For Rammstein’s first studio album in 10 years, they’ve pulled out all the stops. They come on with all the subtle grace of a squadron of Bell Hueys, raining down Napalm to the tune of ‘Ride Of The Valkyries’. The video to first single ‘Deutschland’ hasn’t so much raised a few eyebrows, as blown them off the faces of more than one dumbstruck viewer. Its nine-minute potted history of the German nation mashes up Parsival with the Baader-Meinhof gang, but it’s the Nazi imagery combined with the declaration of “Deutschland uber alles” that has caused the most controversy. This is all grist to the mill for Rammstein however, and it’s not their first episode of media-baiting.

There’s something about the German language that seems so perfectly suited to metal music. At least when Till Lindemann is rolling the Rs, he could make ‘Sunshine And Lollipops’ sound sinister. Combined with antediluvian guitar riffs and tacky Europop melodies, the result has a certain overblown camp majesty. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if they were announced to do the next Bond theme.

There’s one tender-hearted moment in ‘Diamant’, but for the most part, it’s brutal and operatic. The music is perfectly poised for Rammstein’s infamous stadium-filling antics, with crowd-participation-friendly terrace-chants like ‘Auslander’, ‘Radio’ and ‘Deutschland’. If you ever had the desire to shout ‘Sex’ at the top of your lungs while pumping a fist in the air – without getting arrested – you best get a ticket for the next show.
OUT NOW 8/10