VIKING - MAN OF STRAW (CD, 2024, Brutal Planet) *Must-have 80's THRASH/SPEED Metal!

When I got a hold of this album some time in the late-90’s, I had no idea that this act were actually in a pristine, rough-around-the-edges “do or die” situation on their debut a year earlier. Not that it mattered that much as this piece of metal remains one of the highlights on the whole US scene, a primal slab of stupendous, ass kicking rifforamas that only trve Viking descendants were capable of producing. This effort takes a nice central role in the thrash metal kaleidoscope, between the aggressive bashing of Slayer, Dark Angel and Morbid Saint, and the technical/progressive excursions that started becoming prevalent in the late-80’s thanks to acts like Realm, Toxik, Watchtower, and Blind Illusion. This mediator’s stance was another voluminous pool also occupied by Wargasm, Vio-Lence, Wrath, Mordred, early Flotsam & Jetsam, and the debuts of Death Angel, Heathen and Forbidden. These artists borrowed from both sides, more readily from the latter, with some eventually ending up on the more proficient, more complex side of the spectre.

Not our valiant Vikings here, though, who didn’t have the time for that, or rather didn’t want to see themselves tempted by the oncoming new trends by stepping into the 90’s. So this piece of unadulterated classic thrash remained their last recording for a very long period of time. It’s a great testimony of the band’s skills, and “White Death”, with its officiant stomping rhythms, already forebodes great things to come before impetuous gallops take over later turning into a furious ball of speed catapulted with the utmost intensity into the relentless melee which also features a brilliant melodic lead section. Thrashing madness at its uncompromising best proceeding with “They Raped the Land”, a more intricately woven number with a wider array of tempo changes recalling their neighbours from the Bay-Area, Ron Eriksen’s attached semi-clean/semi-shouty vocals making a very positive impression assisting the fast-paced “skirmishes” with panache. “Twilight Fate” is a short, more immediate thrasher the guys raging with all the anger they can summon still finding time for a few smattering tempo shifts. “The Trial” follows the same pattern, less bridled thrashing with perennially speedy crescendos and piercing, screamy leads with which ends the more bashing side of the album.

“Case of the Stubborns” complicates the environment with superb more intricate arrangements without losing the primal energy, a flawless riff-fest with a pleiad of guitar configurations which stop the listener’s pummelling with a cool stomping passage before the rousing technical, also drum-infused, finale. “Winter” is the “coldest” song here, and it takes time for it to pick up speed and inertia although the pounding riffage that occupies the first half is perfectly acceptable; expect headbanging delights later as the guys embark on a speedy “conquest” their stride intercepted by more pounding officiancy which is smitten by the hyper-active epitaph, some of the most compulsively headbangable cannonades this side of Wargasm’s “Why Play Around” and Vio-Lence’s “Eternal Nightmare”. Soft friendly riffs follow; what’s the story? The story may not be familiar to all metal heads as this is a cover of the 80’s rock goddess Pat Benatar’s “Hell is for Children”, a surprisingly faithful rendition with even Eriksen acquiring much cleaner notes to match the frolic aura of this evergreen. One may not be sure what to make of this unexpected turn of events, but once “Creative Divorce” hits the speakers, the fan will fall into spasmodic mosh; this is intense shredding at its most cutting and spinning the obligatory slower mid-break just a short respite in these exhausting 6.5-min of hard, no-bars-held thrashing. The title-track comes next to wrap on this meisterwerk with another portion of aggressive remorseless strokes, the band relaxing for a short bit with a momentary laid-back relapse only to increase the intensity to nearly proto-deathy proportions as a finishing touch.

Immaculate riff-fests of the kind were not a rarity at that time with a lot of practitioners trying to impress the audience before the end of the decade due to the uncertainty settling in the air regarding the future of the scene. And yet, this opus stands out well more determinedly than a straw in the wind, the epitome of the thrash metal movement in all its non-contaminated glory, one of the Big Four of this middle ground alongside the already mentioned Wargasm and Vio-Lence albums, and Torture’s “Storm Alert”. It’s great to trace the Viking connection on American soil all the way to our favourite metal, and see that’s it’s nothing short of outstanding. This connection didn’t last very long, though, as this was the last album the guys produced before a gigantic hiatus. The guitar player Brett Eriksen joined his colleagues from Dark Angel for the creation of the 246-riff “monster” “Time Does Not Heal” while the others focused on their born-again Christian status, and abandoned the battle… sorry, metal field.

Another Viking invasion in the new millennium bore “No Child Left Behind”, a great return for the horde on the arena with Eriksen’s siren leading the pack, the other original member Matt Jordan behind the drumkit. A classic thrash marvel, this new instalment sees them not having lost even a small bit from their musical prowess of old, joining the fray of those veterans who managed to come back with flying colours. The Viking ship continues sailing; what other shores it’ll reach in the future, that no one can foresee, but there will by all means be other wicker men going up in flames...