HEAVY LOAD's RAGNE WAHLQUIST, Godfather Of Swedish Heavy Metal, Dead At 69

Ragne Wahlquist, guitarist and vocalist for HEAVY LOAD, which is widely regarded as the first Swedish heavy metal band and the first Viking metal act, has died at the age of 69.

According to SVT, Ragne and his younger brother Styrbjörn were in the middle of recording HEAVY LOAD's fifth album at the time of Ragne's death. The intention is to complete the album and to carry the band forward.

It is generally believed that HEAVY LOAD was the band that started the Swedish wave of heavy metal in the middle of the 1970s — their first album was released in 1978. They are also considered to be the first Viking metal band in the world.

HEAVY LOAD was established in Stockholm during the grim winter of 1974-1975 by the two brothers Ragne (vocals, guitars and keyboards) and Styrbjörn (vocals and drums). The vision and the passion of the Wahlquist brothers was always the kernel of the band's audacious drive; its drive to venture out on musical journeys and to spread their music to the world. The Viking heritage has been an important source of inspiration ever since their childhood. The brothers' emotional connection to people of a remote past, people with whom they share everlasting human challenges, was destined to find an outlet in their music. As a consequence, the brothers merged 1970s hard rock with Viking settings and sentiments, resulting in the band's distinctive style of music and lyrics: Viking metal — a style which came to inspire later bands in Sweden and elsewhere.

HEAVY LOAD released its first album, "Full Speed At High Level", during an era when the Swedish media and record industry claimed that hard rock was dead and that the band was doomed to fail. The Wahlquist brothers' vision has always been the core of what HEAVY LOAD was all about. So after expanding the band with a second guitarist, they founded their own recording facility, the famous Thunderload Studios, along with their own label, Thunderload Records. On their own label, they released timeless classics such as "Metal Conquest" (1981),"Death Or Glory" (1982) and "Stronger Than Evil" (1983) by HEAVY LOAD.

In 2023, HEAVY LOAD released a 40th-anniversary comeback album, "Riders Of The Ancient Storm". "Stronger Than Evil" was also made available to stream on Spotify for the first time, including six bonus tracks from the 2018 album reissue.

At their Thunderload recording facility, the Wahlquist brothers recorded CANDLEMASS's legendary debut album "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", along with LPs from HAMMERFALL and Yngwie Malmsteen.