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THE HIVES
+ The Southern River Band
@ Metropolis, Fremantle, Perth,
17th July 2025
(Live Review)

Review by Melanie Griffiths

Photos by Adrian Thomson (@_awii_)

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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God bless The Hives. The Swedish garage rock group high-kicked off their Australian tour with a concert that exuded style, unrelenting energy and left no doubt: The Hives still remain an unstoppable force of rock ‘n’ roll chaos.

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The Southern River Band / Photo – @_awii_

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Setting The Hives up for the perfect run up, Fremantle favourites The Southern River Band hit the stage. With their usual cheeky flair, they delivered a trusted set of pub-rock and blues soaked tunes that were loud, raucous and laced with shredding solos and cheeky flair.

Beckoned on stage by roadies in balaclavas, The Hives swaggered out, older than their last appearance in Perth in 2015 but still decked out in their trademark black-and-white urban cowboy style and wielding the same blistering showmanship. Led by the unstoppable Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist the group tore into a setlist designed to shake the walls and leave a trail of sweat in their wake.

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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With a heap of razzle-dazzle and the grandiose guitar riffs of opener “Modus Operandi”, it was a slap across the face to wake the crowd up. There was no time to waste as the band shifted gears into the gritty spirit of “Main Offender”. The group twisted and lunged, thrumming or pounding their instruments like it owed them money. After a brief intro (and a declaration that we’d entered “the upside down”), they slammed into the bone-rattling “Rigor Mortis Radio.”

Howlin’ Pelle stood centre stage, exuding the barely contained manic energy of an evangelical preacher with the confidence of a circus ringmaster. Between whooping up the audience, jumping off risers and blowing kisses, he would eyeball the audience, willing them to join him on their roller coaster ride. Tracks like the stomping “Walk Idiot Walk” and the attitude of “Stick Up” and “Go Right Ahead” had the crowd heaving. There may have been the heavy scent of Tiger Balm in the air, but you could easily ignore it from the heads starting to bob and hands reaching the ceiling.

To be fair, The Hives have such an emblematic sound that even as they veered from the furious post-punk “Trapdoor Solution” to the swaggering “I’m Alive” and new song “Enough is Enough”, the flow felt seamless. The band’s enigmatic, tight showmanship had the crowd eating out of their hands.

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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But it was the hits that detonated the night’s loudest cheers. As soon as the riff of “Hate to Say I Told You So” dropped, formalities were set aside in favour of a mosh pit. With the energy at a peak, they closed with the furious “Countdown to Shutdown” before coming back out.

The encore kicked off with a surprise—the first-ever live performance of “Legalize Living.” Most bands would start winding down by this point. Not The Hives. After thanking the crowd, they hurled us headfirst into the explosive “Tick Tick Boom”, a tangle of tension, fuzzed-out guitar, stomping drums, and snotty vocals. A perfect rock song that demands to be heard.

Close your eyes and you’d swear it was 2007 again. The Hives delivered a much-needed reminder of the power of performance with a swag of unapologetic rock anthems. As their soon-to-be-released album boldly declares, “The Hives Forever Forever The Hives”.

4.5 / 5 stars

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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Check out Adrian Thomson’s (@_awii_) full gallery of this event HERE

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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Follow THE HIVES
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Spotify – X – You Tube

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THE HIVES / Photo – @_awii_

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Press Release 9th July 2025 (below) HERE

THE HIVES
release new single/video
‘LEGALIZE LIVING’
from new album
‘THE HIVES FOREVER
FOREVER THE HIVES’
on August 29

Touring Australia this month!

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AMNPLIFY – DB