UMUR "No Child Left Behind" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Los Angeles, California based thrash metal act Viking. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in March 2015. Viking was initially active in the years 1986-1990 and released the two albums "Do or Die (1988)" and "Man of Straw (1989)" during that period. After the band split-up guitarist Brett Eriksen joined Dark Angel, bassist James Lareau pursued a career in sculpture, and lead vocalist/guitarist Ron Eriksen and drummer Matt Jordan moved to Oregon. The former of the two latter mentioned later became a bible teacher. In early 2011 Ron Eriksen ressurrected Viking. He was initially joined by drummer Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Fear Factory...etc.), bassist Mike Gonzalez (Dark Angel), and guitarist Justin Zych (Valhalla, Zephaniah, Vindicator), which made Eriksen the sole original member. This lineup recorded the basic tracks for "No Child Left Behind" in 2011, but the album wasn´t completed until 2014. In the meantime original drummer Matt Jordan had replaced Gene Hoglan.

It may have been 26 years since the release of "Man of Straw (1989)", and Ron Eriksen has grown those years older too, but other than the fact that "No Child Left Behind" is delightfully old school, it´s not apparent that Viking hasn´t been active for many years. The delivery of the material is professional, passionate, and very convincing. Ron Eriksen is a skilled vocalist with a strong voice, who can perform both raw vocal parts and more melodic tinged ditto. While he is not as distinct sounding as Russ Andersson (Forbidden), I´d say that´s a valid reference. Stylistically the music on the album sounds something like a combination of 1988 Forbidden and 1986 Dark Angel. The aggression and fast tempos of the latter and the semi-technical and melodic tinged nature of the former.

The songwriting is generally strong, and there are many catchy tracks featured on the album. I can mention tracks like "Blood Eagle", "Eaten by a Bear", and "Wretched Old Mildred", but there´s not a single sub standard track on the album. "No Child Left Behind" also features a rather powerful and raw sound production. The drum production took some getting used to, but the sound overall suits the music well.

It´s not everyday you hear a comeback album as potent as this one, and Viking deserves a lot of praise for this release. They have stayed true to their roots without sounding too old fashioned (mainly due to the occasional more contemporary sounding riff, and the sound production), and they´ve written some pretty damn catchy and aggressive thrash metal tracks, that should please fans of the genre. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Man of Straw" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Los Angeles based thrash metal act Viking. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in July 1989. Viking was a relatively shortlived act who only released two albums in the late eighties before they disbanded.

The band´s debut album "Do or Die (1988)", was a pretty raw and aggressive thrash metal release packed in a murky sound production. Compared to that "Man of Straw" is a much more sophisticated effort by Viking. The band are still very aggressive when that is needed, but they often steer into more technical thrash metal territories and "Man of Straw" is therefore a much more varied album than the debut. The inclusion of the Pat Benatar cover "Hell is for Children" even shows that Viking are fully capable of playing more straight traditional heavy rock/metal. Especially lead vocalist/guitarist Ron Eriksen shines on that track. The material are generally catchy and memorable beyond a few listens.

Another thing that has improved greatly compared to the debut album is the sound production, which on this album is clear, raw and powerful. It´s not like the two albums are completely different from each other though and you are still able to hear that it´s the same band playing, but there is a chance that the two albums could appeal to two different groups of thrash metal fans. The debut to those who prefer their thrash metal raw and aggressive to the bone and "Man of Straw" to those who prefer their thrash metal a little more varied, more professionally produced and overall more sophisticated. There is still a fierce bite and conviction behind the delivery on "Man of Straw" though and this is by no means "soft" thrash metal. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Do or Die" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Los Angeles based thrash metal act Viking. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in February 1988. Viking was a relatively shortlived act who only released two albums in the late eighties before they disbanded.

The band play what I would call "classic" US thrash metal of the raw kind. This is not Bay Area styled thrash metal (which are typically more technical and sophisticated in nature), but rather a US thrash metal style that has more in common with European thrash metal and that sounds more like it was released in 1984 than in 1988. It´s raw, aggressive, intense and pretty much to the point. The tracks are relatively catchy and I found myself screaming along to some of the choruses with a leather clad fist in the air and my head banging wildy. Song titles like "Warlord", "Militia of Death" and "Killer Unleashed" are so charmingly old school that I´m about to burst into nostalgia tears.

The playing is raw and the sound production unpolished and murky, but it´s not something that disturb the listening experience. On the contrary this is actually exactly the right sound for the music on "Do or Die". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.