Tyranny of Minority

Vendetta is a heavy metal group from the United Kingdom playing a style of heavy metal that would fit well on a bill alongside bands like Manilla Road, Slough Feg, Witchfinder General and the such - with the exception of talent. Vendetta doesn't make good music like those bands, this album here is a rather boring and dull collection of songs that range from power ballad to mid tempo with an occasional ballsy rocker thrown in. The mid tempo songs are the worst, they plague this album with riffs that aren't headbang worthy and the worst is probably the vocalist. He doesn't have much range and I find his high notes painful. The ballads are even more painful trying to go for a Poison or Skid Row sound but fail miserably because the sound doesn't capture that 'power ballad' feel.

Maybe it's the production. It's very, very slick and polished which is the opposite of what you'd hear on a Manilla Road album or something back from the 80's. It accents the instruments well but in the big picture doesn't sit well with me. Each individual member of the band seems to have their moments, some cool bass lines and noticeable parts like in Lost Cause, or some decent riffs thrown in on faster up beat songs like Bones To Dust. I find it actually pretty headbangable in some of the fast songs with decent opening riffs like Plastic God and have nice flashy solos. The solos I will admit are enjoyable which give this album points because I'm a big fan of solos. The guitarists seem adequate enough to pull off semi fun riffs and leads but nothing really stands out and they play it safe, nothing extraordinary or out of the mold that would probably make for something enjoyable, just easy going laid back playing.

The biggest problem of all I've mentioned though is the lack of originality and memorability. These newer traditional heavy metal bands lose a sense of originality and try to mix in some newer elements that don't work. Also with Tyranny of Minority, I really don't find any of these songs very memorable. Out of 11 songs, there are only really 2 songs that make me wonder what the album would have sounded like if it consisted only of songs like this.

If you want some good new traditional heavy metal look elsewhere, this release is bland and the majority of songs aren't even worth listening to. If you want some decent tracks, I'd guess check out Plastic God or Bones to Dust.