From the sun-beaten sands of Florida blasts a promising young band named Azazel. Blending the production of brutal death metal with the approach of black metal, along with Diabolic and Hate Eternal, these guys continue the new wave of brutal Floridian extreme metal. Watch for their debut CD, a split with the American Krieg, and a full-length due out in the near future. Eternal Frost: Hails! Thanks a lot for sending the promo tape! How about a short bio to start things off? Is Of Evil And Hatred your debut recording? Xaphan (guitar/vocals): Hails to you, goden! Xul and myself formed Azazel in the spring of '99 and since the formation we have gone through numerous drummers and are currently looking for a new one right now, in fact. We have released a demo called Entering Erebus and a self-released mini-CD titled Order of the Fly, which are both now out of print. The Of Evil and Hatred promo was sent out to promote the upcoming Azazel/Krieg split CD on Genocide Music. The two-song tape you sent is a promo for the split CD with the black metal band Krieg. How did that come about and who approached whom? What label will be releasing it (if any)? How many copies will be pressed? Xaphan: I actually approached Imperial of Krieg about doing a split as a joke. Surprisingly he had been thinking of approaching us with the idea after hearing our mini-CD and when I mentioned it, he was definitely into to doing it, so the concept was born. Both bands originally were going to self-release it but due to low funds we weren't going to be able to get it out for a while and that's where Septimus from Maskim/Genocide Music stepped in and offered to put it out on his label. So the split CD will be out on Genocide Music with 1000 pressing; each band gets 200 CDs so all interested in obtaining a copy can get in contact with us through the website or snail mail. The production on the two songs I heard was killer - not terribly clean, but just dirty enough to bring out all the evil in the music. Where was the split CD recorded and how long did recording take? Who did the engineering? Will you be recording in the same studio again for your next release? Xaphan: Our portion of the split CD was recorded in our warehouse using a Yamaha MD8 digital 8-track. We used Gus Rios (ex-Malevolent Creation, Sickness) on session drums for us when we are without a drummer to engineer it with the help of Xul and myself. The five tracks took us about a week to finish. We will be going into an actual studio to record for the full-length. The full-length will be recorded at Studio 13 down here in Florida--the same place the Divine Empire and last Malevolent Creation albums were recorded. Speaking of next releases, when can a full-length from Azazel be expected? Have any new songs been written yet or are you concentrating on the split for now? Would you want to release the full-length yourselves or with label backing? Xaphan: You can expect to see a full-length by Azazel by the beginning of 2001 on Arctic Music. We just signed with this label a few days ago and it seemed pretty wise to do so. The full-length will be distributed through Pavement Music, which will make the it accessible around the world. Since I don't have any lyrics to go on, what is the subject matter of Azazel's songs? In the future, do you see the lyrical topics veering away from what they are now? Xul (bass/vocals): The lyrics in all the songs range from Satanism and astral projection to inner hell, insanity, and hate for humanity. On the split CD I experimented and mixed different approaches. The lyrics are written after the song is, so it is whatever I get from the mood of the song that starts the mold on the lyrical content. So far we haven't had the money to include the lyrics in the booklets but with the full-length, I'm almost positive there will be lyrics. Why was "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" chosen as an homage to Mayhem? Were there any other songs you thought of covering, either by Mayhem or different bands? Will a cover be included on Azazel's next recording Xaphan: We were asked to take part in an all-U.S. black metal tribute to Mayhem by Mike of Warhammer Records and we were honored to take place on what we felt would be a fitting tribute. We originally were going to cover "Pure Fucking Armageddon" but can't really remember why we chose not to do so. I think another band taking place on the comp was doing it or something. We had, also, at the time just brought in a new drummer and figured it would be an easy song to cover (at least for him). When time came to record, Mortis just couldn't pull it off so we had a session drummer play on it and I am very pleased with the way it came out. We have discussed cover songs by Destruction, Possessed, Darkthrone and Gorgoroth, so you may see them tacked on as bonus tracks on future releases. Xul: So far this CD has not came out for whatever reasons so we decided to include it on the promo. How will you be promoting the split CD? Are you planning to shop it to labels or has there been any label interest already? What label or labels would be your choice for signing? Xul: Krieg, Genocide and ourselves will be promoting the split CD. And as stated we will be on Arctic Music for the full-length. Look for it everywhere. Has Azazel done a lot of gigging since its inception? Have there been any memorable shows? Do you gear up with paint and armor/spikes? What kind of atmosphere do you try to evoke in a live situation? Xul: Azazel plays out around twice a month and we have opened for many "bigger bands". I think [playing live is] an important aspect of spreading your message and band name. Azazel shows contain spikes, gauntlets, fire breathing, corpsepaint and other medieval gear. When playing this type of extreme music it adds atmosphere and is very necessary. Do any of the three of you have any projects going outside Azazel? Other bands, 'zine, distro, etc.? Xaphan: I have no outside projects. Azazel takes 100% of all my devotion. Xul: Right now I'm doing a very experimental project with Grell (ex-Devoured by Darkness). This is only a studio project - a demo should arise soon. So far it's not named. Azazel is still my priority and nothing comes before it. Obviously, you are black metal fans. Do your listening tastes span all of the extreme metal subgenres? What's your opinion on the current state of today's black metal, with many of the big name bands turning techno or industrial? Xul: My musical taste has grown a lot in the past year and has expanded within the other metal genres but I would never turn Azazel into anything else and that's what I see wrong with what is going on with the bands that are totally changing their style to techno or industrial. I think they should retire the name. It seems like everyday you say to yourself "I'm into OLD _______", not really the new stuff. My opinion of the new direction is "to each their own". There is nothing wrong with what they're doing as long as it is truly what they want. That's why we play the music we do, for ourselves. Play for yourself and fuck everyone else. Xaphan: I have always been into extreme metal since '82/'83, growing up listening to all the "great" black/thrash/speed metal bands. I agree with Xul in the statement that you'll never see Azazel turning away from the style we have now. I think a lot of the bands that are doing this never really had any "true" roots in what they were doing. If Euronymous was still alive today, I'm sure he'd be in prison for killing off everyone in Mayhem. In fact if he were still alive Mayhem would still be true black metal which is something they and other older bands are falling away from. I don't know why most of these bands are doing it but I do think it's going to affect them and in return infect the scene. Would you care to explain the ideology (or ideologies) behind the band and its members? Do you feel ideology is important to black metal's survival? How do you feel about metal bands that only play for entertainment's sake? Xul: Ideology is important in black metal because without it, it would be just another shitty genre. Black metal sets itself apart from all the other styles because of the extreme ideology. Some people can't understand that and that's why they don't listen to it. It almost creates a certain breed of people. Metal bands that play for entertainment's sake usually suck. When you listen to music you get a certain vibe from it, that's why some bands you like and some you could care less about - because it gives you something or it doesn't. "Entertainment" bands don't last; look at the top 500. Fuck 'em. Xaphan: I agree. Ideology has a lot to do with black metal. My ideology and philosophy revolves around Satanism. I am, as a person, affiliated with the Church of Satan and try my best to only affiliate myself with other Satanists, which isn't always the easiest to do. Playing for entertainment's sake isn't what Azazel is about. Playing for the mere sake of entertainment is fine if you're doing it for yourself but other than that, it is a waste of time. We enjoy playing but at the same time we enjoy drinking and meeting the people that are into what we are doing. We wouldn't have it any other way. Though the art for the promo tape is basic, it's very well-done. What can you tell me about Vomitpriest? How did you come into contact with him? Will he be doing the artwork for the split CD? Xaphan: I met Vomitpriest through email correspondence. He had heard good things about us from the guys in Thornspawn and got in touch with me. He had some artwork that he sent me to look at and the drawing on the cover was one of them. I liked it enough that I told him we were going to use it for the promo cover and I wanted to help get his name out in the underground. The artwork for the split is being done by Josh Bowens, who recently did the artwork/layout for the Ma-Kahru Insights of the Profane compilation. In the future we will be working with both of these guys since they are loyal followers of the dark art. Finally, thanks for doing this interview. I thought I was going to have trouble coming up with a decent amount of questions with only two songs to go on, but apparently not! I wish you the best of luck with the split and hope everything continues going well for Azazel! Utter your final blasphemies and let everyone know how to get ahold of the CD. Xaphan: Thanks again for the interview and hails to all at Eternal Frost 'Zine! I'd like to thank everyone out there that has supported us from the very beginning and those who support us now. We will be changing our name to Kult Ov Azazel for the split. The details can be found on the interview section of our website at http://redirect.to/kultovazazel. Hail to the legions of U.S. black metal and the corruptors of Christianity! Our time has come to claim the throne and we plan to do just that. . . Hail Satan! Xul: Thanks for the interview. Keep supporting the underground! Look for the upcoming split CD with Krieg on Genocide Music and look for the Azazel full-length everywhere in 2001. Contact us for trades, info or booking through our website. [Note: Due to the multitude of bands out there with the same moniker, Azazel decided to change names. The band is now known as Kult ov Azazel.]