The Hives are a garage punk band from Fagersta, Sweden lead by vocalist "Howlin'" Pelle Almqvist. The group features guitarists Nicholaus "Arson" Almqvist and Mikael "Vigilante" Carlstroem, bassist Dr. Matt Destruction and drummer Chris Dangerous. The band is known for playing up ironic, humorous and otherwise fictitious aspects, such as the presence of a mastermind songwriter named Randy Fitzsimmons (who by all accounts is a fabrication).

The Hives released a number of records thr(show more)

The Hives are a garage punk band from Fagersta, Sweden lead by vocalist "Howlin'" Pelle Almqvist. The group features guitarists Nicholaus "Arson" Almqvist and Mikael "Vigilante" Carlstroem, bassist Dr. Matt Destruction and drummer Chris Dangerous. The band is known for playing up ironic, humorous and otherwise fictitious aspects, such as the presence of a mastermind songwriter named Randy Fitzsimmons (who by all accounts is a fabrication).

The Hives released a number of records through Swedish label Burning Heart records which were later issued in North America by labels like Gearhead and Epitaph. When garage-revival broke in the US and England in the early 2000 the band was quickly (although clumsily) subject to a major label bidding war and has since achieved some measure of success in the rock mainstream.