Country of origin: Sweden Location: Stockholm Status: Active Formed in: 1976 Genre: Heavy/Power Metal Themes: Freedom, Honour, Metal, Vikings Current label: No Remorse Records Years active: 1976-1983, 1985, 1987, 2017-present Heavy Load formed in 1976 as a trio by the brothers Ragne Wahlquist and Styrbjörn Wahlquist with Michael Backlund. In 1977, they recorded their debut album, Full Speed at High Level, with Dan Molén on bass. The album was released in 1978, but the record company, Heavy Sound Records, went bankrupt and the Wahlquist brothers formed their own label, Thunderload Records. Former Highbrow guitarist Eddy Malm joined the line-up and Torbjörn Ragnesjö replaced Dan Molén. This line-up released the EP Metal Conquest and the two full-length albums Death Or Glory and Stronger Than Evil before breaking up. An attempt to reform was made in 1985 with the single "Monsters Of The Night" featuring bassist Andreas Fritz, but they split up again shortly afterwards. In 1987, the Wahlquist brothers kick-started the band yet again and recorded an album with ex-UFO bassist Paul Gray and guitarist Patrik Karlsson. This album was never released, though. A tribute album for Heavy Load, Tales of the Northern Swords, was released by Underground Symphony in 2014.