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20 illinoisentertainer . com november 2023
hen a band makes a grand return after a decades-long absence , it ’ s a mix of emotions . There ’ s equal parts dread and excitement , happy to return to adoring fans , yet anxious to see if anyone still cares , especially in the short attention span of the streaming age . But those pesky thoughts never seemed to bother The Hives . Why ? Because they ’ re the best band in the world . That confidence has always been a part of the band ’ s canon . Keep in mind , this is the band that titled their first compilation album Your New Favorite Band . After a tenyear absence , that confidence is still fully realized .
The Swedish garage rockers returned this year with The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons , the long overdue follow-up to their 2012 album Lex Hives . Picking up where the previous album left off , it ’ s 32 minutes of unbridled energy , boot-stomping anthems , and tonguein-cheek lyrics . It ’ s what we ’ ve come to expect from the band . But their sudden appearance left many wondering where they were this whole time . According to the band , their mysterious ( fictitous ) sixth member , Randy Fitzsimmons , was responsible for their absence .
Fitzsimmons , hailed as the founder , mentor , and songwriter behind The Hives , disappeared after the band ’ s last album . Without their leader , they were lost , unsure of what to do next . They soon found the answer when they stumbled upon an obituary which led them to Fitzsimmons ’ tombstone . In search of answers , they dug up the grave and found demo tapes and a piece of paper plotting out the new album . Guitarist Niklas Almqvist , aka Nicholaus Arson , has a simpler explanation : they were on tour . “ The first three years of our 11-year absence was spent touring Lex Hives . After that , we started getting things that were a little too good to turn down , like touring with AC / DC in Australia .” On top of endless touring , a string of unfortunate
By Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth photo by Bisse Bengtsson
events added to the lengthy delay between albums . “ Around the time we were touring with AC / DC in 2019 , [ drummer ] Chris Grahan ( aka Chris Dangerous ,) had an operation that went south , so he was out of it for a while . He ' s fine now , but he was in pretty terrible shape . Then there was the pandemic ( laughs ), so I guess there was a bit of bad luck piling up during that period . The biggest thing was not being in touch with our sixth member , so we weren ’ t making any progress as far as making new songs . I guess that was a big part of why the record took so long , but maybe the record would ' ve taken as long regardless due to all the different issues we had , or the world had , or the fun stuff we got to do that got in the way of making the record . Maybe it would ' ve taken the same amount of time anyway .”
Having a bandmate out of commission on top of the pandemic could have been the death knell of the band ; they already lost bassist Dr . Matt Destruction , who left the band in 2013 . Yet , you can ’ t keep The Hives down . Rather than stop , the band reformed with temporary drummers Joey Castillo and Phoenix ’ s Thomas Hedlund , aka “ Boomas ,” and hit the stage once again . “ It gave us the impression that we could still do it ,” says Almqvist . “ I mean , I ' ve been replaced at certain shows and stuff , but for the most part , we want to go as The Hives ; obviously , that ' s our first choice , but if we can ' t do it , we can still do shows , which is good for us all .”
But once the tours ended and The Hives returned home , Almqvist admits that questions about the band ’ s future started creeping into his head . “ When there ' s boring stuff in the pipeline , you might feel like maybe we ' re done . It felt a little bit like that after the AC / DC tour because that was my first love . That was the first rock band I fell in love with when I was six years old . When we toured with them , it kind of felt like it was full circle .
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