The legendary Swedish rock band is finally back in Portugal as headliners, for a unique performance at Cineteatro Capitólio, in Lisbon, on October 6.
Although their last full-length album was released over a decade ago, the legendary THE HIVES haven't exactly been in a creative hiatus, and those who feared that they would be following the old chiché of going on tour to merely revisit their past glories can rest assured. On August 11, the inimitable rock band originating from Fagersta finally edited their much-awaited sixth album, and as expected the rock'n'roll riffs can be heard loud and clear. Named "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons", the successor of "Lex Hives" from 2012, became another super-fun release by the band, and for the last months it has inspired the tour through many Summer festivals on European soil. Now, after some truly fiery performances, the musicians have announced their return to the road as headliners, in a digression with more intimate settings, which will make a stop at Cineteatro Capitólio, in Lisbon, on October 6.
Just like the macabre album title suggests, THE HIVES's extended absence from the studios wasn't a hiatus, but instead a horror story. The band admits that they haven't seen or talked to their founder, mentor and composer, the mysterious Randy Fitzsimmons, since the release of "Lex Hives" in 2012. After the recent discovery of an obituary and an enigmatic poem in the local newspaper of the city of Vastmanland, where they come originally from, the band members were taken to the Fitzsimmons's gravestone. After digging the recently stirred soil, they didn't find the body, but instead several recordings, complete suits and a piece of paper with the phrase "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons" written as if it were a title. We're left wondering if this was all a farse or a strategy by Fitzsimmons; even because conveniently the recordings found included demos that would be transformed into the twelve songs of the new album "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons".
In the twenty-five years that have passed since they exploded to the world, THE HIVES have sold out stadiums and shared stages with countless renowned bands, from AC/DC to the Rolling Stones. SPIN has said that they are "the best live band on the planet" and that Howlin' Pelle is "the best rock lead singer", and BBC has named them "a force of nature". Rolling Stone nominated "Veni Vidi Vicious" as one of the 100 best albums of the decade, and the single "Hate To Say I Told You So" has gotten a significant spot at the 500 best songs of the 2000s elaborated by Pitchfork. Further proving that they are an example of stratospheric success, they have accumulated sales of millions of albums around the world, with multiple gold certifications. Since "Lex Hives", the band has released the singles «I'm Alive» and «Good Samaritan» in 2019, as well as the live album by Third Man Records, and set off into a series of global tours. Edited in the beginning of August 2023, «The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons» sets a true rebirth of these brilliant Swedish artists.
SCHEDULE
Doors open at: 20h00
Beginning of the show: 21h00
THE HIVES: BIOGRAPHY
Founded by the guitarist/lead singer Nicholaus Arson, the drummer Chris Dangerous, the bassist Dr. Matt Destruction, the guitarist/lead singer Vigilante Carlstroem and the lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, THE HIVES were created in 1993 in Fagersta, in Sweden, at a time when the musicians were still in highschool. An EP, named «Sounds Like Sushi» from 1994, led the band to a contract with Sidekicks Records, releasing the debut EP «Oh Lord! When? How?», in June 1996. The musicians then changed to Burning Heart and released their first album «Barely Legal», in September 1997. The album became the motto for their first tour in the USA that year, and in 1998, they released two more EPs: «A Killer Among Us» and «A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T».
In the end of 1999, when it was time to record their second album, THE HIVES decided to join forces with the producer Pelle Gunnerfeldt, having the album been released in April the following year through a partnership between Burning Heart and Epitaph Records. «Veni Vidi Vicious» boosted the band to the new level of critic acclaim and commercial success thanks to singles like «Hate To Say I Told You So» and «Main Offender». The album was on the top of charts in Sweden, where it got gold certification, and #63 of the US Billboard 200. The power of these songs, as well as the tours with (The) International Noise Conspiracy and The Hellacopters, generated not only compliments from artists as diverse as Noel Gallagher and Courtney Love, but also the signing of a record deal with Poptones, from Alan McGee. More tours followed, and EPs and singles were reedited in the UK, with «Hate To Say I Told You So» and «Main Offender» reaching the British top.
After spending most 2003 in a world tour, THE HIVES returned to Sweden to start working on a new album. Produced once more by Gunnerfeldt, «Tyrannosaurus Hives», from July 2004, reinforced even more the impetus of the artists. Besides reaching the first place and winning gold in Sweden, It was certified with the same award in the UK, where it premiered in the Top 10 and generated an enormously successful single, «Walk Idiot Walk». In the US, it reached the #33 position in the Billboard. In the beginning of 2005, the musicians raked in five awards in the Swedish Grammis, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Rock band of the Year. In the end of 2006, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist collaborated with Moneybrother on «Jag Akriver Inte På Nått", a Swedish version of «Freeze Up», from Operation Ivy, which showed up in the album «Pengabrorsan». Also at that time, the band collaborated with Timbaland on «Throw It On Me», included in «Timbaland Presents Shock Value», the 2007 album of the reputed American producer.
For their fourth full-length album, THE HIVES adopted a more expansive approach through the collaboration with a creative team that included Neptunes, Jacknife Lee and Thomas Öberg. Released in October 2007, «The Black And White Album» added electronic elements to compact rock which made them even more famous. Without repeating the success levels of its predecessors, the album got to the charts in Sweden, the UK and the US. At the time of the release, the musicians also made «Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented» for the Cartoon Network programming. In the beginning of 2008, they won a Grammy for Best Live Artist and, at the end of the year, they made an appearance in several songs of the album «Seeing Sounds» from N.E.R.D. In December, «A Christmas Duel», a Christmas duet with Cyndi Lauper, reached the fourth spot in the Swedish charts, and in June 2010 they released the EP «Tarred And Feathered».
About two years later, THE HIVES went back to releasing with «Lex Hives», the first album produced by the artists themselves and the first to be released through their own record label, Disques Hives. This LP marked the return to their garage rock roots and became another success at a global scale. Near the end of 2013, health concerns made Destruction leave the band, with Johan And Only (also known as Johan Gustafsson, from Randy) taking over as bassist. After the release of the single «Blood Red Moon», in 2015, the band set off for many years and performed in festivals such as Riot Fest and Lollapalooza Paris. In 2019, they released two singles, «I'm Alive»ande «Good Samaritan», and joined their fellow countrymen Refused in a tour through the US, during which they recorded their live album «Live At Third Man Records».
When the COVID-19 global pandemic made their live performances impossible, the musicians organized the World Wide Web Tour, which consisted in performances broadcast live for the public in Berlin, London, New York, Sydney, São Paulo and Stockholm. Afterwards, as soon as things started going back to normal, they went on the road as "support" for The Offspring in a tour through Europe and the UK. When the time came to record the long-awaited, and eternally postponed, original album, THE HIVES joined the producer Patrik Berger, former member of Snuffed By The Yakuza and famous for his work with artists like Robyn and Charli XCX. The band and Berger then created «The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons», which was released in August 2023. Recorded in a studio belonging to Benny Andersson, from ABBA, the LP offers stimulating pop-punk, electronic instrumentation and vigorous metals, but it is still true to the garage rock with heavy riffs that made the band famous.