Rammstein’s lore revolves around their origins in East German punk, their provocative name derived from the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster (with an extra ‘m’ for “ramming stone”), and their dark, industrial sound blending machines with heavy guitars, often exploring themes of love, death, and power in German lyrics.
how it started:
Rammstein was founded by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989, he escaped to West Berlin and started the band Orgasm Death Gimmicks. At that time, he was heavily influenced by American music, especially Kiss. After the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver, played drums in the band First Arsch.
At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel, of the band The Inchtabokatables, and Christoph “Doom” Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously created did not properly suit him; He envisioned something that would combine machines and the sound of heavy guitars. The three started working together on a new project. Richard soon found it extremely difficult to write both music and lyrics at the same time, so he talked Lindemann into joining Rammstein. Richard first discovered Till when he overheard him singing while he was working.
A contest was held in Berlin for amateur bands in 1994, the winner of which would receive the opportunity to record a four-track demo audiotape in a professional studio. Kruspe, Schneider, Riedel and Lindemann entered and won the contest, which caught the attention of Paul H. Landers, who wanted in on the project upon hearing their demo. To complete their sound, Rammstein then attempted to recruit Christian “Flake” Lorenz, who used to play with Landers in Feeling B. At first Lorenz was hesitant, but eventually agreed to join the band.
The members of the band:
Till Lindeman
richard kruspe
christian flake
Christoph Schneider
paul lander
oliver riedel
