{"id":101904,"date":"2023-10-06T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T23:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=101904"},"modified":"2023-11-16T15:07:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T15:07:03","slug":"album-review-heavy-load-riders-of-the-ancient-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-heavy-load-riders-of-the-ancient-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"HEAVY LOAD – Riders Of The Ancient Storm (2023) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HEAVY LOAD
Riders Of The Ancient Storm<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNo Remorse (2023)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I never thought one of heavy metal\u2019s greatest yet unsung acts would return 40 years after their last album. Swedish warriors Heavy Load were one of the purest examples of fist-pumping, chest-pounding metal and responsible for a trio of classic albums, Full Speed At High Level<\/em> (1978), Death Or Glory<\/em> (1982) and Stronger Than Evil<\/em> (1983).<\/p>\n

Throughout the mid-80s the band flitted in and out of activity \u2013 an album was recorded in 1987 but never released \u2013 before becoming silent. And so, decades later, Heavy Load has returned, and the most impressive detail is that brothers and original members Ragne (vocals, guitar and keyboards) and Styrbj\u00f6rn Wahlquist (vocals and drums) remain. It\u2019s also great to see bassist Torbj\u00f6rn Ragnesj\u00f6 present too as he joined the band back in 1978. The line-up is completed by lead guitarist Niclas Sunnerberg, formerly of Steelwing.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s cut the crap and get to the music because I just know that deep down the metalheads, in rather regressive manner, are gonna be hoping that this album sounds like the old stuff. Well, first and foremost, Riders Of The Ancient Storm<\/em> doesn\u2019t disappoint. It drips with the same anthemic notions and foams with the same raging tides as before. You get served seven tracks (with an additional bonus instrumental track \u2018Butterfly Whisperings\u2019 on the CD version) and all but one run for over five minutes, so there is always that epic feeling present.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Ride The Night\u2019 is a thunderous slice of galloping metal that showcases the range of Ragne Wahlquist, who, even into his late sixties, gives Judas Priest\u2019s Rob Halford a run for his money. This is confident, striding and striking heavy metal fuelled by the pummeling drums and fizzing axe work and it most certainly signals the return of this glorious band, a band that I just hope the kids latch onto as they plunder the dark depths of heavy metal history.<\/p>\n

\u2018We Rock The World\u2019 follows with a Led Zeppelin strut where the groove is clean n\u2019 cool and oozing swagger, although it\u2019s arguably the most simplistic track on the album and one that doesn\u2019t necessarily boast that heroic nature. Even so, it\u2019s still a track that showcases a variety because although you still get the 70s and 80s whiffs of, say, Deep Purple (\u2018Walhalla Warriors\u2019) or Rainbow (\u2018Sail Away\u2019), there are plenty of poppier moments particularly in the keyboards which drift through the record.<\/p>\n

With these ingredients in mind one occasionally gets a sniff of Black Sabbath<\/a> circa Headless Cross<\/em> (1989), more so on \u2018Slave No More\u2019, while \u2018Angel Dark\u2019 has a sprig of Scorpions alongside Rainbow. However, don\u2019t be shocked when you hear flecks of ABBA, or Eloy too, but it all makes for an organic and authentic stew even if it doesn\u2019t quite capture the spirit of old. I can\u2019t say I\u2019m a fan of the album cover, but let\u2019s just be thankful for another Heavy Load offering. I\u2019m just hoping we don\u2019t have to wait this long again until the next one!<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HEAVY LOADRiders Of The Ancient Storm No Remorse (2023)Rating: 8\/10 I never thought one of heavy metal\u2019s greatest yet unsung acts would return 40 years after their last album. Swedish warriors Heavy Load were one of the purest examples of fist-pumping, chest-pounding metal and responsible for a trio of classic albums, Full Speed At High […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,5518],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-heavy-load"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101904"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101912,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101904\/revisions\/101912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}