Heavy Load
Full Speed At High Level

When Manilla Road was still in its embryonic stage and bands like Warlord and Omen had yet to see the light of day, before all of that, in Sweden, an album titled "Full Speed at High Level" was released, dated 1978 and composed by the Heavy Load, a band formed by Ragne Wahlquist (vocals and guitar), Styrbjörn Wahlquist (drums), and Dan Molén on bass. This album, the band's first studio work, was immediately shelved by critics and managed to gather only a very limited group of fans: too raw, powerful, and "niche" to establish itself in a global market dominated by more renowned groups like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and Led Zeppelin. Yet, despite this album being overshadowed in musical history, today it is a relic for those few who own it and is considered by many as what initiated what we today call "epic metal": a genre composed of dark lyrics and rhythms with no space for the melody for its own sake like in power metal, and bands like Manilla Road and Omen (among others) have defined and expanded this concept.

And yet, listening to this album, I immediately thought of epic metal: this is where it was born, even though it's still difficult to ascertain the birth of a genre from a single record. The atmosphere felt from the first notes of the work is a blend between classic hard rock and embryonic heavy metal, which would shortly explode entirely with Iron Maiden. Indeed, if the title track, placed at the origin of it all, represents a great example of pure hard rock in which the coarse voice of Ragne Wahlquist emerges, the second track, "Midnight Crawler" is one of the pillars on which epic metal rests: a bursting drum upfront, chasing dark and compelling riffs, rough singing. The combination of these factors creates a song with incredible pathos, which can be breathed in deeply. The same goes for the splendid "Moonlight Spell" with an initial killer riff and a development worthy of a "hit".

Full Speed at High Level presents itself as a work that manages to cleverly mix the raw aggression of the band and the rocking attempt to avoid making an album too "hard". These combination elements can be found in the splendid "Storm": within its eleven minutes, killer seventies riffs alternate with reflective pauses where Ragne Wahlquist’s guitar becomes the absolute protagonist. From here on, the album's absolute quality decreases, although tracks like "Rock'n'roll Freak" and "In Two Minds" are still enjoyable. A separate discussion is needed for "Caroline" with its sweet flavor, which brings to mind that way of making music typical of the seventies when passion and the will to amaze were immediately perceivable in every single track.

This album, a relic for the few and nothingness for many, is a record of impressive historical importance: epic metal was born here, from these three Swedes who managed to create an absolutely original proposal starting in 1978 and even before from their formation as a stable group. An album that maintains a very high compositional level throughout its duration and is completed thanks to industrial amounts of pathos. For lovers of the genre, a must-see pilgrimage, akin to Lourdes for Christians.

1. "Full Speed At High Level" (4:16)
2. "Midnight Crawler" (3:57)
3. "Moonlight Spell" (4:39)
4. "Storm" (11:32)
5. "In Two Minds" (5:45)
6. "Rock 'n' Roll Freak" (5:24)
7. "Caroline" (8:22)
8. "Son Of The Northern Light" (5:01)