Rammstein Interview - ‘One person is not that important...that is why we are still together’

In a new in-depth interview with Louder, Rammstein’s very own Richard Z Kruspe, and Flake Lorenz open up about their early days in Berlin at the time the Berlin wall fell in 1989, a time when Feeling B were becoming popular and not a single soul new who Rammstein was.

As Flake explains what it was like when the Berlin wall fell at the same time Feeling B were playing a show, “It was not possible [to go home after the show]” says Flake. “The holes in the wall were closed with people. It was so busy we couldn’t get back. We had to stay the night in West Berlin.”

Over the years, Rammstein have said in several interviews that they treat the band as a democracy, everyone is equal, and everyone has an equal say in the direction and course of the creative pathway Rammstine must follow.

Although Rammstein almost called it quits around the time of the album, Mutter due to the band having several intense discussions about it’s direction, especially the video for Mutter where Till Lindeman essentially became the face of the band for a very short time, Rammstein have always displayed every member as an equal.


Flake has now echoed their strong ethos of being a group of brothers that band together and help each other through tough times.

“We never could be a western band,” says Flake, “because we learned in our youth that it’s important to work together and one person is not that important. And that is why we are still together.”

“I saw a lot of East German bands that sung in very bad English to people who didn’t understand English – it was absolutely stupid,” says Flake. “But if you really want to tell your emotions, you have to speak in your mother tongue. It’s not possible to tell your emotions in another language.”

Kruspe also opens up about the early Rammstein days where Till Lindemann helped him through a very difficult breakup, even though he was also experiencing his own relationship problems.

“The way Jacob worked was almost office hours,” says Richard. “So we’d be left on our own during the evenings and at weekends. We didn’t speak Swedish, or much English, and felt very alienated. We couldn’t go anywhere, nor do anything, so our mood wasn’t the best.” - Kruspe

Kruspe goes on to say “I was breaking up with my girlfriend and it was very tough...I’d never experienced anything so emotionally hard before. It left me drained. Unless you’ve been through something similar, then you can’t get to grips with the way I felt.“

"Till was going through something similar, and as he was a good friend I stayed with him for a few months. I suppose we helped each other out. In fact, the rest of what was to become Rammstein were also suffering personal problems of their own.”