Rihanna pulls the trigger on comeback single

Pop singer Rihanna debuts her new single - her first since she was attacked by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. Photo / AP

In the words of the odd-coiffed diva herself: The wait is ova.

Barbadian singer

Rihanna

has finally returned to the pop landscape and dropped her much-anticipated comeback single,

Russian Roulette

.

Her first official release since

that unfortunate business

with ex-lover

Chris Brown

earlier this year, the

Ne-Yo

produced track offers a taste of what's to come from new album,

Rated R

, out on November 23.

Opening with a searing processed-guitar solo that gives way to a throbbing bassline,

Russian Roulette

is a metaphor for what appears to be a doomed relationship (no prizes for guessing where her inspiration came from).

"Take a breath/ Take it deep/ Calm yourself/ He says to me/ If you play/ You play for keeps/ Take the gun/ And count to three," she sings softly.

Followed by the chorus: "You can see my heart beating, you can see it through my chest/I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving/Know that I must pass this test," she warbles, "So just pull the trigger."

Before the song eerily ends with a gunshot, Rihanna, on fine vocal form it has to be said, sings, "As my life flashes before my eyes/ I'm wondering, will I ever see another sunrise?/ So many won't get the chance to say goodbye/ But it's too late to pick up the value of my life."

Have a listen to the track below:

There's no doubt that all eyes and ears will be on Rihanna's musical output after

that

event in February. And you can bet your granny that every armchair psychologist going will be dissecting every lyric to find some hidden meaning.

Bottom line:

Definitely not your typical ballad. It's a somewhat harsh and, at times, uncomfortable listen. There's something about it that just doesn't rest easy on the throat.

Mind you, that won't put off her legion of loyal fans - admittedly I'm not one of them, more of a fair-weather dabbler to be honest.

Scalpel-like lyrics and slightly over-ripe production aside, the single's got commerical hit written all over it.

What do you reckon? Hot or not? Is she firing blanks?

P.S. Have a butchers at the cover art for the single

here

It's basically Rihanna topless (SFW) in a corset, wrapped in barbed wire that strategically covers her nipples. Now what would

Freud

have to say about that...?

Not sure about the non-eye-patch eye-patch though.

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Pictured: Rihanna. Photo / AP

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