Review: “Altered By Evil” by Rockin’ Engine

““Altered By Evil” is a tribute to everything we love about horror movies and serial killers documentaries. There’s a fascination behind the love of the macabre and the grotesque that we wanted to explore with our lyrics, and expose different nuances of some classic works of art. With this album, we’re bringing the audience into a fantasy world of monsters and evil spirits, with a dash of historical elements that makes the listening experience even more interesting.” ~ Rockin’ Engine

They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover but when it comes to Ottawa, Ontario natives Rockin’ Engine we’re going to say don’t judge the band by the name. They dropped “Midnight Road Rage” back in March 2019 and swiftly followed it with a post-apocalypse concept EP “The Wretched And The Damned” and while the word “Rock” appears, in reality that has little or nothing to do with the bands sound. Yes they have clean vocals but the guitars are a taste of Metal, technical and refined with subtle nuances from psycho-horror fantasy… so consider yourselves warned.

The psycho circus begins with the kind of introduction you would expect from a Rob Zombie directed slasher film, the intro tape making way for a bombastic rhythmic drive and a big guitar sound as “Carnival Of Evil” takes hold. The vocals have a little 80’s flair from Steve O Leff but it’s not the strong smell that the bands name might suggest. Instead it’s the riffs that dominate, driving the tune forward in neck snapping Alternative Metal style although you may find yourself singing-a-long after the first few pins. This half an hour of power could have been pretty cheesy given the subject matter of the concept but instead of Wednesday 13 vibes Rockin’ Engine bring the power of angular riffs that border on technical at points, the solo of “Day Of Wrath” mesmerising and wrapped in a satisfying crunch that has more to do with the bands love of Gojira than anything else. The synths are incredibly well worked, adding an atmospheric dynamic which enhances the overall sound without detracting from the guitars while on “Liber Ex-Mortis” they add orchestrations that are the absolute Chef’s kiss. Another absolute pile driver of a cut, 80’s Metal roots are exposed with a solo and in truth the quality here is so high that any one of these tunes could have been a single.

Another skull battering of technical riffs with a killer guitar tone “Monsters Under Your Bed” is a huge arena filling sing-a-long anthem with a *ahem* monstrous chorus but doesn’t lose any of the bands trademark guitar punch in its creation. The balance they have found on this one is on a knife edge and if it didn’t happen to be the bands tribute to Wes Craven and the Nightmare on Elm Street saga then Steve O Leff has actually done a fantastic job at giving us something lyrically to which we can all relate. Who hasn’t had a sleepless night running from the demons of their past mistakes? The icy cold piano of “Psycho Path” adds a haunting note, the staccato riff breaks will make you want to throw your friends around in the mosh pit. The Shining inspired “Room 185” finds the band joined by Steph Jomphe of Insurrection fame for a cut that brings the blood stained curtain down in style. The riffs hit like tidal waves, the percussion from Joel Bilodeau absolutely huge and the mix from Dark Moon Productions absolutely nailed to perfection [8.5/10]

1. Carnival Of Evil
2. Day Of Wrath
3. Liber Ex-Mortis
4. Monsters Under Your Bed
5. Psycho Path
6. Room 185 (ft Steph Jomphe of Insurrection)

“Altered By Evil” by Rockin’ Engine is out 7th July 2023 with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.