Taking a very long ten years' break after the release of their previous album, the very good Liebe Ist Für Alle Da, was a wise move on Rammstein's part. After all, the last time they came back too quickly resulted in the disappointing Rosenrot, an album that proved the band needed more time between releases to write better material. So it's no surprise that their seventh full-length is a solid listen, with a balanced, smoothly varied set of songs, leaning towards the less heavy end of their sound. There's the usual mix of serious and lighthearted lyrical topics, the opening Deutschland a slow-burning examination of German patriotism, the first of several tracks with a more electronic-based sound that's reminiscent of older albums. Some are better than others - second single Radio is downright danceable with its infectious beats and grooves, not to mention keyboardist 'Flake' Lorenz (probably with the most significant musical contributions on the album) - but it's interesting that there are really no bad songs present at all. For a band of Rammstein's increasing age (vocalist Till Lindemann a few years shy of sixty, for example) they're more than expert songwriters.

A great example is the darkly atmospheric Zeig Dich with a classical choir, Lindemann's singing voice always welcome over his usual spoken or snarled style. He's the most upfront and enjoyable element of Rammstein, selling songs like the deceptively serious paean to international sex Ausländer (catchier than most manage at Eurovision!) equally as well as the disturbing Puppe. Lyrically about a child listening to his prostitute sister working and eventually being murdered in the next room, it starts almost conversationally, building until launching into a raw-voiced rant about two minutes in; one of the most visceral performances you'll ever have heard from Lindemann. And while this is one of the less 'metal' albums in their catalogue, the lighters likes of Was Ich Liebe and short ballad Diamant are still excellent, well-crafted songs. Of course, we're all here for the heavier tunes, and Tattoo is a fine outing for the pounding industrial rock that Rammstein made their name with. Yet an older Rammstein is one less likely to write stompers about setting fire to things like Feuer Frei!, and so the album ends with Hellomann, mellower in sound if not lyrical topic (written from the perspective of a creepy child abductor). You'd hesitate to call an album with a song titled Sex a mature one, but this is indeed a mature album - for Rammstein, at least.