''Lex Hives'' is the fifth full-length album by Swedish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish rock band that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album ''Veni Vidi Vicious'', containing the single "Hate to Say I Told You So". T ...
. The album was released on 1 June 2012 in Sweden, and internationally from 4 June 2012.
''Lex Hives'' was self-produced by The Hives and
mixed by
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
winner
Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium Ar ...
(
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
,
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
), with two additional tracks mixed by
D. Sardy
David Stuart Sardy (born 1967), more commonly known as D. Sardy, is an American composer, musician, songwriter, and multiple Grammy winning record producer. He came to prominence as the leader of 1990s noise rock band Barkmarket before turning mo ...
(
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
,
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
) and Joe Zook (
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
,
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
). The deluxe version features bonus tracks (digital download only) produced by
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...
frontman
Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...
.
The term "Lex Hives" is a phrase derived from the ancient Roman practice of enacting a system or body of laws and accepting them as a standard.
It became the last album from the band to feature bassist
Dr. Matt Destruction
Dr. Matt Destruction (born Mattias Bernwall; 18 March 1978 in Fagersta), is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is the former bassist of garage rock band The Hives.
Career
The Hives were formed in 1993 and rose to prominence in the early 20 ...
as he left due to health reasons in late 2013 and was replaced by
Randy
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
bassist Johan Gustafsson, under the stage name The Johan and Only.
Background
After recording two albums (''
Tyrannosaurus Hives
''Tyrannosaurus Hives'' is the third full-length album by the Hives, released on 20 July 2004. It is their first album since ''Veni Vidi Vicious'' from 2000, and also their first original release on a major label.
If the front cover of the albu ...
'', ''
The Black and White Album
''The Black and White Album'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band The Hives. The track listing for ''The Black and White Album'' was confirmed on the band's German website on 13 September 2007, and later through ''NME''. The Hives ...
'') for the
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
's
Interscope
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...
label, the band did not want to extend the deal, and so the band found themselves as free agents. The Hives responded by going
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
for their fifth album. ''Lex Hives'' was self-funded and self-produced, and has been issued on the band's own ''Disques Hives'' imprint.
As for why the band took five years between albums, frontman
Howlin' Pelle Almqvist
Per "Pelle" Almqvist (born 29 May 1978), also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of garage rock band The Hives.
Biography
Almqvist was born to a doctor father and a teacher mother. Almqv ...
noted the group toured for nearly three years after ''The Black and White Album'', but added that self-producing an album with a five-piece band is not the quickest of ways to reach a consensus. "We thought it would be faster if we produced it ourselves as opposed to scheduling it with someone who’s busy 24-7, 365 days per year," Almqvist said. "Rather than squeeze in some studio time, we could go into the studio whenever we wanted. It turns out that having five producers who have an equal say of everything isn’t that fast. You’d think we could have guessed that in advance."
For promotion, The Hives initiated a contest on social networking website
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
on 23 March 2012. A news update on their official website revealed the song titles on 12 tracks however they were purposely jumbled up. Fans had to post their guesses as to what they thought the tracks were called on the band's official Facebook page. It stated that the first person to unscramble all the song titles correctly would ''"receive a phone call from The Hives."'' The band announced the grand prize winner and 17 runners-up on their Facebook page on 6 April 2012.
Reception
The album debuted at number 7 on the Swedish chart, 20 on the Swiss chart, 38 on the Austrian chart, 38 on the Australian chart and 53 on the
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...
.
The album received generally favorable reviews from critics.
[
]
Track listing
Notes
:1. Both bonus tracks (13, 14) are cover songs, but are directly related to one of The Hives' members in some way. "High School Shuffle" is a cover of an Alex Carole and The Crush song that was produced by Chris Dangerous
Christian Grahn (born ''Arne Christian Jääskeläinen''; 12 June 1978), known professionally by his stage name Chris Dangerous, is the drummer of Swedish rock band, The Hives.
Biography
Grahn began playing drums at age of nine. Growing up in F ...
(drums). "Insane" is a cover of The Dragtones' original, and Vigilante Carlstroem
Mikael Karlsson (born 30 October 1978), better known by his stage name Vigilante Carlstroem, is the rhythm guitarist of the critically acclaimed Swedish garage rock band The Hives.
Biography
Vigilante started playing guitar at the age of ten and ...
(guitar) is a member of that band.
:2. " Go Right Ahead" has songwriting also credited to Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
since the band got permission to include a similar riff to Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
's "Don't Bring Me Down
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album ''Discovery''. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.
History
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's s ...
".
Personnel
The Hives
* Howlin' Pelle Almqvist
Per "Pelle" Almqvist (born 29 May 1978), also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of garage rock band The Hives.
Biography
Almqvist was born to a doctor father and a teacher mother. Almqv ...
– vocals, vocoder
* Nicholaus Arson – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Vigilante Carlstroem
Mikael Karlsson (born 30 October 1978), better known by his stage name Vigilante Carlstroem, is the rhythm guitarist of the critically acclaimed Swedish garage rock band The Hives.
Biography
Vigilante started playing guitar at the age of ten and ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Dr. Matt Destruction
Dr. Matt Destruction (born Mattias Bernwall; 18 March 1978 in Fagersta), is a Swedish musician and songwriter. He is the former bassist of garage rock band The Hives.
Career
The Hives were formed in 1993 and rose to prominence in the early 20 ...
– bass guitar
* Chris Dangerous
Christian Grahn (born ''Arne Christian Jääskeläinen''; 12 June 1978), known professionally by his stage name Chris Dangerous, is the drummer of Swedish rock band, The Hives.
Biography
Grahn began playing drums at age of nine. Growing up in F ...
– drums
Additional musicians and personnel
* Gustav Bendt – saxophone
* Per Ruskträsk Johansson – saxophone
* Jonas Kullhammar
Jonas Kullhammar (2 September 1978 in Nacka, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz composer, saxophonist and is one of Sweden's most established jazz musicians.
Career
Since 1998 his main group has been Jonas Kullhammar Quartet, and he has participated o ...
– saxophone
* Henrik Alsér engineer
* Michael Ilbert – engineer
* Karl Larsson – engineer
* Dagge Lundquist – engineer
* Johan Gustavsson – engineer
* Kalle Gustavsson – engineer
* Justin Smith – engineer
* Janne Hansson – engineer
* Linn Fijal – assistant engineer
* Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
– composer
* Stephen Marcussen – mastering
* Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium Ar ...
– mixing
* Joe Zook – mixing
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lex Hives
2012 albums
The Hives albums
Self-released albums