This is actually a tribute to Heavy Load's albums more than it is to the band itself, since there is not that much editorial material out ther on them, such as reviews, interviews, photos etc. Let's just stick to their albums, right? Heavy Load from Stockholm, Sweden, maybe seen upon today as the Swedish version of Spinal Tap. They were also, to me and others, the first real Heavy Metal band hailing from the Land of the Vikings, with an image matching their sound. They formed in 1976, as a trio, by the two brothers Ragne (vocals and guitar) and Styrbjörn Wahlquist (vocals and drums), together with bassist Michael Backlund. In 1977 Heavy Load recorded their debut-album "Full Speed At High Level" (released 1978), now with Dan Molén handeling the bass playing. The record company, Heavy Sound Records, went bankrupt after a while (not because of Heavy Load I hope!) and the Wahlquist Bros. formed their own label, Thunderload Records. After their debut, Ex-Highbrow guitarist was added to the line-up as well as Torbjörn Ragnesjö, replacing Dan Molén. This line-up released the EP "Metal Conquest" and the two full-lenght albums "Death Or Glory" and "Stronger Than Evil" before breaking up. A last try was made in 1985 with the single "Monsters Of The Night", featuring bassist Andreas Fritz, but split up shortly after. In 1987, the Wahlquist Bros. kickstarted the band again and recorded an album together with ex-UFO bassist Paul Gray and guitarist Patrik Karlsson. The album was never released, though. Here's an album tribute to them - they were too pure and original to be forgotten. Hail the 'Load! Pssst... There is a rumour around saying that Heavy Load once again will reformate to take the world by storm.

THE THUNDERLOAD DISCOGRAPHY:

FULL SPEED AT HIGH LEVEL (LP 1978)
METAL CONQUEST (EP 45 rpm 1981)
DEATH OR GLORY (LP 1982)
STRONGER THAN EVIL (LP 1983)

FREE
MONSTERS OF THE NIGHT

You are visitor number since the grand opening, 19 february 1998.

WANTED: The lyrics for "Full Speed At High Level",
"Monsters Of The Night" and "Take Me Away".

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