Ragne Wahlquist, born Jan 23rd, 1955. He was the 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.
