If there were an award for gigs that gave value for money in 2007 then this would have won hands down. Vendetta gave their fans an early Christmas present by pricing this show at £5 and also adding two extra bands to the bill. Their generous pricing policy paid off in style, as the Carling Academy 2 was nearly full to capacity.

To open tonight’s show Vendetta had called upon the services of “Rusted Heroes” a new band fronted by Graham Parker on vocals (ex 300ft Gorilla). Their set proved to be a real winner with the audience thanks to a set chock full of classic hard rock covers from the likes of The Scorpions, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Motley Crue. Parker worked the crowd well and looked relaxed and very happy to be up on stage and, after well deserved applause for a cracking version of “Don’t Believe A Word”, he commented how good it was to hear the response from the audience adding it was “something that I thought I wouldn’t hear again”. The official line as to his parting from 300ft Gorilla is that the band couldn’t offer him enough “live” opportunities. One feels that with “Rusted Heroes” that issue will never become a problem as tonight they showed that all the ingredients are there to become a popular hard rock covers band on the live circuit.

Next up was a band that I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing live before called Ten Ton Friday. From the moment they took to the stage one felt that they were going to deliver in style. As Mick (guitars/vocals) set off a nice wave of feedback from his Zakk Wylde signature Gibson Les Paul guitar that got everyone’s attention they spared only a few moments before launching into “Hive Of Ignorance”. It took only a few minutes to realise that this was a band that knew what they wanted and how to get it. Complex and heavy riffs were nailed down tight with no room for error and the overall effect was of a musical juggernaut.” Not For Sale” and “Safety Face” had me thinking of Black Label Society especially in the way Mick combined with Uber (guitars, vocals). I wasn’t alone in enjoying this band as after each song the audience appreciation got louder. ”Mudjumper” and “Big Man” showed that they weren't short of quality material and to close their set they opted for a cover of Alice In Chains “Man In The Box” which was delivered in true grungy splendour. Ten Ton Friday will have made many new friends judging by the nods and smiles of approval as their set ended.

And so to the main event of the evening Vendetta. For some years now HardRockHouse has been championing the guitar talents of Edward Box .You will find reviews of both his solo albums and a couple of interviews elsewhere on the site. However in recent times Box has forsaken the instrumental guitar hero route and instead managed to get a band project up and running. That band being Vendetta and, with their roots in the metal music of Box's heroes Judas Priest, Dokken and The Scorpions a new album, Tyranny Of Minority, was issued late last year and created quite a stir here at the web site.

Vendetta's set kicked off in fine style with “Generation Kill”. If you want surging guitar riffs and solos that soar over your head like bullets from a gun this song has it all. From the off the sound was balanced and Box looked every inch the confident guitar slinging frontman. Next up was “No Safe House” and as Box sang, “We are the bringers of pain” a quick glance around the audience showed a large chunk of them singing along with demented glee.

“Doorways Of the Mind” was delivered with reckless abandon before “All Fall Down” saw the band pressing the pedal back down to the metal with some great unison guitar riffing. At this point there was a quick guitar change for the anthemic and socially aware song “Plastic God”. This is one of my favourite tracks from the bands album as it feature scorching guitar solos from both Box and fellow guitarist Pete Thompson. “Lost Cause” was next to be given an airing before Box delighted fans of his solo albums by playing “Axis Of Evil” culled from the “Moonfudge” release. By now the audience were well and truly in the palm of the band's hands as they started to raise the musical stakes with the crushing “Bones To Dust” followed by “I Executioner” - another highlight from the debut album. The band decided to close the evening with three covers that were “Out In The Fields”, Maiden's ”Flight Of Icarus” and finally, to close the evening out AC/DC's Sin City.

Vendetta are blessed with great individual musical talents but they also have the songs to display these wares and on the evidence of this show they will have made many more new fans. Box has moved into the role of singer/guitarist with ease and showed he is becoming quietly more confident with the dual responsibility. This was a great finish to my live outings in 2007 and I can't help thinking that 2008 may prove to be a vintage year when there are bands like Vendetta “armed and ready” to rock in the months ahead

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