In the wake of their seventh studio album, The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, the Hives stopped by the latest episode of AltPress: In Session.
At the turn of the millennium, the Hives kicked open the doors to the garage-rock revival with their inescapable hit “Hate to Say I Told You So.” It helped that they had a distinct sound and style, offering up explosive, larger-than-life energy in matching tuxes. At the core, though, the songs were a reaction, and ultimately rejection, to what was popular when they formed in the early ’90s: grunge and nü metal. More than two decades later, they’re still the same group — raucously well-dressed showmen whose lives were changed by punk rock.
Read more: Spiritual Cramp: Growing up punk
Ahead of their headlining gig at Brooklyn Paramount last month, the Hives connected with Editor-in-Chief Anna Zanes, where they fell into a wide-ranging conversation about their career. They recalled growing up around the Swedish hardcore scene, being in the studio with Mike D, and touring with My Chemical Romance. They also detailed ending last year on a high: selling out Stockholm’s Avicii Arena, where they played their new songs, revisited 2000s favorites, and reconnected with founding bassist Dr. Matt Destruction in front of 16,000 fans.
“I think we want it to be high stakes, and that’s sometimes painful — and if it’s painful, you get tired of it,” they reflect. “But if it was so smooth that it didn’t feel painful, I think we’d feel like we were doing something wrong and then figure out a way to make it painful.”
Stream In Session with the Hives below, and revisit previous episodes of the podcast here.