Kult ov Azazel is hard to put an actual label on. They take bits and pieces of all styles of extreme metal and blend it into a style all their own with such bestial ferocity you'd swear you were just air-dropped into a warzone. Xaphan is both a devout musician and a intelligent, kindred spirit. Let's see what this subversive has to say about his wicked creation. Interviewed by F.A. Tell us about the beginnings of the band, where you were in your life, and how things came to be. In 1994 I stopped playing music because I began to run live sound and it took up 100% of my time. It was in 1998 I quit the company I worked for and begun working for a musical instrument dealer which gave me tons of free time when I wasn't working. So I began to play my guitars again and after seeing Acheron on a Halloween night decided that I was going to put a band together again. I started out by myself with a drum machine but got no where. I'm not a drummer, nor can I play drums in the slightest bit so I decided to have a friend come in and program the machine for me. Well this became a big hassle as well and it seemed like I wasn't getting anything done, and in truth I wasn't. So I went back to trying to program the machine myself and decided fuck this I'll find others that are looking to do the same shit as myself. About a month later I met Xul when he came into the company I worked for and some how we began talking and he was doing the same thing I was trying to do. He also was looking to form a band instead of doing it all himself so we got together and have since released a ton of material. It was just a chance meeting, who knows where we'd be now if that meeting hadn't happened. I actually own the old AZAZEL cassette demo, Order of the Fly. Why was the name changed? Because there was way too many bands that had or still use that name. I have seen a video of one of your live concerts. You guys really look possessed by your music! Do you really transcend into altered states of consciousness, or are you fixated into such a frenzy you feel like you could lay waste to the whole planet? It's a little of both. With the speed that our music is, just playing it alone puts me into a frenzy but in live situations I tend to black out. I only remember playing and if I or anyone else fucks up in a part of the songs. I just get swept up in the music and the flow of going song to song that it all comes and goes so fast no matter how long we may be playing for. The vocals are both very idiosyncratic, sounding as tortured as they do. You definitely leave an indelible mark with them. Are you trying to stray from the norm of most black/death vocals on purpose? The vocals on most of the old stuff were done by Xul so he'd be better off answering this question. I however have started doing more vocals which will be evident on the new album. You seem to have a very good deal going with The Arctic Music Group, which is a division of Pavement. Since they are somewhat of a larger and better established label, did you have any trepidations about signing with them, fearing the music may be forced to be compromised at all? Well the comment about Arctic being a division of Pavement is false. Pavement was only responsible for the marketing and distribution but since the last release Arctic has severed ties and Pavement has actually gone under. But no there were no hesitations or second thoughts when we signed. We knew the label would give us free creative reign and have done so to this day. They have been very good to us and I would imagine it will continue to be that way. You do not hesitate to declare yourself a proud member of The Church of Satan, and neither do I. Exactly what role does Satanism play in your music, as well as your everyday life? Do you apply it to every endeavor you take part in? Satanism envelops my entire existence. It is applied in my daily life, my thought process and the actions I take. As for our music, it's more applied towards the lyrical aspect of the songs and not so much the music. What do you think about how many black metal bands look upon Anton LaVey and The Church of Satan disparagingly? Many of them complain that he isn't "evil" enough and his organization is a bunch of glorified humanists. To me this is both ignorant and without justification, as we both know there are far greater ways to create change in your universe without breaking laws or making a fool of yourself any other way. I don't think about it or much less worry about it. Most of the people that tend to hold this view are the ones that have no idea why they hate the Church of Satan or LaVey other than Euronymous did. He started that whole "we hate CoS/LaVey" trend and to this day other bands have copied that and through the past 10 years others adopt it at face value without knowing a thing about either. I mean don't get me wrong, Mayhem played a big influence on me but that doesn't mean I agree with everything that spewed from his mouth or LaVey for that matter. I agree that it's an ignorant line of thinking but what can you expect when the mass of humanity is ignorant and too swept up in monotheism. To understand LaVey you have to shed all religious dogma. This is something that reverse christians have no will to do because they must have a figurehead to follow. LaVey wasn't the enemy and the Church of Satan is not the enemy. The enemy is the christian faith and the ones that push it and brainwash. The enemy is the prophet Mohammad whose sheep wish to in force Islam upon the world. The enemy is not the ones fighting to tear down religion but the ones that wish to make everyone suffer under the rule of their lies. How do you interpret the word "metal" as it is today, a product of massive corporate monstrosities watered-down like fine scotch, or do you condone that it is so acceptable in our society now and what is wrongfully dubbed "metal" (I call it "retard rock") plays in everything from automobile and Army commercials and high-school kids wear shirts of their favorite such bands in their yearbook pictures? Do you feel this separation of mainstream and underground is necessary to keep the two as far apart as possible? Yes, but the underground will always remain separated from the mainstream. That's the beauty of it. The shit being dubbed today as metal is the furthest thing from it. Does it make me sick, sort of but I don't really concern myself with this stuff. I have better things to be pissed off about because soon this whole "nu-metal" trend will die and something new claiming to be "metal" will pop up. If I sat around worrying about other bands and what they decide to play then I'm no better off than the ones that listen to said genre. I just worry about what I need to worry about and it's not who's metal and who's not metal because I already know when I hear it if it's metal or not. The band has also put some of it's releases on vinyl. Tell us which ones, and do you see vinyl releases as an integral part of keeping the metal faith? I grew up buying albums on vinyl so it's really killer to see our band on a vinyl release. I don't find it vital in keeping the metal faith; it's more of a preference. A lot of people today do not even own a record player anymore. But there's just something special about vinyl, it has a thicker sound and the artwork always looks better. As for what we have released on vinyl that would be "Triumph of Fire", "Order of the Fly" and a live album "Assaulting the Masses". All released to limited quantities. Fire seems to be a recurring theme in your lyrics, artwork, and photos. What is the affinity with the eternal purifier? There really is no affinity towards fire and this just happens to be coincidence if anything. I don't see fire being a recurring theme but then again I have been told we sound like Mayhem which is wrong as well. I just suppose people interpret/hear things differently than what were the intentions. Is there any chance of you slowing down the music in the future and bringing in keyboards, female vocals, spoken words, and even techno beats? No as I don't see any of those elements belonging in black metal. So there's definitely no chance of us ever doing any of those. Do you feel American black metal has come a long way over the years, and do you think it can hang with the coveted Scandinavian scene? Yes I do believe it has come a long way over the years and of course it can hang with any scene no matter where in the world it may exist. I find the American scene to be one of the best at the moment other than France and Germany. . Don’t get me wrong here, as I do like a good deal of Scandinavian bands. But anyone that says the American scene sucks or is inferior because of location is a fucking idiot to begin with as country/location has absolutely nothing to do with black metal. What is your fondest memory about playing live? What was the weirdest thing to transpire? Playing at the Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child festival. The weirdest would be the time I played a show completely sober. Tell us about the highly-anticipated new album. What will it sound like, and what are some of the concept behind its style and lyrics? I don't know really what to say about it. I think it's the best work we have done. The music this time round is more varied. The best way to describe it would be that it has the intensity of "Triumph of Fire" with the feeling of "Order of the Fly". There really is no concept behind the album since we are not a concept type of band. Every song will stand by itself and will touch upon different things. With everybody so obsessed with labels these days, what exactly would you call the music? What labels do you absolutely despise? I can't think of any labels that evoke absolute disgust and as far as we are concerned we play black metal, plain and fucking simple. Will Kult ov Azazel survive the influx of lame bands popping up every day and waving the banner of extreme metal according to their skewed standards? I would hope so if their lame. But really, yeah I see us surviving because we don't plan on changing, we aren't in this to be famous or make money. We will never compromise our music or change our ways to gain notoriety. Anyone can form a band and copy, not many can form a band and do it with originality which is one of our strong points. Tell us your biggest influences, current playlist and all-time favorite albums. My biggest influences are Venom, Destruction, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Possessed, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Beherit and Gorgoroth. Currently I have been listening to Weltmacht "To every Beast It's Prey" promo, Tenebrosus demo, Pungent Stench "Club Mondo Bizarre", Nargaroth "Herbstyled", Mercyful Fate "Melissa", Nebulah demo, Darkthrone "Hate Them", Malevolent Creation "The Ten Commandments", Impaled Nazarene "Satanic Masowhore", Merrimack "Horns Defeat Thorns", Poision (GER) "Bestial Death" and Operation Winter Mist "Winter Warfare". Where will the mighty Kult stand next decade? Who knows? That is too far away to even think about. I don't even know where we might stand tomorrow much less 10 years from now. Hell I may not even be alive a year from now. Well thus conclude our infernal cabal, my friend! May Satan smile upon you and fulfill your wildest dreams and drive your enemies into the mud! And as always - SEX/MONEY/POWER! Thanks for your years of support!! Anyone that is interested in contacting us can do so through www.kultovazazel.com or by writing to Kult ov Azazel, PO Box 23308, Fort Lauderdale FL 33307, USA. Ave Mortalis Letum! Hail Satanic Supremacy!!!