Heavy Load’s guitarist and vocalist Ragne Wahlquist passed away at the age of 69, SVT Nyheter recently confirmed.
At the time of his death, Ragne and his younger brother Styrbjörn were working on their band’s fifth album. Now, according to the outlet, the “intention is to complete the record and to carry the band forward.”
The Wahlquist brothers formed Heavy Load in Stockholm during the winter of 1974–1975. The group reportedly started the Swedish heavy metal wave in the mid-1970s with their debut album and made a name as the world’s first Viking metal band.
Heavy Load released three hit albums until mid-1980s: 1978’s ‘Full Speed at High Level,’ 1982’s ‘Death or Glory,’ and 1983’s ‘Stronger Than Evil.’ They produced the latter two after expanding the lineup with a second guitarist and founding their own recording facility Thunderload Studios and label, Thunderload Records.
Following a long hiatus, the band reunited in 2017 and started performing again in 2018. In 2023, they released a comeback album titled ‘Riders of the Ancient Storm’ to celebrate their 40th anniversary. The same year, their classic album ‘Stronger Than Evil’ became available on Spotify with six bonus tracks from the 2018 reissue.
