Viking is an American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, which had existed for four years, between 1986 and 1990. However, they reformed in 2011. To date, Viking has released three studio albums, '' Do or Die'' (1988), '' Man of Straw'' (1989) and ''

No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

'' (2015).

History

Initial career and breakup (1986–1990)

Viking was formed in Los Angeles in the spring of 1986 and held the same personnel until they broke up in 1990. The band signed a record contract with

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

after their second live appearance and went on to record two full-length albums and open up for bands like Dark Angel,

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

, Forbidden, and

Sacred Reich Sacred Reich is an American thrash metal band based in Phoenix, Arizona, that was formed in 1985. The band split in 2000, but reunited in 2006. Sacred Reich has been credited, along with Testament, Destruction, Death Angel and Dark Angel, for ...

as well as headlining many other shows. In 1988, they released their debut album called '' Do or Die''. Although the brutality of the songs was appreciated by thrash metal fans, the frenetic tempos and bad production were not well received by the critics. Their follow up to ''Do or Die'' saw a change in songwriting and musicianship. The songs for '' Man of Straw'' included half-time mosh bridges and more technical riffs. Shortly before they started to record ''Man of Straw'', Ron Eriksen became a born-again Christian and changed some of the lyrics to avoid blasphemies. Before embarking on a tour with

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

-based

Helstar Helstar is an American heavy metal band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1982 by guitarist Larry Barragan. They were an influential force in the American power metal genre emerging in the mid-1980s. History Early days and Combat-era (1982–1986) H ...

in 1990, Ron felt that his new faith could not endure the tour, and he left the band, which immediately broke up upon his departure. Prior to their breakup, Viking demoed new material for their third album for a 1990 release, and one song, "Abortuary", was released as a bonus track on the 2006 reissue of ''Man of Straw''.

Post-breakup (1991–2010)

Ron and drummer Matt Jordan soon after moved to Oregon, Brett Eriksen joined Dark Angel full-time and bassist James Lareau pursued a career in sculpture. Before Viking, Ron (whose stage name ''Ronny Devious'' had been carried over from his days with ''Hags''), Matt, and James were in ''Tracer'' and released a 3-song demo entitled ''Sudden Death'' with vocalist Tony Vargas (Vermin/ex-L.S.N.). Following a temporary split, Brett began jamming with the band, and Ron began singing. After the release of ''Man of Straw'', Matt Jordan also converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Ron has said that Matt's conversion had nothing to do with his own. Some years after the band broke up, Ron became a Bible teacher.

Reunion (2011–present)

In early 2011, Ron Eriksen (guitar, vocals) resurrected Viking after a 20-year hiatus. Ron recruited Dark Angel members Gene Hoglan and Mike Gonzalez and Justin Zych (Valhalla, Zephaniah, ex-Vindicator) to record Viking's first release in over 20 years titled, ''No Child Left Behind''. In 2013, Viking played its first shows in over 20 years with the addition of Matt Jordan (ex-Barrier, ex-Lethal Gene) on drums. They headlined the Childhood Hero's Festival in New York City and Ragnarokkr in Chicago. ''

'' was released on March 4, 2015. Although Viking has not officially announced a hiatus or disbandment, inactivity on the band has resumed since the release of ''No Child Left Behind''.

Members

Current members *Ron Eriksen - guitars, vocals (1986–1990, 2011–present) *Mike Gonzalez - bass (2011–present) *Justin Zych - guitars (2013–present) *Matt Jordan - drums (1986–1990, 2013–present) Former members *James Lareau - bass (1986–1990) * Brett Eriksen - guitars (1986–1990) *

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

- drums (2011–2013) *

Glenn Rogers Glenn Alan Rogers (born 12 April 1977) is an Australian-born former cricketer who played international cricket for Scotland. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, his ODI debut was in Chittagong against Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), offi ...

- guitars (2011)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Do or Die'' (

Metal Blade Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distri ...

, 1988) * '' Man of Straw'' (Metal Blade, 1989; reissued by Lost and Found in 2006) * ''

'' (Independent, 2015)

Compilation appearances

* "Hellbound" on ''Metal Massacre VIII'' (

, 1987) * "Warlord" on ''The Best of Metal Blade, Volume 3'' (Metal Blade, 1988) * "Do or Die" on ''Metallic Overdrive'' (Metal Blade, 1990)

References

External links

Official websiteViking on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viking Thrash metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Metal Blade Records artists 1986 establishments in California