I haven't followed Rammstein too closely lately. I suppose part of this is because of their notoriously long wait between albums. I was taken by surprise when I saw an ad on Sunday for the domestic release of Rosenrot, since it has only been 16 months since Reise, Reise was released in the US. The new album has been available internationally since December. I bought the Best Buy-exclusive 'special edition' which comes with a DVD of live footage.

After a few days, I'm still not certain of how I feel about a lot of the music on this disc. I suppose it's growing on me. It continues the trend that began with 2001's Mutter and continued on Reise toward more melodic and less industrial songwriting. The album opens strongly with the hard-hitting singles "Benzin," "Mann gegen Mann," and the title track, followed by another two melodic heavy cuts. Any of these would be equally at home on the previous two albums. It's in the second half of the disc, however, where Rammstein shows their continued evolution. "Stirb nicht von mir (Don't Die Before I Do)" is a softer ballad with a female vocalist singing lines in English intertwined with Till Lindemann's vocals. "Zerstören" is a slightly different take on R+'s usual heavy style. One song, "Te quiero puta!" is, obviously, in Spanish and comes complete with a trumpet section. The album's closer, "Ein Lied," continues the trend of closing with a ballad. One note: the band has kept their usual lyrical flair for the edgy and graphic, as evidenced by songs such as "Mann gegen Mann."

The DVD was obviously an afterthought, as there are no menus or other options. There are three live performances recorded at various points in 2005: "Reise, Reise," "Mein Teil" and "Sonne." The standout is easily "Mein Teil," with all its cannibalistic glory acted out on stage with Till decked out as a bloody, knife-and-flame-thrower-wielding butcher. The other two songs are decent performances but aren't anything special. I've seen more interesting performances of "Sonne."

Rating: 3.5/5. This is another good effort which I would rank above the band's first two albums, but it doesn't quite rise to the level of Mutter and Reise.

Update, 4/11: This album really grew on me. There are some really standout tracks. I'm upping my rating to a solid 4. There are a couple clunkers and missteps, but it's an excellent disc, right up with the last two.