Richard Z. Kruspe
Richard Z. Kruspe is Rammstein’s co-founder and lead guitarist, and the singer, guitarist and songwriter behind Emigrate.
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Latest
Richard’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- From
- East Germany; based in Berlin
- Roles
- Guitarist, singer and songwriter
- Bands
- Rammstein and Emigrate
- Rammstein begins
- Co-founded in 1994
- Breakout
- Sehnsucht and “Du hast”, 1997
- Emigrate debut
- Emigrate, 2007
Mini bio
How it started.
Richard grew up in East Germany, learned guitar and played in punk bands before Rammstein. The band’s own history lists his previous group as Orgasm Death Gimmick. In a 2025 interview, he recalled that the riff for “Rammstein” already existed in those days.
Finding Rammstein.
In 1994, he became one of Rammstein’s six founding members. Their second album, Sehnsucht, reached number one in Germany and Austria in 1997, while “Du hast” reached number five on the German singles chart. His guitar work became part of a sound that carried the band from clubs to stadiums.
A second musical home.
After moving to New York in 2001, Richard developed Emigrate as a place to sing and write in English. Its self-titled debut arrived in 2007, followed by Silent So Long in 2014, A Million Degrees in 2018 and The Persistence of Memory in 2021. He returned to Berlin in 2011.
Inside the songs.
Emigrate gives him room for melodic rock, electronics and guest voices, including Till Lindemann on “Always On My Mind”. Richard told FIDELITY that revisiting early Emigrate ideas helped restore his motivation after Rammstein’s 2019 stadium tour.
Creditschronological, newest first
Emigrate
- 2021The Persistence of MemorySinger, guitarist and songwriter
- 2018A Million DegreesSinger and guitarist
- 2014Silent So LongSinger and guitarist
- 2007EmigrateSinger and guitarist
Awards
Quotes
The picking hand is the most important thing to me.Richard Z. Kruspe, Guitar World
In May 2025, he explained why rhythm matters so much to his guitar playing.
Trivia
- His RZK-III signature guitar grew out of trying an ESP Phoenix for Emigrate’s “Freeze My Mind” video.
- He uses custom microphone robots to help find the right speaker and microphone position when recording guitar.
- He had to rebuild A Million Degrees from memory after a studio flood destroyed its recordings.
Find Richard
Follow Richard’s personal posts and his music with Emigrate.
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