Though black metal has become a markedly more (?!!) dejected genre in recent years due to the presence of dynamic duo Xasthur and Leviathan, there still remain corpse-painted bands that combine the blasphemous black with other influences. One such entity is Kult ov Azazel, the Ft. Lauderdale gang o'pals who take traditional black metal paradigms and then infuse a sense of Exodus-addled thrash to the mix. It's all quite cool sounding in the end, and new record The World, The Flesh & The Devil acts as a nice, sunshiny respite from the endless Deathspell Omega-inspired mope sessions. Interviewed by David Perri answered by Xaphan What are the goals for Kult ov Azazel at this point? The same as it’s always been. That is to enlighten those that seek enlightenment and to spread terror to those that blindly follow the paths of theism. You guys are from Ft. Lauderdale yet play vicious black metal. Do you find it difficult to play such dark music given the warm, bright climate that surrounds you? Nope, this should be obvious at this point. How do you respond to the claim that black metal that isn't from Scandinavia isn't "true"? My response is that claim is bullshit! The people that say this wouldn’t know their head from their fucking ass. “True” this and “true” that, the only ones crying about this are scensters and kiddies that just found black metal like it was some lost puppy. It definitely isn’t the bands since we are in contact with many of them from Scandinavia. Therefore, it’s quite obvious that black metal isn’t a trait of nationality or heritage; it’s a driving force of evil that knows no boundaries, be it nations, states or continents. Your records are well produced and don’t subscribe to the darkthrone school of demo-like production. Thoughts? We have never gone for that type of production because for one it’s not hard to achieve a demo-like production. Plus we have never wanted to be like other bands, we forge our own path, our own sound. I mean, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with necro sounding recordings, I like a lot of stuff like that but when it comes to Kult ov Azazel we want the best production we can get. Everything should be heard in a recording and that’s what we strive to achieve. Your records are also quite thrashy in nature. Is KoA equally as influenced by the bay area? I am for sure since growing up some of my influence and inspiration came from Bay area bands. It’s no secret that bands like Possessed, Exodus, Metallica and Vio-lence all had their impact on me growing up but it was not only the bands from the Bay area. German thrash was also a huge inspiration. So yes, there is a hint of thrash in our music, more on the new album than past releases. The song-writing on KoA albums is extremely tight, and of high quality. Is writing top-notch material one of KoA's priorities? Of course. Why would we want to write, record and release sub par material? If that were the case then we’d be no different than the million of shit/clone bands out there. Why are you anti the catholic church/organized religion? Their main intent is to bring people hope. What issue do you take with a hope-filled, positive and inclusive existence? Yeah, well go tell that to all the millions that have died in the name of this so called hope inducing, positive religion. Need I mention that most of the ones that were killed under religious persecution were their own? Anyhow, before going all off subject I am the way I am because I was brought up around the bullshit. I have seen that religion is hypocritical, false and used merely for submission, to dumb down the masses. I’ve seen the truth behind monotheism and in the long run others will see this too and cast off the blinders of self denial and herd mentality. Is KoA a satanic band? If so, are you Satanists or devil worshippers? Xul, VJS and myself are all Satanist so if this deems us to be a satanic band than so be it. Bottom line is we are a black metal band. Funny question: less than jake is also from Florida (Gainesville, in fact). Are you guys fans? Never heard of this band so the answer is no. How do you define the concept of "kvlt"? I’ll break it down for those not smart enough to figure it out. Cult means sect. A sect is a group of people having a common philosophy or set of beliefs. Cult in German is spelled Kult. I’ve met you in person and you seem quite nice and very friendly. How do you reconcile being nice with the aggression of KoA? Well it’s also very well known I can be an asshole so I guess it’s all irrelevant to my aggression. You have obviously seen a better side of me while others can’t say that. The hate, aggression and darkness is always there all it takes is for me to wake up everyday.