The Hives
Legend has it The Hives were drawn together in ‘93 by a person using the pseudonym Randy Fitzsimmons. The musicians, who were in their mid-teens, began working under Fitzsimmons’ direction developing a manic garage Rock sound. Soon they were playing shows in their hometown of Fagersta and creating a lot of excitement.
Two years later, the Hives were signed to a subsidiary of the Burning Heart label and released their sophomore EP, “Oh Lord! When? How?” That effort’s success got them moved to Burning Heart’s main imprint for the full-length “Barely Legal” and follow-up EP “AKA I.D.I.O.T.” The album and EP had guitars cutting a swath that was filled with a distorted bass and smash mouth drums as raving vocals ran roughshod over the din.
Questions began percolating as to Fitzsimmons’ real identity. British music magazine N.M.E. came to the conclusion, after “intensive investigation,” that Fitzsimmons was actually Hives’ guitarist Arson. This was vehemently denied by Arson who said Fitzsimmons was a real person who simply wanted to remain anonymous while providing songs and guidance to the group. Whatever.
The Hives hit the U.S. with “Veni Vidi Vicious.” Though tamer than its predecessors it still had ample grit and good songs including the major hit with “Hate To Say I Told You So.”
Hate To Say I Told You So
The compilation “Your New Favourite Band” landed in ’01 with tracks spanning the group’s career up to “Vidi Veni Vicious.”
The Hives returned in ’04 with “Tyrannosaurus Hives.”
The album offered smart-mouth Punk humor on songs “Abra Cadaver,” “Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones” and “See Through Head.” It went on to sell over 176,000 copies in the U.S.
Tyrannosaurus Hives
’07 release “The Black And White Album,” contained the single, “Tick Tick Boom. “Prior to the album’s release the group began a North American arena tour opening for Maroon 5 and playing headlining gigs, at smaller venues, as their schedule permitted.
Unfortunately, “The Black And White Album” sold a meager 54,000 copies probably due to the band’s willingness to go over the top, occasionally sounding like vintage Stones jamming with Toni Basil (“Try It Again”) or Rick James noodling with the B-52s (“Giddy Up”). The remaining tracks employed the trademark slashing guitars and strident rhythms.
Try It Again
Giddy Up
Not surprisingly, The Hives announced that their fifth album, “Lex Hives,” would be issued on their own label, Disque Hives. The ’12 set consisted of a dozen self-produced tracks, with a deluxe version containing bonus songs produced by Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. The first single was “Go Right Ahead.”
Over the next decade The Hives saw the departure of bassist Dr. Matt Destruction for health reasons, the release of a handful of singles, a live album (“Live at Third Man Records”) plus a number of festival appearances. But following the COVID lockdown, The Hives embarked on a European tour supporting The Offspring.
Finally, “The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons,” The Hives sixth studio album arrived via the band’s label. It was the first studio release in over 11 years – since ’12’s “Lex Hives.”
The album was recorded in a studio owned by ABBA’s Benny Anderson in Stockholm which was used again two years later for “The Hives Forever Forever The Hives” which did well in Sweden and the U.K. but failed to register in the U.S.
| The Hives | |
| Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (Per Almqvist) | Lead Guitar |
| Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist) | Guitar/Keyboards |
| Vigilante Carlstroem (Mikael Karlsson) | Guitar |
| Dr. Matt Destruction (Mattias Bernvall) | Bass |
| Chris Dangerous (Christian Grahn) | Drums/Percussion |
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