While it might be too early to start talking about the "Swedish Invasion," the Hives are hailed as the next Rolling Stones. Despite their sound, this band is not from England but from the land that gave the world Abba.

All the more reason to salute this ferocious fivesome as the next big thing. Forget the Strokes - this is the raw, real deal.

Veni Vedi Vicious (originally released on Epitaph in 2000) is an all-out, take-no-prisoners rock album that balances on the knife edge between sloppy intensity and total chaos. Also imagine that fleeting moment between being just drunk enough and too drunk. All sorts of images along those lines spring to mind when listening to a band that sounds like it would be right at home in a greasy, sleazy, smoky punk bar on a Saturday night. You can also hear Iggy Pop, the Ramones and the Kinks bouncing around in here.

Howlin' Pelle Almqvist - the Mick Jagger to the twin Keith Richards-like guitar assault of Vigilante Carlstroem and Nicholaus Arson - has that perfect indignant sneer of a voice on delightfully self-absorbed songs like Die, All Right, which seems to be about getting a major record deal and spending your advance on booze, drugs and hookers.

"I found the back door out of teenage hell," Almqvist sings.

"... I might as well die."

Similar themes are heard throughout. The Hives pause briefly from rocking out in the fastest, loudest way possible for a touching heartbreaker called Find Another Girl. Good advice.

This record is a quick fix of pure adrenalin, with few tunes clocking in at more than two minutes. One minor complaint results: The 12 tracks here add up to less than 30 minutes. So the Hives have left us wanting more, but at least - thank God - there's some interesting rock bands kicking around again.

Track Listing