Kevin Gruft (born May 5, 1988), also known as Kevin Thrasher or KThrash, is an American guitarist and music producer from Albany, New York, known for being the former lead guitarist of the rock bands Escape the Fate and LoveHateHero. He released two studio albums with LoveHateHero and three studio albums with Escape The Fate since joining the band in late 2013 until his departure in early 2021.
As a music producer and engineer, he has worked with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne and Blink-182.
Biography
Kevin Gruft began playing guitar at the age of 8. At the age of 17, he joined the band LoveHateHero after a tour in New York, as the band was in search of a guitarist. After 5 years with the band and two studio albums, LoveHateHero disbanded in 2011. That year, he joined The Dead Rabbitts, the side-project of Escape The Fate singer, Craig Mabbitt. In late 2013, brothers Monte Money and Michael Money announced their departure from Escape The Fate to focus on their new project. Craig Mabbitt contacted Kevin to help them on the Ungrateful tour, becoming an official member soon after.
Escape the Fate
In early 2015, the band, along with Gruft, entered the studio with producer Howard Benson to record their fifth album titled "Hate Me". The album would release later that year and chart at No. 58 on the Billboard 200. Gruft played a significant role in writing the album, with the band demoing around 40 songs at his apartment in Los Angeles. As Max Green had recently left the band, Gruft and fellow guitarist TJ Bell ended up playing bass on the album. After the release of the album, the band embarked on a headlining tour with A Skylit Drive, Sworn In, Sirens and Sailors and Myka Relocate In 2016, they covered the My Chemical Romance song, "Dead!", for a Rock Sound tribute of The Black Parade.
On November 3, 2017, the band released the first single, "Empire", from their new album, I Am Human, which was set to be released on February 16, 2018, but later postponed to March 30, 2018. The band's single "Broken Heart" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
On April 16, 2021, the band released Chemical Warfare, which he co-produced with John Feldmann, which would mark the last album before his departure to focus on production work.
Discography
With LoveHateHero
White Lies (2007) America Underwater (2009)
With The Dead Rabbitts
Edge of Reality (EP) (2012)
With Escape the Fate
Hate Me (2015) I Am Human (2018) Chemical Warfare (2021)
With The Take Away Sad About Nothing (Single, 2020) Catch Me (Single, 2020) Angel Numbers (Single, 2025)
Producer
Gruft started producing albums at a studio in Hollywood called STRZ Enterprises, producing songs with pop artists including Zendaya. He co-produced Escape The Fate's sixth album, I Am Human, as well as their seventh album, Chemical Warfare, with producer John Feldmann. He currently works with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker as an engineer at his home studio in Calabasas, California. In this studio, he engineered Machine Gun Kelly's critically acclaimed album Tickets To My Downfall along with Barker, which would go on to peak at #1 in the Billboard 200 charts. He would engineer Blink-182 comeback song "Edging" in 2023, playing with Mark Hoppus and Barker on the latest's 'House of Horrors' pay-per-view live broadcast. Other credits include working with pop artists Gwen Stefani on her song "True Babe", and Avril Lavigne on her album Love Sux, with whom he played on a performance of "Bite Me" at The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Production discography
YearAlbumArtistCredits2025 The Fool EP Sarina Composer, Producer Yokai Dropout Kings Producer, Engineer New Addiction The Haunt Composer, Producer, Engineer Sunfaded Gunnar Producer, Writer "Upside Down", "Dirty Blonde", "Dead of Night", "This Is Now", "2AM", "Bitter" Cycles Iann Dior Producer, Writer, Engineer "Six Feet" "28 and Dying" Niki Demar Writer, Producer "Pay Up" justdalt. "Therapy" Deyaz Engineer "your name forever" Machine Gun Kelly Vocal Producer "Cupid's a Cowgirl" Alexandra Kay Writer2024 "Santa Baby" Kim Kardashian Engineer "Halo" Call Me Karizma Producer, Writer "Need Me" Jack Kays Engineer "Strut" Miss Velvet Guitar, Mixing "Prisoner" Yuta Composer, Producer The Reset EP Azra USA Writer, Producer "Sobering" State Champs Writer, Co-Producer "Elusive Dreams" Rain City Drive Writer Lollipop Killer EP Jeffree Star Co-Writer, Mixing "Hi, How Are Ya?", "Beauty Killer", "Red Lipstick" "Walking on Sunshine" Ice Nine Kills Producer "Dream On" Miss Velvet Mixing "Shades of Blue" Chad Tepper Writer, Producer When the Music Stops jxdn Engineer "Can People Really Change?" The Haunt Producer "Edge of Tomorrow" Iann Dior Writer, Producer "Over You" Landon Barker Infinity Now Keith Wallen Guitar, Composer, Producer "They Won't Like This" Lauren Sanderson Co-Writer, Producer Do Not Resuscitate EP The Haunt Writer, Mixing, Engineer, Producer "Little Like Hell", "I Don't Like the Quiet", "Morally Incompetent" "Wasted Youth" Chloe Star Composer, Producer Higher Power Scott Stapp Writer, Engineer, Producer Skin Ho99o9 Mixing, Engineer2023 "I Think That You’re Pretty" Kid Prexy Producer, Mixing, Mastering Blurry Eyes Gavin Magnus Writer, Producer "You Don't Mean It", "Nothing Left to Say", "I Need You" Valkyrie One Set to Stun Producer "IV: Death of a Dreamcatcher", "The Holy Mountain", "The Last Adam", "Bodysnatcher Triumphant", "V: Valkyrie One" "Again & Again" Gunnar Producer "Low Tide" Iann Dior Guitar One More Time... Blink-182 Engineer "My Own Hell" Jules Is Dead Writer, Producer "You Don't Even" Iann Dior Engineer Dead on Arrival EP The Haunt Producer, Mixing, Engineer "I'm Done", "More", "I'm Not Yours" Out of the Shadows Escape the Fate Writer To the Wolves Stitched Up Heart Producer, Engineer, Writer, Guitar "To the Wolves", "Taste for Blood" Blink and You'll Miss It EP KennyHoopla Engineer Enigmasis Uverworld Composer "Don’t Think.Sing" Whitsitt Chapel Jelly Roll Bass, Writer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals (Background) "She" "True Babe" Gwen Stefani Producer, Engineer Illenium Illenium Writer, Engineer "Eyes Wide Shut", "Lifeline", "Back To You" "Moonlit" Chad Tepper Producer, Engineer "Girls Don’t Come with Instructions" VOILÀ Writer, Producer "Alone" Pardyalone Engineer "In My Head" Kid Prexy Mixing, Producer Angela EP Sheyna Gee Producer2022 Kat Leigh EP Kat Leigh Guitar, Drums, Engineer, Producer, Programmer, Composer "Criminal" in loving memory blackbear Engineer "Don’t Let Go" The Future X Writer, Producer It’s Not Easy Being Human Islander Composer, Mixing, Producer "It’s Not Easy Being Human", "Lookin’ for Love", "What Do You Gotta Lose?", "Y’all", "The Outsider" "In My Head" 24kGoldn Guitar Mainstream Sellout Machine Gun Kelly Engineer "Maybe", "emo girl", "papercuts" Untitled Vol. 1 Caspr Mixing "Hate Me", "Don't Make Sense" Love Sux Avril Lavigne Engineer "F.U.", "Bois Lie", "Kiss Me like the World Is Ending", "All I Wanted" Cowboy Tears Oliver Tree Engineer "A-Okay", "Suitcase Full of Cash", "Cigarettes"2021 My Favorite Nightmares EP Jack Kays Engineer "Had to Let You Go" Danny Goo Producer, Writer "Raindrops" PhaseOne Writer Sad Looks Pretty on Me RIVALS Producer, Writer "Why", "Lavenders", "Change Things", "To Dom" Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape KennyHoopla Engineer Follow Your Nightmares Daemon Grey Guitar, Composer, Producer "Whiskey Devil Girl", "Stoned and Alone" "Love Race" Machine Gun Kelly Engineer Chemical Warfare Escape the Fate Engineer, Composer, Producer "On My Own" HYDE Writer "monsters under my bed" Mvssie Writer, Producer The Good Times and the Bad Ones Why Don't We Engineer "Slow Down", "Lotus Inn", "Look at Me" "Do Ya?" Scarlet Spencer Writer2020 Weird! Yungblud Engineer "acting like that" Pegasus: Neon Shark vs Pegasus Trippie Redd Engineer, Mixing "Chasing the Fog" Scarlet Spencer Writer, Producer Tickets to My Downfall Machine Gun Kelly Engineer, Mixing, Vocals (Background) Arrested Youth & the Quarantiners EP Arrested Youth Producer Alpha Whitney Peyton Producer "Enemy"2019 The Space Between the Shadows Scott Stapp Additional Production, Writer "Purpose for Pain" No Sleep Till Tokyo Miyavi Composer "Tears on Fire" On to Better Things Iann Dior Writer, Producer "Obvious"2018 "Auld Lang Syne" Diamante Producer Iridescent Whitney Peyton Guitar, Mixing, Producer "Figured It Out" Coming In Hot Diamante Bass "Haunted" I Am Human Escape the Fate Bass, Programming, Engineer, Producer2017 Stones Manafest Guitar "When the Truth Comes Out" This Emptiness The Dead Rabbitts Guitar, Composer, Producer, Mixing, Mastering2015 Hate Me Escape the Fate Bass, Programming, Engineer2012 Nine Lives Deuce Guitar2009 "Masquerade" Ashley Tisdale
References
Notes