Fair play to Rammstein for getting a new album out barely twelve months after their last offering, Reise, Reise. These days that’s quite prolific for well known artists. I thought all this digital malarkey was supposed to speed the process up but some bands seem to take a lifetime in getting any new product out. 

Anyway. What’s Rosenrot (Rose Red) actually like? 

Well its rather good actually. But in a way that might alienate fans of the first couple of albums. Gone is the fast paced industrial steam hammer of their early days and in its place is a more subtle kind of Rammstein  – if that isn’t too much of a contradiction. For here we still have awesome riffing but it is Till Lindermanns’s vocals that seem to be setting the tone of this album more.  

Now Till is an acquired taste. Some might argue that he can’t sing a note. Other’s, that his voice has great drama and charisma. The truth is that Till is Rammstein. Without his Teutonic warbling there would be little unique about this band. Though keyboard player Flake Lorenz is undoubtedly the mastermind behind the group. But it is Till that makes Lorenz’s warped, angular view of the world spring to life. 

The album starts with ‘Benzin’ which basically means Gasoline. This is classic Rammstein with some brilliantly recorded guitar. The perfect album opener. All is right with the world when you here Rammstein do what only they can. Then its ‘Mann Gegen Mann’ (Man Against Man – who’s been doing his research then!) which blows yer socks off with yet another amazingly slow, heavy riff. 

Next up is the title track ‘Rosenrot’ followed by another slice of teutonic riffing with ‘Spring’. Clearly it is this slowing down of the trad. Rammstein sound that might pee a few people off. But I loved it. This album has a feel to it that is absent on a lot of their other work. In fairness it is no ‘Mutter’ – they’ll never repeat that success, but neither should they try. This is a progression away from it to a new altogether more warped Rammstein. 

This is probably summed up most on ‘Te Quiero Puta!’. A bizarre homage to Herb Albert’s Tijuana brass. Yes. It’s a Mexican song! Complete with Mexican horn section. Its as bonkers as anything on System of a Down’s Mexmerize (er, I mean Mezmerize). And being partial to a bit of eccentricity you can guess I loved it to death! But that’s what I like about Rammstein these days – they prove Germans really do have a sense of humour after all and that Basil Fawlty was all wrong! 

Like ‘Reise, Reise’ this album is a bit of a slow burner. And as I have touched on before I can see one or two hardcore Rammstein fans chucking in the towel at some of the stuff on here. But I loved Till’s less mechanical vocal approach and the slow grinding riffs on ‘Rosenrot’ and think it every bit as good as ‘Reise’ Reise’. Better in places. Rammstein will gain many new fans with this release. Especially in the UK.

Let us know your views on 'Rosenrot'

Track List

Benzin
Mann Gegen Mann
Rosenrot
Spring
Wo Bist Du
Stirb Nicht Vor Mir/Don't Die Before I Do
Zerstören
Hilf Mir
Te Quiero Puta!
Feuer Und Wasser
Ein Lied

Line Up

Till Lindemann - Vocals
Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein - Guitars
Paul H. Landers - Guitars
Oliver Riedel - Bass
Christoph Schneider - Drums
Christian "Flake" Lorenz - Keyboards