Customer Reviews

Rosenrot

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Even though Rammstein released a new album only a year after their 2004 release, "Reise, Reise," and several of the songs on "Rosenrot" are b-sides from the 2004 recording sessions, it is an unfair statement to say the new album is "Reise, Reise: Part 2." Sure, the chugga-chugga riffs that 1998's "Sehnsucht" had are still mostly missing, but "Rosenrot" is not nearly as dark or brooding as its predecessor. And six of the songs on here are "Reise, Reise" out-takes, but five of the songs are new, and it's hard to tell which are which. On this, Rammstein's fifth record, the German industrial metal machine offsets artsy songs with full-fledged rockers. "Wo Bist Du" contrasts guitar crunch with a wind instrument of some kind, and some beeping synthesizers; track six is almost a power ballad with soft strumming and female singing; and "Ein Lied" even finds a choir joining the scene. But, conversely, there is still plenty of stuff to snap your neck to. "Spring" has snarling vocals in the verses and heavy, pounding riffs in the choruses; "Zerstoren" has chug and churn guitars which almost make your speakers vibrate; and "Hilf Mir" ends with explosive riffs that take turns with cool piano playing. Two other standout tracks are "Mann Gegen Mann" and "Feuer und Wasser." These songs make good use of a soft-loud dynamic, with restrained verses and thunderous choruses. All in all, "Rosenrot" is not Rammstein's finest work to date, but it is yet another very solid album from a very solid band. It isn't a mindblowing album, but it will surely satisfy and solidify a strong fan base. If you're a fan and you can find it, definitely grab it.

This is a hard review for me to write. I'm a fan of every single Rammstein track, album, Live performance, video... you get the idea. When I first heard Rosenrot, I was torn as I tried to figure out whether I was listening to musical genius or the fall of a great band. Sounds scary, but rest assured- I love this album.

So where's the controversy? To understand Rosenrot, you need some background. Shortly after the release of Reise, Reise, Rammstein found themselves a bit disillusioned with touring (where someband members began to feel the weight of fans' demand for over-the-top shows), and with their record company (as they were only one album short of fulfulling their contract and re-negotiating their terms). Returning to the studio briefly, the band agreed that there was enough material leftover from the previous album to begin a work originally called Reise, Reise Part 2. Adding in some new tracks, Rammstein quickly pushed out the successor that became Rosenrot, which they now felt was strong enough to be a stand-alone album, and not just a Part 2.

So is Rosenrot just a half-baked attempt to fulfill some random obligations? Not in this reviewer's opinion. A few tracks will definately grate on some listener's ears (Stirb Night vor Mir is the un-popular choice here), but all of the fuss over only a small number of hit-or-miss tracks should tell you something about the history of the band. Rammstein fans are used to releases full of potential singles, where nary a weak song exists. Even if you wind up passing on a few tracks, what's left is brutally fun music that's well worth the purchase price. Right off the bat, the album opens up with Benzin and Mann Gegen Mann, guitar-heavy tracks that will please Rammstein fans of any era. Rosenrot, Spring, and Wo Bist Du seem like softer, nearly ballad-like songs at face value, but listen closely and you'll hear that Rammstein's still rocking full-force for a big chunk of the time.

That's when Stirb Nicht vor Mir hits, and it's honestly not that bad. Sure, it starts out sounding a little too close to country music for most Rammstein fans' tastes. And yes, Rammstein should have contacted their normal female vocalist, Bobo. But the replacement used isn't quite as bad as some will make her out to be. And even if you hate it, just hit Fast-Forward. This puts you at Zerstören, my personal favorite from the album. It's hard-hitting, and the main guitar riff is one that every listener will be trying to get out of their head for days to come- brilliant. A short jog through the near-power-ballad of Hilf Mir, and you're at Te Quiero Puta!. This track is a wonder, as it's performed entirely in Spanish. Trumpets blend with metal guitar to make an addictive blend, and it's one of the album's top tracks. Rosenrot closes with two softer songs, Feuer und Wasser and Ein Lied. A soft ending to a lot of rocking.

Overall, Rosenrot sounds like all the band members are having a lot of fun. Guitars range from heavy to experimental, some keyboard semi-solos recall the days of Herzeleid or Sehnsucht, and the whole time, the tracks maintain the epic sense of production value that Reise, Reise brought to the table. It's interesting, experimental, and even bordering on awkward at times as the band stretches its musical wings- but it's all still Rammstein through and through, and Rosenrot is a great addition to any collection.

Just got the newest Rammstein album from Amazon.de today! (Hint hint). So, how is it? How does it stack up against the other four Rammstein albums? I have to say that I loved "Reise, Reise"-- easily a five star album, thanks to songs like, "Reise, Reise", "Keine Lust", "Mein Teil", "Amerika", "Ohne Dich", and "Amour".

As for "Rosenrot", the best tracks here are "Benzin" (a rather fitting song since everyone's fussing about gas prices), "Mann gegen Mann", "Spring", and "Zerstoeren". Of all the songs on the CD, those were the ones I found myself listening to the most. ESPECIALLY "Zerstoeren"! My goodness is that a hard and heavy song!!! If you love "Mein Teil" and "Weisses Fleisch" you're sure to love this one! It starts off with a bit of a middle eastern sound to it.
There are a few other surprise in this CD as well: "Te Quiero Puta!" is almost entirely sung by Rammstein--in SPANISH!
The song "Stirb nicht vor mir" has the English translation next to it: (Don't die before I do). Why's that, you ask? Well, because that song has some ENGLISH parts in it, but with the bulk of the song still in German. That song is a bit hard for me to describe. Oh, let's put it this way, non-traditional Rammstein and the female singer for the English parts is from Texas.

Overall, there were about 4 or 5 songs on this CD that I really liked, which is certainly not bad considering there are 11 tracks. And for this being their fifth album that is especially impressive. Rammstein is fortunate not to have dwindled away into mediocrity.

So fear not loyal Rammstein fan, the ship pictured on the front of the CD is sound and sea-worthy, floats, and sure as hell will break through the ice!

Just got the newest Rammstein album from Amazon.de today! (Hint hint). So, how is it? How does it stack up against the other four Rammstein albums? I have to say that I loved "Reise, Reise"-- easily a five star album, thanks to songs like, "Reise, Reise", "Keine Lust", "Mein Teil", "Amerika", "Ohne Dich", and "Amour".

As for "Rosenrot", the best tracks here are "Benzin" (a rather fitting song since everyone's fussing about gas prices), "Mann gegen Mann", "Spring", and "Zerstoeren". Of all the songs on the CD, those were the ones I found myself listening to the most. ESPECIALLY "Zerstoeren"! My goodness is that a hard and heavy song!!! If you love "Mein Teil" and "Weisses Fleisch" you're sure to love this one! It starts off with a bit of a middle eastern sound to it.
There are a few other surprise in this CD as well: "Te Quiero Puta!" is almost entirely sung by Rammstein--in SPANISH!
The song "Stirb nicht vor mir" has the English translation next to it: (Don't die before I do). Why's that, you ask? Well, because that song has some ENGLISH parts in it, but with the bulk of the song still in German. That song is a bit hard for me to describe. Oh, let's put it this way, non-traditional Rammstein and the female singer for the English parts is from Texas.

There is also a short DVD included with this edition of the album, but I wasn't able to watch that due to the regional setting--buyer beware. (But there are multi-region DVD players for 100 dollars on the net).

Overall, there were about 4 or 5 songs on this CD that I really liked, which is certainly not bad considering there are 11 tracks. And for this being their fifth album that is especially impressive. Rammstein is fortunate not to have dwindled away into mediocrity.

So fear not loyal Rammstein fan, the ship pictured on the front of the CD is sound and sea-worthy, floats, and sure as hell will break through the ice!

This album is not Reise Reise, nor was it intended to be. Just thought I would clear that up.

I have been listening to Rammstein since 1997, and have been an avid fan since (I still have my original flowery cover of Herzeleid).

One thing that has always intrigued me about Rammstein is their pure feeling of energy. You can tell that when they play a powerful song like Mein Herz Brennt from the Mutter album, they knew their sound was pure, unearthly, and awe inspiring. However, their latest release, Rosenrot, does not show such emotion. Instead, you can tell where Rammstein was playing with new ideas on how to evolve their sound. But unlike Reise Reise, their sound did not evolve into something different but yet still consistent with their "sound". Instead, it seems like the Rosenrot album was more of a trial and error test, and the band was just messing around a majority of the time, then had fun with some tracks, and sometimes dragged on songs that should have been dropped.


I am not going to use numbers or anything to rate the songs, but rather let you decide on your own what the songs are like, but here is my take on the album's tracks.

1) Benzin - I never really cared much for the video or the music of this song when I first saw/heard it. And quite honestly this track took a while to grow on me. It is a fast paced song, with strong riffs, but the song stays consistently the same past the intro. The song has a very Mein Teil (second track on Reise Reise) feel to it as well. If you can get your hands on the single of Benzin, the remixes were actually really good and I found one instance where the remix was better than the original. Good song, but not my favorite.

2) Mann Gegen Mann - The song starts out with a low frequency-like bass line, and has a nice soft/mellow drum beat to kind of keep the song sounding low key. But when the guitars start to play the chorus, that it is where the song seems to go down hill. Simplicity is great at times, but the song's simple riffs and repetitive sounds have a much droned on feel throughout the majority of this song. However, towards 2:15 point of the song, it starts changing into a more "feeling" based song, and actually gets really good. If the song would have started out like this, and continued to play out like the ending of the song (very transitional and more emotional), it would have been one of the strongest songs on the album.

3) Rosenrot - The music video for this song is amazing, but unfortunately the song doesn't quite match the video's imaginative and intriguing feel. Instead, this song just stays the same throughout the whole song, and has mild peaks in sound/energy at times. To name an album from this song is kind of ironic to me because one would probably imagine that because it shares the name with the album title it would be an amazing track, but this song shows quite the contrary.

4) Spring - The song starts out with a very dark and celestial sounding intro, and then progresses nicely into becoming one of the greatest songs the CD has to offer, if not the greatest song itself. This song just makes you want to kind of sway back and forth, as it is very angelic/dark, with an over all great feel to it. The background humming/singing is great, and the ending of the song is just perfect.

5) Wo Bist Du - The intro to this song has a very interesting sound to say at the least. The best way I can describe it is it sounds like old Dick Tracey movie intro. This also is one of the better songs on the album. Not as moving as Spring, but definitely has it's industrial parts to it. It almost sounds like a song Eisbrecher would come up with, with Till Lindemann as their vocalist.

6) Stirb Nicht Vor Mir/Don't Die Before I Do - This song is not completely bad or anything, it just depends on musical preferences. I am personally not a fan of mainstream/Greenday sounding music, and this song feels very... mainstream/something I would hear over-played on the radio. I hate to say this, but if you have ever heard the song "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer (back in 1999), it sounds frighteningly similar in style and feel. But, lyrically, I have to say I like the lyrics of this song possibly more than any other words on the album. But considering a good portion of Rammstein fans don't speak/understand German fluently here in the states, this really doesn't matter.

7) Zerstören - This is a very fun, very Sehnsucht feeling song. In fact, it sounds like they fused the sounds of the song Sehnsucht with the song Kuss Mich (Furryfrog) from the Sehnsucht album to create this wonderful burst of energy past the half way mark on this CD. It is a very energetic track, and just makes ya remember the "Good ol' days of Rammstein".

8) Hilf Mir - Starts out sounding like a bad Blink 182 song, but progresses into more of a mellow track, and has a very... melancholy feeling. The song is not overwhelmingly great, but it is bad either. But it is just lacking that "must listen to again" feel. Flake shines through quite a bit in this track however, and there is a lot of synth/keyboards in this track, which I like.

9) Te Quiero Puta! - When I mentioned in the beginning of my review that it sounded like Rammstein was just having fun in a few tracks, this song is a prime example of what I meant. The whole song is in Spanish, and blends classic Mexican sounding trumpet quartets with Rammstein's infamous industrial metal sound. And if you look at this song for what it is (besides being incredibly goofy/fun), it might just be the most "Rammstein" sounding track on the album. By that I mean it is so... creative, so different than all the other music that you hear on the radio, that this song has definitely become one of my favorites. The song is also a very catchy. I am glad this song was included on this album, and I am sure you will be too if you have an open mind to it.

10) Feuer und Wasser - I really like the acoustic guitar in the intro, the song has a very soft setting to it, similar to Seemann from the Herzeleid album. Just like Seeman, it starts off very soft, then more sounds start getting added, getting a little bit louder, and then it gets very very loud, and combines the new strong electric riffs with the intro's acoustic riffs, and just has a very nice feel to it. This is definitely one of the better songs on this album, and also happens to be one of the longest songs on the album as well.

11) Ein Leid - What an interesting song indeed. The harmony of the song is great, Till's amazing deep and low voice really helps set the mood for the song, as well as the perfectly harmonized guitars. And then Flake adds an almost... Zelda (Yes, the Nintendo game Zelda) feel to it, you will know what I mean when you listen to this track and have played Zelda. But as weird as that may sound, it really flows well together. Good song to end with, but kind of also sets a peaceful/gloomy feeling mood to you when it is all said and over. The song, to me at least, is also one of those songs you just wanna hear again though. Overall it is a very peaceful track.


I did not write this review to bash Rammstein (they are still one of my all time favorite bands, no questions asked) or to scare people away from this album. Instead, it is just a mere warning that if you are expecting the creative energy and feel of Reise Reise, the popular (what made Rammstein famous) sound of Sehnsucht, the symphony and industrial feel of Mutter, or even just the raw and etchy foundation of Herzeleid, you are probably not going to find it in this album. If you have noticed, no two Rammstein CDs have ever fully sounded alike. Yes, originally this album was sort of a "B-Side" cut of the Reise Reise album, and some of these songs you can tell why they were cut from that album as well. But, hopefully this is not the last album Rammstein leaves us with, and we can all only cross our fingers that their next album will be better than this one. Originally I was going to rate this CD 3 stars, but as I was writting this review and listening to the songs as I wrote this, I learned to appreciate this album more. Over-all this CD is not bad, but it could definitely be improved.

This album is Rammstein's greatest ever, a seamless fusion of the varied styles present in their previous releases. While musically it is most similar to Mutter, it incorporates the flowing melodies of Reise, Reise and the outright punch of Sehnsucht.

It starts strong with "Benzin", a bombastic track punctuated by sirens and ending with some very sound advice about parting from things. This flows neatly into "Mann Gegen Mann", the hardest-rocking track on the CD, very similar in tone to "Tier" from Sehnsucht.

The title track is phenomenal, dark and haunting and driven by a bass rumble that grabs you and holds on. It makes good use of the melodic side of Till's voice, as does "Wo Bist Du?", my personal favorite song. It sounds straight off RR, with its orchestral backing (an element of RR that is mostly missing from Rosenrot, unfortunately) and soaring and plunging vocals that span Till's entire range.

"Spring" is both musically appealing and, if you speak German, deeply disturbing. It conveys more horror than any other Rammstein song, which is quite the accomplishment, given the previous release of songs such as "Heirate Mich" (Herzeleid).

The weakest points of this album are "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir" and "Te Quiero Puta!". "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir" is, as Flake said during one of the chat sessions which followed the release, an embarassment. The worst of it is that it could have been amazing if the female singer had a) sung in German and b) been either Bobo or Viktoria Fersch, both of whom have contributed to previous Rammstein albums. Let's face it: as talented as Sharleen Spiteri is, her voice does not suit German metal. AT ALL. "Te quiero puta!" is just annoying. Till's Spanish is appalling. Good thought, though. It might have worked for a less hardcore band, as a humourous number.

"Hilf Mir" and "Feuer und Wasser" are both excellent. "Feuer und Wasser" shows, like "Adios" (Mutter), just how good Richard Z. is with that guitar. Add Till's voice and you see why no German metal band has ever come close to the greatness of Rammstein, and why probably none ever will.

"Ein Leid" is a perfect conclusion to the album, a song about the power of music over both the artists and the listeners. It's slow and personal and makes the music of Rammstein more intimately real.

Even if you don't like Rammstein, buy this album. It'll change the way you see music forever.

There we go, after one year (almost day for day) for another mind-crushing masterpiece from the great german sextet Rammstein. The fifth and probably best album from our favorite Teutons, "Rosenrot" by its name, is a mix of cynism and dark poesy, hypnotising bass lines (the greatest ever since "Seemann", just listen to the song "Rosenrot", you'll understand), litteraly crushing guitar tracks (Guitarists are back after a "break" on "Reise, Reise"!), agressive drums and keyboards that takes you to another universe (Reference to "Spring" and "Hilf Mir").

People said, after listening to the previews of the songs, that "Rosenrot" was probably going to be the slowest, if not the "nicest" Rammstein album ever. Never! This album is totally explosive! Starting with the powerful "Benzin", an ode to pyrotechnics (and a wink to the increasing gas prices! (Benzin means "Gasoline")), this disc already puts you in the mood for a impressive musical trip. Here's a short review of each song:

BENZIN: Probably every fan had heard this song before "Rosenrot" came out, but still, it's simple, powerful and efficent! Maybe not the best opening track, but it fits darn well on the album.

MANN GEGEN MANN: Great rocking track, with a nice guitar/bass rythm, talking about the "closed-minded" attitude that East Berliners had about homo-erotism. Really hard track, might be compared to "Keine Lust" on "Reise, Reise", or "Buck Dich", on "Sehnsucht".

ROSENROT: Litteraly stunning! The bass line is hypnotic, the chorus is vocally astounding, and the guitar breakdown is crazy! Great thing that the band waited to perfect this song! ("Rosenrot" was supposed to be a song on "Reise, Reise", but the band changed it for "Stein um Stein", which is similar, but not as good!)

SPRING: Absolutely marvelous, touching story, crazy music, could be compared to "Dalai Lama", but WAY better!

WO BIST DU?: Impressive beginning (a smooth flute!), then heavy guitars... And a tricky techno-flavored beat before falling in the smooth-melancolic singings. Great Track!

STIRB NICHT VON MIR: A risky duet with Sharleen Spiteri (From English band "Texas"), the weakest song on the album (musically), although the lyrics are deep, well written (I would have prefered that it was sung totally in german).

ZERSTOEREN: All right, here we go again! Starting with Muezin cries (A muslim that calls the prayer) and a rythmy drum, it totally falls into a massacre, a true musical destruction (Zerstoeren means "Destroy")! First song since a while that has a great guitar solo ("Stein um Stein" and "Amour" ones were pretty annoying...). Could be compared to "Weisses Fleisch".

HILF MIR: This one is a rocker! Based on a child story where there's a little girl that litteraly burns when she lights up a match, this song is keeping you on a high emotion until the end, where it gets pretty hard!!!

TE QUIERO PUTA!: The mexican delirium! A totally heavy song, with brass effects and a whore singing (Puta means "whore"), great song, to be taken as a joke only (do not try to find a deep meaning... it's litteraly: I LOVE YOU, WHORE...!).

FEUER UND WASSER: Great progressive song, really dynamic when it starts, with a long and catchy chorus. I love it!

EIN LIED: No drums here, only a closing song, to thank the fans that still believe in the band. A REALLY slow song, but a great closer!

Finally, the Bonus DVD shows 3 songs from the "Reise, Reise" tour, which is a preview for the forthcoming live DVD that will probably come out by the beginning of 2006.

May "Rosenrot" take you on a wonderful trip, on which you'll never want to get down!

First off, don't expect another Sehnsuct. They have changed slightly in sound, which is too bad, but thats not to say their newer style isn't amazing in itself. If you didn't like Reise, Reise, you probobly won't like Rosenrot all that much either, although I do notice more electronic elements than Reise, Reise, it's still not as abundant as Sehnsuct or Mutter. This really isn't all that heavy of an album either, but still excellent. I'd say go for it, but the other version is definatly better, having the full 11 tracks.

Rosenrot is eleven tracks of Rammstein at their finest. The first track and first single, "Benzin", is as rambunctious a song as can be found on the album -- nothing here quite matches the sheer brutality of, say, "Mein Teil" (Reise, Reise) but that's alright. The album proceeds with authority, in Rammstein fashion; brutally mechanical walls of guitar and an always-operatic Till Lindemann.

But be aware, Rosenrot is emphatically NOT a repeat of anything Rammstein has given us to date. With songs like "Wo Bist Du," "Stirb nicht vor mir,..." and "Feuer und Wasser" we can see that Rammstein has opted to take a stronger operatic stance than in previous efforts; if you appreciated "Seemann" (Herzeleid), "Klavier" (Sehnsucht), "Mutter" and "Nebel" (Mutter), and "Ohne Dich" (Reise, Reise) you will find yourself pleasantly surprised to hear Rammstein come through so majestically on Rosenrot.

That is not to say that Rammstein has lost their aggressive edge. "Benzin", "Mann Gegen Mann", and "Zerstoeren" among others prove that they've still got it. In fact, I will tell you that their new-found ability to contrast several up-paced songs with several that seem more regal shows how much Rammstein has matured musically.

All in all, this album is easily the most satisfying Rammstein album to date; I am proud to have it in my collection, and am not ashamed to admit that it will probably be stuck in my CD player for months to come. It's just... that... good.

A year after their excellent 'Reise, Reise,' Rammstein release a follow-on album that continues their trend of a gradual evolution of their style. However, it feels like just that--a follow-on, rather than a true successor. Rammstein have typically taken two or three years between releases, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that maybe this was put out a bit too soon. That's not to say it's bad, by any stretch, but I don't think it is as good as it could have been. There's a pretty decent mix of stuff on here, some heavy, some more ballad-like. Some of, unfortuntately, seems a bit uninspired. 'Reise, Reise' was the beginning of a change in direction for Rammstein, and it allowed them to experiment a little without altering their style and sound too much. 'Rosenrot,' as another reviewer put it, feels more like a collection of experimental tracks than an actual, cohesive album. Certain groups of listeners within Rammstein's fan base will probably appreciate certain songs more than others, and there's definitely at least few tracks on this CD for everybody. While the content is nothing truly new or particularly exciting, the production is top-notch, as always. No problems in that regard.

There is usually one track per Rammstein CD that I don't particularly care for, and on this album that track is number six, "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir." I don't know what the boys were thinking with this one, but Sharleen Spiteri's voice, lovely though it is, does NOT go with Rammstein's style of music. But that's just me... I don't like it, but some fans probably will.

Overall, this album isn't Rammstein's finest (that honor going to the outstanding 'Mutter,' IMHO), but they have yet to put out a CD that's not worth buying. This is simply a smaller gem in a crown full of them. That Rammstein have managed ten years and five album releases (I'm not counting 'Live Aus Berlin') without any real let-downs is testament to how good they actually are. The American music industry should take a few hints.