The Hives Forever Forever the Hives

The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
Cover art of The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
Studio album by
the Hives
Released29 August 2025 (2025-08-29)
Studios
GenreGarage rock[1]
Length32:57
LabelPIAS
ProducerPelle Gunnerfeldt
The Hives chronology
The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons
(2023)		 The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
(2025)
Singles from The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
  1. "Enough Is Enough"
    Released: 1 April 2025[2]
  2. "Paint a Picture"
    Released: 17 June 2025[3]
  3. "Legalize Living"
    Released: 7 July 2025[4]
  4. "The Hives Forever Forever the Hives"
    Released: 14 August 2025[5]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[7]
Kerrang!StarStarStarStar[8]
MojoStarStarStarStar[9]
PasteStarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarHalf star[10]
New Noise MagazineStarStarStarStarStar[11]
The Spill MagazineStarStarStarStarHalf star[12]
Classic RockStarStarStarStarHalf star[13]
DIYStarStarStarStar[14]

The Hives Forever Forever the Hives is the seventh studio album by Swedish garage rock band the Hives, released on 29 August 2025 through PIAS Recordings.[15]

Background and release

On 1 April 2025, the Hives announced their seventh studio album The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, alongside the release of the lead single "Enough Is Enough", and details of a world tour beginning in July 2025.[2]

Recording sessions for the album took place at Riksmixningsverket, a studio owned by ABBA's Benny Andersson and at Year0001's Stockholm studio, associated with Swedish rapper Yung Lean. The album was co-produced by longtime collaborator Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Beastie Boys member Mike D. Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme contributed to the album in an advisory role.[16]

In a statement accompanying the announcement, the band described it as "a new record so full of energy, joy, anger and life that you will be questioning reality as you have known it... Every single song a single, every single single a hit, every hit a direct hit in the face of the man."[17]

In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, frontman Pelle Almqvist recalled the band's reaction to Mike D's presence in the studio:

Mike D from the Beastie Boys came to the studio in Stockholm on the first day we were in there. We were recording the album with Pelle Gunnerfeldt, who's our usual producer and mentor. He's been around since our first album [Barely Legal]. We're all big Beastie Boys fans, but I think he might be the biggest one. When Mike showed up, everyone was like, "This is going to be fun". But then, everybody got really nervous pretty quickly. Pelle started stumbling over cables, and connecting things the wrong way. It was pretty funny.[18]

Critical reception

Steve Beebee of Kerrang! praised the album's "breakneck" energy and hook-driven songwriting, describing it as "as uncorrupted a rock album as any released this year". He wrote that the band successfully continued their established formula while keeping "excitement levels high".[8]

Writing for Mojo, James McNair praised the album's "deeply felt and furious riffage" and noted that the band remained "amped up to 11" decades into their career. He also highlighted the album's stylistic experimentation, comparing the title track to "The Strokes going electro" and describing "Path Of Most Resistance" as featuring a "Devo-ish" guitar hook.[9]

Luke Von Rinehart of New Noise Magazine wrote that the album continued the band's "signature recipe of killer riffs and rockin’ anthems". He highlighted tracks such as "Paint A Picture" and "Born A Rebel" for balancing intensity with musical variety, concluding that the group remained "consistent and dependable" garage rock performers.[11]

Heather Phares of AllMusic described the album as "among the Hives' most consistent", praising its balance of "blunt force, sharp wit, and refusal to sit still". She highlighted the band's continued political undercurrent and musical versatility, while noting that the album successfully revisited styles from across the group's earlier work.[7]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Howlin' Pelle Almqvist; all music is composed by The Hives.

The Hives Forever Forever the Hives track listing
No.TitleLength
1."(Introduction)"0:28
2."Enough Is Enough"2:46
3."Hooray Hooray Hooray"2:32
4."Bad Call"3:31
5."Paint a Picture"2:48
6."O.C.D.O.D."1:44
7."Legalize Living"3:24
8."(Interlude)"1:16
9."Roll Out the Red Carpet"2:19
10."Born a Rebel"3:03
11."They Can't Hear the Music"2:41
12."Path of Most Resistance"3:22
13."The Hives Forever Forever the Hives"3:03
Total length:32:57

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[19]

The Hives

Additional contributors

Charts

Chart performance for The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 27
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21]68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22]15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23]14
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[24] 27
French Albums (SNEP)[25]29
French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP)[26] 1
German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 3
Japanese Western Albums (Oricon)[28] 22
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[29]3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 56
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32]20
UK Albums (Official Charts)[33]5
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[34]3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35]48
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[36]13

References

  1. ↑ "Album review: The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Kerrang!. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 Green, Walden (2 April 2025). "The Hives Announce Tour and Enlist Mike D and Josh Homme for New Album, Share Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Pinder, Jaeden (17 June 2025). "The Hives Share New Song "Paint a Picture"". Consequence. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Solomon-Brady, Harvey (8 July 2025). "The Hives announce new single "Legalize Living" and upcoming album The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Whynow. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Steven (15 August 2025). "The Hives Share Bold New Single & Video "The Hives Forever Forever the Hives"". Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Metacritic. August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". AllMusic. August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Beebee, Steve (August 25, 2025). "Album review: The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  9. 1 2 McNair, James (August 29, 2025). "The Hives Forever, Forever the Hives Reviewed: Swedes still amped up to 11". Mojo. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  10. ↑ McNair, James (August 29, 2025). "Forever Is a Pleasure on the Hives' The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Paste. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Von Rinehart, Luke (August 29, 2025). "Album Review: The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Mastel, Joseph (February 2026). "Spill Album Review: The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ Sleazegrinder (August 31, 2025). ""Vibrant, loud and sure to destroy dance floors worldwide": The Hives celebrate sweat and rock'n'roll glory on The Hives Forever Forever The Hives". Classic Rock. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Morgan, Tom (August 29, 2025). "The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever The Hives". DIY. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "The Hives announce new album: "A record so full of energy, joy, anger and life that you will be questioning reality"". Kerrang!. Kerrang!. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "The Hives Announce New Album, 2025 Tour Dates". AXS TV. 2 April 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. ↑ Garner, Emily (1 April 2025). "The Hives announce new album: "A record so full of energy, joy, anger and life that you will be questioning reality"". Kerrang!. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "The Hives Share Their Favourite Moments Making Their New Album". Yahoo Entertainment. Yahoo. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  19. ↑ The Hives Forever Forever the Hives (Media notes). The Hives. PIAS Recordings. 29 August 2025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  24. ↑ "Lista prodaje 41. tjedan 2025" [Sales list Week 41 2025] (in Croatian). HDU. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "Top Albums (semaine du 5 septembre 2025)". Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  26. ↑ "Top 100 Rock & Metal Albums de la semaine 36, 2025" [Top 100 Rock & Metal Albums of Week 36, 2025] (in French). Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  27. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts Top 20 Rock/Metal-Charts – 5 September 2025" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  28. ↑ "Oricon Top 30 Western Albums: September 8, 2025" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 5/9/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  30. ↑ "The Hives Forever Forever the Hives - The Hives". Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  31. ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 36, 2025". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever the Hives". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  33. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 5/9/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  34. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 5/9/2025 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  35. ↑ "The Hives Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  36. ↑ "The Hives Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
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