Rammstein's fanbase ranges from the biggest metal head to the most normal housewife. Their music is easily acceptable for the big audience. It's named 'tanzmetall' (dancemetal) by the band themselves. This sound is exactly what we hear album after album during the eleven years that Rammstein has been making music.
Only a year after their previous release we already see new work from Rammstein in the record shops. This fifth album (live album not counted) carries the title 'Rosenrot'. That it only took the band a year for this sequel is not because it's rushed through, but because its filled with left outs of their previous album 'Reise Reise'. Whether this is more positive or more negative than rushed songs is the still the question. At least this does explain why Rosenrot only contains eleven songs (47 minutes).
The album opens with the first single 'Benzin'. The ancient Rammstein sound of this song gives you the wrong impression of the album; it has a more peaceful sound then we are used to. The gents are all getting older (most of them are in their 40s!)...
New in the sound of the band is that the guitar riffs are often accompanied by other instruments such as a flute in 'Wo Bist Du' or by a trumpet in 'Te Quiero Puta!'. This last one is sung in Spanish and ranslates to 'I love you, bitch!'. In hits like 'Engel' and 'Moskau' of their previous albums, Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann already was assisted with female vocals. On the new album this is done in the song 'Stirb Nicht Vor Mir' on this album, which is also stated as 'Don't Die Before I Do' on the cover. This because duo-vocalist Sharleen Spiteri sings in English. Putting this song in the middle of the album ensures a refreshing break from the regular work.
Verdict: Although it doesn’t contain the recognisable Rammstein guitar riffs everywhere and Till Lindemann even tries to sing in stead of his spoken-word vocals that we we're used to, it still sound very nice! Nevertheless this is far from the best that these Germans can do. I hope that Rammstein gets into the studio and shows us what a real follow up sounds like in the near future!
Marcel