Interview with Xaphan, founder/main songwriter of Kult Ov Azazel Recently, you announced you were looking for a guitarist. What led to your search and have you found a replacement? A replacement has been found and will be announced when the time is right. It’s no secret this band has had many lineup changes over the years and will continue to as it is seen fit. I won’t air our dirty laundry in an interview so I’ll just say that the change had to happen and leave it at that. Are you currently working on material for a new full-length in 2006? I have been writing new material since November 2005. We’ll be getting together in February to begin the demo process. Whether it will be recorded and released this year will remain to be seen but that’s what I’m personally shooting for. It seems the nature, composition and approach of each album is varying. Do you review previous material before you begin songwriting? Do you aspire to create something vastly different from your previous efforts? I rarely listen to anything we’ve recorded after the fact so past albums play no inspiration for future ones. Only time I do is when it first comes out to make sure there are no manufacturing flaws and then individual songs when needed to refresh my memory of the riffs or lyrics. I also wouldn’t say that when I start writing it’s an aspiration to create something different but I suppose it’s in the back of my mind. We don’t want to continue to release the same album over and over. There’s no point in that. The way we see it is each album should be a progression and a step forward rather than a step backwards. Kult Ov Azazel is obviously very anti-religious, specifically anti-Christianity. Is this based purely on observation and/or experience? Is there something greater that your listeners haven’t caught onto yet? It’s based on both observation and experience. I have no clue what a listener gets from our albums so I can’t say if people get it or not. I’m sure many do. We make our ideology much known; it’s pretty straight forward if one reads the lyrics. Do you plan on releasing a DVD of live rituals and various, other footage? At some point we will. Has your vision of Kult Ov Azazel changed over the six to seven years of its existence? My vision has remained exactly the same as it was seven years ago for this band. Nothing has changed nor will it. This band was formed not only a musical outlet but also as a propaganda machine against the teachings of monotheism. Was the general response to your latest album, The World, The Flesh and The Devil greater than with previous efforts? And was the album, in any way, inspired by the 1959 film (directed by Ranald MacDougall) of the same title that told a story of the destruction of civilization? The title was actually inspired by a passage I read in a book on black magic some years ago. It was going to be the title of the 2003 album but we chose to title it “Oculus Infernum” instead. I have yet to see the film of the same title but I do know that it exists and I am now interested to see it since you mention it deals with the destruction of civilization. As for the response on the new album, it has been much greater than past releases. More than I or the others had expected. I suppose that’s a good thing but nothing we really care about. As long as we feel we have achieved our will others can think what they want. In the past, you have talked about wanting to tour Europe? Are you any closer to that goal than you were before the release of The World, The Flesh and The Devil? Nope. Hopping on a plane and flying over to Europe isn’t exactly cheap. Until there’s interest and some support I don’t ever see us going to Europe. Not to mention every time the subject has come up it’s been either just bullshit talk or it never pans out. So it’s nothing I focus on, if it happens then it happens. What releases of 2005 have caught your ear? Ritual Killer “Upon the Threshold of Hell”, Devastator “The End”, Nos Vrolok “Maledictum Parasytus”, Blood Storm “Sirian Storm” and Thornspawn “Horns to the Kult”. Last question. You’ve been on Arctic Music/Crash Music for a few years now. Compared to similar labels, would you recommend this label to other artists? First off we have never been signed to Crash Music. We signed with Arctic Music and I have nothing but positive things to say about them yet I know the label is not signing any artist so my recommendation is look elsewhere for a label. As for Crash Music, they only handle advertisement and distribution of Arctic Music releases so that’s how they are involved in the whole thing. Is there anything you would like to add? You have the final say. Thanks for including us in the first issue of Bulldozer. Other than that if anyone is seeking more information, propaganda or news on future rituals they can find it at www.kultovazazel.com. Thank you for taking the time to answer this interview questions.