The Hives On Their New Album & Australian Return: 'It's So Fun To Just F*ck Sh*t Up And Rock Out’

Look up the word ‘wildcard’ in a music lovers dictionary, and the chances are good you’ll see a picture of Swedish rockers The Hives.

Having been on the scene for more than 30 years now, it was around the turn of the millennium that the Fagersta quintet rose to fame. Having already released two stellar records, it was in 2001 that the decision to compile tracks from those albums resulted in the fittingly titled Your New Favourite Band compilation.

Suddenly, it felt like The Hives were viable contenders in the nascent garage rock revival that was sweeping the world. Tracks like Hate To Say I Told You So hit the charts around the world, and within years, they’d released albums such as Tyrannosaurus Hives and The Black And White Album, and collaborated with iconic names like Timbaland, N.E.R.D., and Cyndi Lauper.

All the while, they were hard at work maintaining their reputation as one of the most arresting, charismatic, and highly regarded live acts in the world, with their energy, intensity, and downright insanity setting them apart from any of their peers.

In 2012, the release of Lex Hives served as their last studio album in more than a decade, though things continued on behind the scenes in earnest. While founding bassist Dr. Matt Destruction left the group, the live shows continued, with even COVID barely stopping the group.

In 2023, they returned with The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons, an album named for their fictitious songwriter and presented as a collection of works left in his wake. It was a stunning return for the group after so long away.

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But fans weren’t left to wait that long for a follow-up, with the group this month announcing the release of their seventh album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives. Promoted by lead single Enough Is Enough and recorded alongside esteemed producers Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Mike D of the Beastie Boys, its release will also be supported by a world tour which launches in Australia this July.

Most impressively, after more than 30 years in the game, numerous albums, EPs, and singles, the latest era of The Hives sounds more like them than ever. As incendiary frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist explains, it’s something they find impossible to avoid.

“We can't really get away from it, even if we try,” he concedes. “We like to think when we make a record, it's sort of like a funnel where when we start making the music, it can be like a soul ballad and a synth-pop song and a heavy metal song, and then it goes through some sort of funnel while we rehearse, and then it all comes out sounding exactly like The Hives.

“It's pretty hard to get away from,” he adds. “But also, no one else sounds like us, so we feel like we should continue sounding like us. We feel like somebody should sound like The Hives, and who better than us?”

Even though Almqvist and his band of brothers (including his actual brother, guitarist Nicholaus Arson) have cornered the market in regard to bands that sound like The Hives, they’re not exactly in the mood to milk it for all its worth. Rather, they just want to continue making music and sounding like The Hives is a nice byproduct.

“I don't know that it's like the biggest market in the rock world; it's pretty good though,” Almqvist admits. “The thing with being uncompromising is that you gotta keep going for a long time before there's enough people that you pick up that like you to make a living.

“It's good to be in The Hives, and I like the fact that it sounds like The Hives, but it wasn't specifically like, ‘Let's sound like The Hives,’” he continues. ”I think the variations between Hives songs in our minds are way bigger than it is in other people's minds.

“I'm sure it's the same with any band that has a sound, like, say, AC/DC. I'm sure they think that they're branching out at times, whereas the casual listener wouldn't.”

Even after the 11-year gap that preceded the release of their prior album, The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons, it’s clear that the vital ingredient that makes up The Hives and their music has never once come close to expiring. In fact, part of the reason that they still maintained their high level of quality between releases is thanks in part to their status as the champagne of live bands. But the question needs to be asked: why exactly did it take them so long between albums?

“Well, there's a million reasons,” Almqvist admits. “There was just a lot of stuff that happened, and also, since Randy Fitzsimmons went missing and he is the main songwriter, we really couldn't make it without him.

“That's the main reason, but also, it was that I guess we've been going really hard for a very long time,” he adds. “Maybe we'd been gone for like 20 years or something at a pretty intense clip because we don't really do albums that much, but every album is like three years of touring.”

While Almqvist continues the story of Fitzsimmons’ disappearance (it’s worth noting that Fitzsimmons is a pseudonym registered to Arson), he also concedes that just because they don’t have new music all the time doesn’t mean they have to pump the brakes. However, while their reputation precedes them enough to ensure they could go forever without new material if they needed to, it’s not particularly a direction they wanted to head.

“It felt really weird for us to kind of tour all the old songs,” he explains. “Luckily, we were, at the time, like, legends. It’s kind of like, ‘Here comes Motörhead and the Ramones. Do they have a new record out?

“No, they don't. Is it still fun to see? Yes, it is. It kind of felt like we were going in that direction, and we didn't really feel ready to do that. That's not really what we wanted, but we just couldn't make a record without Randy Fitzsimmons until we found the songs and could make it.

“This time, some of this stuff existed before we put out the last record, and some of the songs we've even played live before we put out the last one,” he adds. “So we didn't really start from zero after The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons.”

While Almqvist admits that some of the material has been in the works for years, with some tracks having been worked on "for three albums, but we never felt like there was the right version of it," much of it is new gear that fans will eagerly receive once the record arrives on August 29th. But what does this mean for the future? Will we be receiving new records with greater regularity, or is the swift turnaround for this album little more than a fluke?

“I don't want to jinx it, but maybe it's possible for us to make another one quickly,” Almqvist admits. “But it's just a lot of work, but I mean, we love doing it. I have no idea. There's not one planned after this, and we kind of kept it a secret that there were more songs when we put out The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons because it should feel like the only album you're ever gonna get every time you make an album.

“We don't want it to feel like, ‘Oh, this is an album, and then there'll be a new one,’” he continues. “I'm not sure there will be. I'm also not sure there won't be. We don't plan that far ahead. I think this one is my favourite Hives album ever.”

Already the mere notion of a return from The Hives is enough to get fans standing to attention, readying themselves for another full-on collection of blistering rock music. Add in the fact that Almqvist himself views it as their best work, and that’s a recommendation you can take to the bank.

However, with a few months to go before it releases into the world, what is it that fans can expect from the new album?

“It's kind of like I said with that funnel thing where there were things that were kind of more out there than usual, but once the album is finished, kind of most of the stuff that sounds like The Hives is on there,” Almqvist says.

“It's hard to say, but more than the Randy Fitzsimmons album, it's more kind of fully-fledged songs. They have more parts and kind of more structure to them, maybe. I guess the idea was to make something more organised, but then it's just so fun to just fuck shit up and rock out that it ended up heading more towards that way anyway.”

It’s this sort of approach to their craft that also features in the artwork and title of the forthcoming record, with The Hives Forever Forever The Hives being accompanied by a theme of royalty on its cover. Alongside feeling like a slogan, it also leans into the perennial influence of The Hives on the world of rock music.

“I feel like we've been going for such a long time now and done so much that even if we quit, I would kind of hear us everywhere, influencing other bands and whatnot,” he explains. “Even if we don't play another show or make another note together, I think this album is like the point at which The Hives are going to exist forever.

“The thing is way bigger than the parts to me,” he adds. “Everyone in the band is a great musician and stuff, but The Hives are more than the sum of the parts. And I think that as an idea, it will kind of last forever, so we wanted it to be a pompous title.

“We had a bunch of titles flying around, and we finally settled on the really long version of it, which is The Hives Forever Forever The Hives. For a while, it was Forever The Hives, and there was The Hives Forever, and it's kind of like a salute we would do where one says ‘The Hives forever,’ and the other says ‘Forever The Hives.’”

Even with the title lending itself to impeccable search engine optimisation (“You don't want to be un-clever in the modern world,” Almqvist notes), it’s emblematic of what the band are all about in 2025.

“I think it kind of represents that we respect nothing,” he explains. “The first line in Enough Is Enough (‘Everyone's a little fuckin' bitch and I'm getting sick and tired of this’), it's so outlandishly obnoxious. I kind of feel like that's the spirit of this record. It's kind of all about not following rules and being an ostentatious little shit, but also that that has an important function in society.

“It also feels like now, the leaders aren't even following the rules. I don't know what the fuck is up or down anymore, but I think there’s a group of people who are Hives fans who are introverts, and they say that The Hives are important to them.

“It gives them the feeling of being an extrovert, or it makes them feel empowered somehow,” he adds. “And I just thought that was pretty beautiful. So we're going full-on in that direction, saying shit you're not supposed to say and making songs you're not supposed to make.”

Of course, one of the biggest headlines of The Hives’ current undertakings is their forthcoming world tour. Most notably, it launches in July in Fremantle and sees the band returning to Australia for the first time since 2015.

In fact, their last trip to Australia was a big one, serving as the main international support for an up-and-coming Sydney outfit called AC/DC. Almost 24 years on from their first visit to the country, The Hives are still as fond of Australia as ever, but they admit the lack of records made it hard to come back.

“The last time we were there was when we toured with AC/DC, which is crazy; a long time ago,” Almqvist noted. “But that's because we didn't make a record in that time. All we did in that weird period was kind of play European festivals until we had enough money to sustain ourselves, and we didn't do much else, which was a shame.

“We've always loved going to Australia. Like, if Australia was any closer to Sweden, I would move there,” he adds. “But it's kind of just too far away. But we all really love it there, so we're all looking forward to it so much.”

With so much time between drinks though, The Hives have also found time to relax a little bit more. Though that’s not to say they’ve slowed down on the live stage at all (they certainly haven’t), nor has their music become more subdued (absolutely not), but rather, the group have become a little more relaxed in their personal lives, leading to a better experience all round.

So, how do The Hives of 2025 compare to The Hives of the ‘90s?

“It feels like a gift that it feels the same,” Almqvist explains. “My feeling of being on stage is the same, and it's my favourite feeling in the world – maybe at least the top three favourite feelings in the world – and I think that that feeling is still the same.

“But there are other things that are different. I mean, it’s almost like we're different people now. But on the other hand, personalities are… You're kind of born with 'em. So everyone in the band is also very much the same person, but there's definitely differences in how we react to things happening. When The Hives started out, we would be stressed out if a flight was five hours late, and the current Hives couldn't give a shit about stuff like that.

“We're very zen nowadays, which we weren't in the old days,” he continues. “We would get in a fistfight with each other if a plane was late in those days, but now it's just full zen. We've gotten very good at that sobriety prayer and knowing to accept the things we can’t change.”

While the idea of The Hives reaching a state of zen might seem completely at odds with the decades of ferocious performances they’ve got under their black and white belts, Almqvist admits that’s all part of the process.

“People are always like, ‘You’re not at all like you are on stage; you're so calm,’ and I'm like, ‘Well, that's the reason I'm so calm. I get all that shit out, and then the rest of the day, I'm exhausted,’” he admits.

“And also, I've got no aggression whatsoever. I'm zen because I got it all out on stage. That’s the healthier thing, I think, than the many other things you could do to get aggression out.”

Incendiary or in-zen-diary, The Hives will be making their return to Australia this July. Tickets are on sale now, while the new album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, is available to pre-order now.