![[T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.][The Hives][The Black and White Album]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5eRXTNjCkDs/2.jpg)
This garage punk outfit was formed in Fagersta, Sweden in 1993. The five members go by the stage names of Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (b. 29 May 1979, Fagersta, Västmanlands Iän, Sweden; vocals), Vigilante Carlstroem (b. Mikael Karlsson Åström, 1977, Sweden; guitar), Nicolaus Arson (b. Niklas Almqvist, 26 January 1978, Sweden; guitar), Chris Dangerous (b. Christian Grahn, 1978, Sweden; drums) and Dr. Matt Destruction (b. Mattias Bernvall, 1978, Sweden; bass), and dress impeccably in matching black shirts and trousers with white ties and shoes. Signed to a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based Burning Heart label, the quintet made their recording debut with 1996's mini-album Oh, Lord! When? How? The full-length Barely Legal and the a.k.a. I.D.I.O.T. EP followed over the next two years.
Incendiary live performances helped to fuel the Hives' growing reputation, but they had to wait until 2000 before they made their international breakthrough with Veni Vidi Vicious. The album's winning combination of melody, attitude and cool saw the Hives hailed as the new Flamin' Groovies (or even the new Rocket From The Crypt in some quarters). The band enjoyed even more success with the UK-only compilation Your New Favourite Band, released on Alan McGee's Poptones label in 2001. The album, buoyed by the concurrent success of back-to-basics rock acts the White Stripes and the Strokes, proved to be an unexpected hit, achieving gold status and entering the UK Top 10.
The Hives subsequently signed a worldwide record contract with Universal Music, making their belated debut for the label in summer 2004 with the slick Tyrannosaurus Hives. The quintet's sound was becoming increasingly outdated by the time their second major label release, The Black And White Album, followed at the end of 2007.
