Members
Past membersDr. Matt Destruction
Websitethehives.com

The Hives have released six studio albums:Barely Legal(1997),Veni Vidi Vicious(2000),Tyrannosaurus Hives(2004),The Black and White Album(2007),Lex Hives(2012), andThe Death of Randy Fitzsimmons(2023). They have also released the compilation albumYour New Favourite Band(2001), the live DVDTussles in Brussels(2005), and the live albumLive at Third Man Records(2020). Their mainstream success came with the release ofVeni Vidi Viciousand its single "Hate to Say I Told You So",considered theirsignature song.They are known for always dressing in matching black-and-whitetuxedosand for their energetic and eccentric live shows, with critics hailing them as one of the best live rock bands of the last two decades.[1][2][3]

History

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Beginnings of the Hives (1993–1999)

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The Hives was formed in 1993 by brothersPer "Pelle" Almqvist(Howlin' Pelle Almqvist) andNiklas Almqvist(Nicholaus Arson) inFagersta.[4]Friends of the brothers,Mikael Karlsson(Vigilante Carlstroem),Mattias Bernvall(Dr. Matt Destruction) andChristian Grahn(Chris Dangerous), soon joined the band and took punk rock-inspired stage names like the brothers.[4]Drummer Dangerous suggested the name "Hives" for the band as he had read the word for theskin diseasein a dictionary.[4]The other members misunderstood the condition based on his description of it, as Howlin' Pelle later explained, "we thought it was a way more lethal disease, for one, and we thought it was way more contagious. So, we figured that we’d spread like a deadly disease across the land". The band went by the name Hives for some time before they realized that "all good band names are plurals", and added a 'the' to their name.[4]

The band's first recording was a 1994 demo titledSounds Like Sushi.In 1995, the band signed withBurning Heart Records,a Swedishindependent record label.The following year they released their debutEPOh Lord! When? How?In 1997, the band released their debut studio album,Barely Legal,and embarked on a tour in support of it. TheBarely Legaltrack "The Stomp" was later featured on the soundtrack of the filmRocknRolla.[5]The band's early releases would be marked by the influence of such bands asRancid,New Bomb Turks,Turbonegro,andDead Kennedys.[6][7]

In 1998, the band released their second EP,A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T.Burning Heart signed a deal withEpitaph Recordsto distribute the band's material in the United States during that same year.[8]

Veni Vidi ViciousandYour New Favourite Band(2000–2002)

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The Hives released their second studio album,Veni Vidi Vicious,in April 2000 through Burning Heart Records. The band members described the album as being like "a velvet glove with brass knuckles, both brutal and sophisticated at the same time". The album yielded the singles "Hate to Say I Told You So","Main Offender","Die, All Right! ", and" Supply and Demand ". The album track" The Hives – Introduce the Metric System in Time "was included on the punk rock compilation albumPunk-O-Rama Volume 5from Epitaph later that year.[9]"Hate To Say I Told You So" was later included on the soundtrack forSpider-Man,and also featured in the video gameForza Horizon.The track "Main Offender" was featured in the video gameRock Bandwhile "Die, All Right!" was released as downloadable content in the game's digital music store.

After seeing the video for "Hate to Say I Told You So" on German television, industry executiveAlan McGeedecided to sign the band to his newly formedPoptoneslabel. Poptones released the 'best of' compilationYour New Favourite Bandin 2001, which proved to be the band's breakthrough record, reaching number seven on theUK album charts.Following the success of the album, the band re-released the singles "Hate to Say I Told You So" and "Main Offender", which reached number 23 and 24 respectively on theUK Singles chart.The band also re-releasedVeni Vidi Viciousin the US.

During the promotion ofVeni Vidi ViciousandYour New Favourite Band,the Hives signed a record deal withUniversal Music,reportedly worth $10 million.[10]The signing was a result of Epitaph selling the rights to the band's material in the US toWarner Bros. Recordswithout informing the members beforehand.[4]A dispute followed between the Hives and the labels, who claimed that the band were still contracted for one more album, in which a lawsuit was filed against the band and settled out of court.[11][4]

Tyrannosaurus Hives(2003–2006)

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After extensive touring and winning awards for "Best International Band" and "Best Dressed Band" at theNME awardsin 2003, the band retreated to Fagersta to record their third album.Tyrannosaurus Hiveswas released in 2004 and included the singles "Walk Idiot Walk",which debuted at number 13 on the UK singles charts,"Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones",a top 50 hit, and" A Little More for Little You ". The tracks" B is for Brutus "and" Uptight "were featured in the video gameGran Turismo 4,while "No Pun Intended" was featured in the video gamesSSX on TourandMotorstorm: Pacific Rift.

In 2005, the band won five SwedishGrammisawards in the categories "Artist of the Year", "Rock Group of the Year", "Album of the Year", "Producer of the Year" (with collaborator, Pelle Gunnerfeldt), while the video for "Walk Idiot Walk" won theMTV"Best Music Video" award.[12][13]

The Black and White Album(2007–2011)

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The Hives performing at the Rocco del Schlacko festival in 2010

The Hives announced their new album in August 2007 along with the album's first single, "Tick Tick Boom".The Black and White Albumwas released on 15 October in the UK and on 13 November in the US. It was mostly recorded inOxford, Mississippi,Miami,and Sweden. The bonus track "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" was used as the theme forCartoon Network's fall season while the band performed in commercials featuring the song.[14]

"Return The Favour" was featured in aNikecommercial, while "Tick Tick Boom" was used in the filmsJumper,Taken,MacGruber,andGet Smart,as the theme song forWWESurvivor Series 2007,in advertisements for the 2007 season of theNFL NetworkandFinish Line,and included in the video gamesLego: Rock Band,Madden NFL 07,Madden NFL 11andMotorstorm: Arctic Edge.The track "Try It Again" was later used in the trailer for the filmGet Him to the Greek.In 2008, specific songs from the band's catalog was remixed and compiled into a track titled "Black, White and Run" for theNike+ Original Run series.[15]

In January 2008, the band received the "Best Live Act" award at the Swedish Grammis and performed at the2008 NHL All-Star GameinAtlanta,performing "Tick Tick Boom" during the players' presentation.[16][17][18]In July 2010, the band released an EP titledTarred and Feathered,which consisted of the cover songs "Civilization's Dying" byZero Boys,"Nasty Secretary" by Joy Rider & Avis Davis and "Early Morning Wake Up Call" byFlash and the Pan.[19][20]"Nasty Secretary" was later included on the video gameGran Turismo 5's soundtrack. In January 2011, guitarist Arson wrote a short diary entry on the band's website stating that they had recorded some new songs before Christmas, and were planning to continue recording throughout month.[21]

Lex Hivesand Destruction's departure (2012–2023)

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The Hives performing at Brixton Academy in 2014

In March 2012, the band announced their fifth studio album,Lex Hives,and released the first single from the album "Go Right Ahead".[22]The song was performed live during an appearance at the Norwegian-Swedish talk showSkavlanon 30 March.[23]After a run of live shows inCaliforniaand two weekend shows atCoachella,the band performed onJimmy Kimmel Live!on 23 April.[24]

Lex Hiveswas released on the band's own label, Disque Hives, in June and included twelve self-produced tracks, with a deluxe version containing two bonus tracks produced byQueens of the Stone AgefrontmanJosh Homme.[25][26]The album track "Come On!" was used as the theme forXbox One's "Invitation" commercials, and featured in an episode ofWorkaholicsand the documentaryThe Crash Reel,while the song "1000 Answers," was included on the soundtrack of the video gameFIFA 12.

Due to health reasons, Dr. Matt Destruction left the band in late 2013 and was replaced byRandybassist Johan Gustafsson, who took the stage name The Johan and Only.[27]On 13 February 2015, the band released the stand-alone single "Blood Red Moon". The band's activity became limited between 2015 and 2019, with appearances largely reduced to occasional festival appearances. These includedRiot Fest,Rock am Ring,LollapaloozaParis andDownload Festival.

The Hives performing at the 2021Shaky Knees Music Festival

In May 2019, the band released the single "I'm Alive" and followed it up with another single titled "Good Samaritan" a month later.[28][29]The band toured the US in 2019 alongside fellow Swedish bandRefused,with the run of dates dubbed the Scream Team Tour.[30]Drummer Dangerous took a hiatus from the band during this period in order to recover from surgery and was replaced on the tour by former Queens of the Stone Age drummerJoey Castillo.[31]While on tour, the Hives recorded their first live album,Live at Third Man Records,which was later released on 25 September 2020.[32]

After being unable to tour in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,the band created a virtual world tour in January 2021 titled the World's First World Wide Web World Tour which saw them perform live-streamed sets at country-specific times, with "shows" inBerlin,London,New York City,Sydney,São PauloandStockholm.[33][34]The band returned to real-life touring later in 2021, serving as the opener onThe Offspring's UK and European tour dates.[35]

The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons(2023–present)

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The Hivesat the 930 Club in July 2024

In January 2023, the band shared a series of photos in which Howlin' Pelle held up protest signs onHollywood Boulevardthat read "The Hives Must Album Now!" and "Honk If You Want a New The Hives Album". A new series of merch was also shared, featuring both the former slogan and one that read "The Hives! Make Records or Go Home!" A second set of photos was shared in early February, with Almqvist now holding a sign that read "Where Is the New The Hives Album". The campaign continued with photos of Arson, Carlstroem and Dangerous "joining the protest" and wearing the new merch.[36]

In May 2023, the band confirmed that their sixth studio album,The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons,would be released on 11 August 2023. The band also shared the album's lead single "Bogus Operandi", marking their first new release in four years.[37]That same month, the band began a tour of the UK and Ireland in support ofArctic Monkeys.[38]A second single from the album, "Countdown to Shutdown", followed in June 2023. Its music video featured a cameo from the band's former bassist Dr. Matt Destruction, who played an office worker.[39]Prior to the release of the album, the Hives released a further three singles: "Rigor Mortis Radio", "Trapdoor Solution", and "The Bomb".[40][41]The Hives later embarked on a global tour in support of the album throughout Europe and America that concludes in 2024.[42]

Collaborations

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In 2006, Almqvist collaborated with Swedish rock artist Moneybrother on a cover of theOperation Ivysong "Freeze Up" for his cover albumPengabrorsan.The duo replaced the song's original lyrics with Swedish lyrics and retitled it to "Jag Skriver Inte På Nåt" (Swedish for "I Won't Sign Anything" ). The Hives collaborated with hip-hop producerTimbalandon the track "Throw It On Me"from his 2007 albumShock Value.The band also featured in the track's music video.[43]During that same year, Howlin' Pelle posted in the online diary on the band's website that he had recorded footsteps withJack Whiteforthe Raconteursnew album.[44]

In 2008, the Hives contributed to the tracks "Time For Some Action" and "Windows" fromN.E.R.D.'s albumSeeing Sounds,with Almqvist providing guest vocals on the former. The members are credited by their real names on the album instead of the pseudonyms they use within the band.[45][46]Later that year, the band recorded a Christmas duet entitled "A Christmas Duel"withCyndi Lauper,which was available as a free download from their website on 28 November.[47]

In 2018, the Almqvist brothers gifted the song "Let the Punishment Fit the Behind" to the Norwegian rock bandTurbonegrofor their albumRockNRoll Machine.[48]Howlin' Pelle performed the song live with the band during their concert in Stockholm on 9 March. In 2019, the singer contributed backing vocals to the track "Turn the Cross" from Swedish punk bandRefused's albumWar Music.

Style and onstage performance

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Almqvist interacting with fans during a concert inNew York Cityin 2008

All songwriting except covers on the band's albums are credited to "Randy Fitzsimmons". The band claims Fitzsimmons was an honorary "sixth Hive", who along with writing their music, discovered and managed the band. The band has included hidden references to a sixth member of the band, including a hidden sixth pair of legs on the back cover of theTyrannosaurus Hivesalbum art.Randy Fitzsimmonsis a registered pseudonym for guitarist Niklas Almqvist.[49]

The Hives are renowned for their energetic and highly rated live shows, withSpinranking them number eight on their list of best live bands in 2006 and frontman Howlin' Pelle receiving particular praise for his showmanship.[50][3][51]When asked about their efforts to connect with the audience, drummer Dangerous replied that "there are so many bands out there that don't say a word to the crowd. I don't get it. They don't even look at the audience and that's ridiculous".[52]In 2023, Howlin' Pelle commented on the effects of their live shows saying "we give so much energy and then it kind of bounces right back. So on one hand your body gets tired but your soul feels better and better. So it’s not just tiring, like it also gives you a lot of energy".[53]The Hives always dress in matching black-and-whitetuxedosbecause "it makes [them] look like [they] belong together".[54]

Band members

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Current members

Former members

Former touring musicians

Timeline

Discography

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For a more comprehensive list, seeThe Hives discography.

Studio albums

References

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