Although I do like European music, I've always felt like Italy and Heavy Metal just don't mix all that well. I really can't explain it that well as things like Hard Rock and Melodic Rock are more the forte of a European country. I've always been open to trying new music though, so I'm not completely against Italian Heavy Metal but I always get a bit skeptical whenever I hear something new from that country in that genre. However, maybe today is the day when my views will change.

On with the review now and the band in this review is an Italian Heavy Metal quintet who go by the name of ENDAMAGED and their debut album "At the Gates" is out now. They formed in Rome, Lazio in Italy in 2010 and a year later they released their debut release which was an EP called "Soldier God." Now in 2014 they have returned with a new release which is also their debut album entitled "At the Gates"

Straight off the bat, this has all the correct ingredients for a Heavy Metal record. The moment you play it, you are immediately assaulted with some heavy ass riffs and beats from the guitars, bass and drums. It takes around 2 or so minutes on the opening track for the vocals to kick in, but I'm afraid that's when things start to go a bit wrong. I thought that maybe my views on Italian Heavy Metal would change but they remain the same as I was less than impressed with the vocals.

I think the biggest problem is that they are way too lost in the mix and the lost vocals combined with the music which is much clearer, just makes everything seem like a gigantic mess. When the music starts on the first song, it does sound promising as it does have all the right tones and elements for some great Heavy Metal and once the vocals kick in, all you can do is just focus on the music and try to forget about everything else.

I think the vocals would have been better if they were produced better, as most of the time they are too quiet and you can't hear or understand most of what is being sung.  Howver, even if you can understand the vocals, the performance does seem a bit off at times so that needs to be improved and worked on.

Verdict time now and my views on this album are as follows: the potential is obvious and clear as the music is spot on for an album of this type and it does sound clear in the music department which is excellent. The messy production of the vocals just makes it sound jumbled and confusing so you always look forward to when it's just the music. I'm not saying the vocals are terrible as this album does have potential but I think ENDAMAGED could have done a bit better in the vocal department so some tweaks are needed to improve upon this.