Interviewed by Don, answered by Xaphan & Xul Thanks for taking time to do the interview, Xaphan and Xul. Could you please introduce yourself and your part in Kult ov Azazel, and what Kult ov Azazel is all about? Xaphan: My part in Kult ov Azazel is mainly playing guitar and the writing of the music. Xul also plays a big part in the actual composition of the song as well and for the most part writes all the lyrics. Sometimes I contribute vocals, not so much more recently as I have in the past. Kult ov Azazel is all about the hatred for humanity and it's stupidity, for christians and any other religions that people may follow that push their bullshit on you and life which has always been overrated. What has been going on recently with KOA? I know you played the Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child fest in TX, how was that? What can we expect in the future from KOA? I heard that there was a lot of Unholy Scarfing taking place at Sam's Burger Joint. Xaphan: Not much has been going on. We just recently after returning from the Sacrifice fest started rehearsing with a new drummer. So all in all we have just been going over all the old songs getting this guy up to par. We'll begin writing new songs I believe this week which will be most awaited since I have tired of playing our older material. About the Sacrifice fest all I can really say is it was an honor for us to have had the privilege to meet many of the hordes we have been in contact with as well as share the stage with them. I'm not too sure if I liked our performance that night but I never do. Yet seeing many bands that are among the few true bands in the US play was the biggest highlight to me. It was a very grim night and a true unholy bonding of the black metal spirit. There was indeed very much unholy scarfing taking place on those fucking burgers they have there, you can believe that! Xul: The best part of the fest was seeing all the bands. It was definitely an honor. We hope to be asked back to do more in the future. Talk a bit about your lyrics. While you do write from a darker standpoint, you never resort to the type of lyrics I hate, and often hold against many black metal bands - simplistic, clichéd, "Satanic" lyrics; while still maintaining to include occult/satanic themes. Could you please give us a bit of education on to what direction you write your lyrics in, and why? Xul: I wrote the lyrics a while ago, some of the songs are from the "Order of the Fly" days. I agree with your statement about simplistic "satanic" lyrics; it tends to get old fast; and that's why I stay away from that. Lyrically its always been and always going to be themed around occult/hate/anti-christian and dark astral trips. The lyrics take shape with random thoughts and ideas and once I come up with a couple lines I like, I build from there. One more question about your lyrics! More specifically on your latest CD, the Triumph of Fire, there is a lot of allegory purveyed through the simplistic elements of violence; rape, destruction, hate, and particularly fire. Why did you choose to have these occurring themes in your lyrics? Xul: The album wasn't planned that way, that's just what came out. Those are part of the general theme that Kult ov Azazel is about. Simple elements paint the pictures clearly. What a lot of people don't realize is that there is more to the lyrics than what is actually printed. Ideas and meanings are buried beneath what is written. How is a typical KOA song written? Who has what responsibilities music-wise? Also, of all your releases, what songs or albums are your favorite and why? My personal favorite has to be the song "My Misanthropy", could you tell us a bit about the lyrical and musical standpoint on that song? Xaphan: A typical song is written by both Xul and myself getting together and basically throwing riffs at each other. For the most part that is how the songs are written. We come to practice and he'll have some riffs and show them to me and in return I put riffs that I have that compliment the ones he is showing me and vice versa. We then after figuring out which riffs flow together then decide the arrangement of them. Once this is done we show the song to the drummer who puts the drum parts to what we have and in the end Xul writes the lyrics. That's how almost all of our songs have been written with the exception of a few, such as My Misanthropy, Altar of Satan, Destruction to the Throne of God and Le Messe Noir. Both Altar of Satan and Destruction…I wrote both the music and lyrics for just out of the blue one night and the song Le Messe Noir was shown to me in a dream. I just woke up one night out of a deep dream state and begun playing it. The lyrics for that came from passages of the satanic ritual of the same name. My Misanthropy was another song that just came to me out of nowhere. But out of everything we have recorded may favorite would be My Misanthropy. It is about a few different things. First the lyrics reflect hatred towards society and humanity. It's about getting away from life through self mutilation with the final outcome being a calm yet chaotic state of mind; a state of mind that craves pain, torture, seclusion and sacrifice. It also describes the sense of being lost in your own head; a spilt from your body to feel and see what you want to see - death and misery. Xul: Like Xaphan said, we both contribute to the music. My favorite song always changes because we play them so many times but right now it would be "To the Cold Beyond". Where do you and Xul get your musical and lyrical influence? How do you incorporate this into your music? Xaphan: We both get these influences from different sources. A lot of mine comes from the music I grew up listening to. Also with certain books and movies I have seen or read through out my lifetime. Also having to deal with society and its filth plays a big influence in things. To be perfectly honest with you I don't know how these things get incorporated into our music if they even do. I guess it's more likely to say that these influences play a big part on my life and therefore reflect throughout the material I write. What kind of movies/books/etc are you into? What zines/movies/music have you witnessed recently that has really impressed you? How do you let these (more specifically books) affect your viewpoints in KOA, as well as life? Xaphan: The movies I am mostly into are of the horror genre. As for books I read a lot of occult/satanism related books, true crime novels, and writings by various philosophers. The recent zines I have seen that I think totally rule would be Bestial Assault and Total Necro both are not easy to come by though. The most recent movie I can think of would be a movie called "The Devils". It's not really a new movie, in fact it was filmed back in the 70's I think, and the imagery throughout the entire film is what really sticks in my mind. Musically the bands I have been listening to recently have been Inquisition, Black Witchery, Judas Iscariot, Gorgoroth, Belphegor, Krieg and Cult of Daath. What is your viewpoint on Christianity? What made you hate Xians so much? What about other religions? More importantly, how would you desecrate a hot little nun (be specific!)? Xul: I never had religion crammed down my throat thankfully. All religion is pure hypocrisy. I hate all forms of religion and get sick when I see brainwashed people living their lives of lies. I think we all have the fantasy of desecrating a nun, its only natural for any self-respecting black metal warrior. Xaphan: I have seen the hypocrisy and bullshit of christianity first hand and that's why I hate it so much. I grew up in Tennessee, which is right in the middle of the bible belt. So growing up I witnessed these fucks contradicting themselves and totally living out their bullshit lives. Unlike Xul I had christianity shoved in my face everyday. I have seen the techniques and tools these motherfuckers use to manipulate and brainwash people. As for other religions, I find them full of shit as well. Anyone that needs a "god" to give them security in themselves or for whatever other reason they turn to this "god" for, be it guidance, answers or whatever else is a sure sign of weakness and ignorance. All religions should be exterminated!! They are all man made anyhow so man might as well tear them down. The only way I would desecrate a nun would be with a double barrel shotgun of course. Well Xaphan and Xul, thanks for taking the time for my interview. I hope it wasn't too bothersome; I will leave you the floor for any extra thoughts or words you have. Stay sick, support underground extremity! Xaphan: Many hails to you Don as well as to all the black metal legions worldwide that continue to embrace the black metal ideology and that continue to play it with no compromise! All Kult ov Azazel propaganda as well as agendas can be found at www.kultovazazel.com. We can also be reached through mail at Kult ov Azazel, PO Box 23308, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33307, USA. Kult ov Azazel supports the war against mankind - we are ANTI-YOU!!! Xul: Thanks for the support and look for new material soon. Burn the Church!