HADDAH from Lombardy, Italy, have been rocking the scene since 2001. 2005 saw the release of their EP "From Happiness to Disgrace". They released their first demo in 2007, "Sun?" and another demo in 2012. After a quick lineup change, the group was fired up to work on their first full-length album, "Through The Gates of Evangelina". The album starts with a beautiful, if slightly depressing, instrumentation then explodes into half an hour of brutal riffs and insane vocals. The band has an incredibly tight sound; each instrument and vocal track is easily distinguishable, well defined and intricately woven. The album mostly deals with the oppression of free will by religion and the desire to overcome that oppression, mainly by usurping the heavenly throne. Listen to "Apostasy", "Live Your Existence" and the single, "Get Down All The Demons" to get a good example of this album's general sound and lyrical themes. Although the band is Italian, the songs are all in English. HADDAH doesn't do a bad job with their translations, but some of the lyrics are oddly worded or grammatically incorrect. That's just a small criticism though, I wouldn't expect anyone who writes in a second language to get the English language right all the time. Hell, I hardly do. But I digress, the album rocks, great guitar work, sick breakdowns, and the vocalists can really roar. HADDAH has waited a long time to release "Through The Gates of Evangelina", their hard work and passion for metal is obvious and has seriously paid off. Wonderfully produced, artfully directed and fucking killer, "Through The Gates of Evangelina" is a definite "must listen".<