Interviewed by Benjamin & answered by Xaphan First of all, for all the readers who don't know you, please tell in a short way something about the current lineup and the band history. We started out as Azazel in 99 which consisted of Xul and myself along with a different drummer. We self released our first mCD titled "Order of the Fly" that June. We then replaced our drummer and recorded the tracks for the split CD we did with Krieg. Shortly after these tracks were recorded we changed our name to Kult ov Azazel and at this time Blood Fire Death Records reissued the "Order of the Fly" mCD. In June of last year we were picked up by Arctic Music and went into the Studio that November with yet another session drummer to record "Triumph of Fire" which is our first full length. We just recently found a permanent drummer so right now the lineup consists of myself on guitar, Xul on bass/vocals and Goss the Hammer on drums. Your former name was Azazel, now your band name is Kult ov Azazel. What do you connect with this name? Azazel was a demon said to have been the cause of many things from war to rebellion to nonconformity. I think the rest of the name is pretty self explanatory. Your last release was the CD "Triumph of Fire" in 2001. You released it due the "Arctic Music Group". Why this Label? And how where the reactions towards the release until now? We chose this label because they seemed to be the right one to work with. There's nobody telling us what we have to do and how we have to do it. They give us total free reign when it comes to doing anything. Plus they had worldwide distribution and that makes easier for people from other countries to obtain our music. It just seemed like a logical decision to agree to work with Arctic Music. Up to this point the reactions and reviews towards the new release have been killer. It's done a lot better than any of us would have expected it to. The CD was already released after two years after the founding of the band (and after many demo stuff and one split CD with Krieg ). It is at a high musical level. How could you manage this with the changes of the lineup? We managed to pull this off because we weren't rushed on recording time. When we went in the songs structures were pretty much put together and then while in the studio we experimented with different harmonies and such. As for how do we manage to do this with all the lineup changes, the answer is simple. Xul and myself are the core members and the only ones that write music for Kult ov Azazel. The songs are very fast and the vocals are also very brutal. Would you ever play slow songs? Or are you only in brutal, uncompromising music? All of our music is brutal and uncompromising yet in the newer stuff you'll get more slowed down parts maybe. We have some new songs in the works that do incorporate more slowed down old school black metal riffs. You released in 2000 a promo tape called "Of Evil and Hatred". On the tape you covered Mayhem`s song "Chainsaw Gutsfuck". Why this song? We were asked to do a Mayhem tribute years ago which unfortunately never was released. Anyway, by the time we got asked most of the songs we wanted to do had been chosen so Chainsaw Gutsfuck ended up being the song we agreed to record. There was really no other significance in choosing it. Is there a lyrical concept behind "Triumph of Fire" ? And who writes the text`s? The only real lyrical concept behind the new CD is disgust for humanity, the destruction of christianity and satanic propaganda. The majority of the lyrics are written by Xul except for the lyrics of "Destruction to the Throne of God" and "Altar of Satan" were penned by me. You can see in the Song "Altar of Satan" from you actual CD that you've got plenty knowledge of Satanism (I mean, i.e. the different names for Satan ). How important is Satanism for you in the music and private? Very important in both. I live my life by Satanic philosophy and principals. As for in our music, I think by reading our lyrics it's very evident of how important it is to us. In the second song "Triumph of Fire" on your new CD there is a sudden break in the music and somebody Speaks the sentences "burn the church". Who had the idea for this break and do you think, direct actions are legitimate against christianity and there institutes and if yes, why? This was my idea and that is me whispering that part. I think any attack on christianity is legitimate whether it be burning their houses of worship down to the ground or any other form of attack on christians and their morals. The CD Tittle "Triumph of Fire" is, in my eyes, related to burning churches. Is there more behind the tittle (on your T-shirt for the CD you can see also a burnt church ). And are there any actions like burning churches etc. in the USA like it was in the 90`s in Norway? Triumph of Fire is merely just a song title that we choose to name the album. Not much more than that behind the title. You can look at it from many different angles, such as the lyrics being related to burning churches to the triumph over christianity. Different people will read into it different ways. As far as church burnings here in America, the only ones that I see on TV are usually happening in the South and are churches run by minorities. Other than that I have not heard of any church burnings being done by the black metal movement over here. How is the scene in Florida. Are you involved a lot in the local underground and which good bands are there also in you region? The scene here in Ft. Lauderdale is not too bad. It was nothing until we came along 2 years ago and begun playing shows. With the help of others that are true to the scene we managed to start getting more and more shows to come through and now I'd say it's thriving pretty well here. I am involved in the local underground and bands I think that are worth mentioning would be Hibernus Mortis (FL), Cult of Daath (IL), Infernal Hatred (PA), Faustian Dawn (CA), Cryptic Winds (FL), Abazagorath (NJ) are just a few. Have you done already gigs in the USA? And how important are live gigs for you? We have played a few gigs in support of the new CD but not as part of a tour or anything. Playing live to me is especially important because you can actually get the full impact of what we are all about much more in a live setting rather than just listening to the album. Do you use Corpse Paint or is that to "mainstream" already? Is there any Spirit behind Corpse Paint? Yes, we use corpsepaint and find it a very important element within black metal. The whole spirit behind corpsepaint is to glorify death although too many bands use it for all the wrong purposes. OK, the last words are for you: Thanks for the interview and all the support. We are looking for distributors that would be interested in distributing our new and past releases over in Europe. Anyone that this may interest can get in touch with us through our website at www.kultovazazel.com or by writing to us at the address below. Death to false black metal and the faggots that pretend to follow it!