Interviewed by Loki answered by Xaphan First of all, thanks for according us this interview for Metal Impact readers and followers! Hails to you and the Metal Impact readers! Please could you present your band for those who do not still know you? Xul and I, Xaphan, formed the band back in April 1999. Over the years and with the utilization of session members we have recorded and released “Order of the Fly”, “Triumph of Fire”, “Assaulting the Masses”, “Oculus Infernum” and the newest release “The World, The Flesh & The Devil” and have been on numerous compilations and have done splits with Krieg, Horn of Valere, Satan’s Blood, Humanicide, Obitus and ThyLord. The current line-up is myself (vocals/guitar), Xul (vocals/bass), VJS (guitar) and Hammer (drums). Why did you choose to practice Black Metal music, more particularly in a country such as United States where Black Metal is not very developed and appreciated, according to me? Well I think your generalizations about black metal in the States being undeveloped and unappreciated is going a little too far as the ones that are from the US getting the attention are the ones doing it correctly and without false pretence. You would have to live here to make the observation you made. Besides after two tours on both coasts I can say from the turnouts that there are maniacs that truly understand and live for black metal. As for how I got into things this stems from the fact I was always drawn to the darker aspects of life and in my early teens started studying the occult and LHP practices. Because this and my love for heavy metal at the time I started to seek out bands that touched upon the same things I was interested in. This is when I discovered Venom then it was Sodom, Possessed, Hellhammer, Destruction, the first Exodus, Slayer and so on that I found the music I identified with. I had been playing guitar since age 8 but it was never something I wanted to pursue. After I heard Venom’s Black Metal my interest in the guitar and my direction in life changed. Black metal is what I wanted to play but it wouldn't come until my mid twenties when this band formed. Why is there so few Black Metal bands issued from the United States? In reality there are way too many but the answer to the question is most having probably not heard of the majority of the bands from here for two reasons. One is most Europeans tend to denounce black metal from the United States and for this reason many go overlooked. The second reason is in all honestly the ones being overlooked are the few from here that deserve recognition for what they are doing and creating. Is Black Metal a way of life for you or do you play this kind of Metal by pure passion? It is not just a form of music like many other genres as it has a meaning and a direct purpose behind it. For some it may be nothing but mere music, a form of entertainment but for me as well as many others it goes way beyond that, it’s done out of passion and is our outlet for spreading heresies and sacrilege against the monotheists. Why did you choose to glorify the Demon Azazel, sovereign of the goats? In every instance Azazel is mentioned through out religious myth this demon represents the epitome of all evil, a defiler of humanity and the warring icon dedicated to destroying and corrupting mankind. That is the reason we aligned ourselves under this infernal name. Are you personally involved in Satanism worship and could you explain and develop your texts and words which are very hard and crude against all the religions? After one reads the lyrics I think it becomes very evident that the lyrics are greatly inspired by my overwhelming hatred for religion be it Christianity, Islam or Judaism and the masses that blindly follow. Other than that this album lyrical is dedicated to all that is evil inspired by my practice of the occult, engulfed in satanic ideology and at times drawing from everyday happenings within our society such as death, war and suffering. And as stated earlier I have walked the LHP for many years and I do consider myself a Satanist. Concerning your full-length third album, I remarked that we can divide this album in two parts. The first four tracks are more melodic Black Metal songs whereas the following ones are more brutal and show no mercy .Do you agree with this point of view or am I mistaken? Never thought of it in that way but yeah I can agree. What are your main influences in your music if you have some? My main influences musically and speaking only for myself are Venom and Darkthrone. These two bands are the ones that have made the biggest impact on me. You recorded this album at Mana’s Studios, property of Erik Rutan, guitar player and singer of Hate Eternal. Did he help you so as to record it? If he did, in what manner? We did record at his studio and Erik helped out on drum and guitar tones as well as mastering of the final mix. Everything else was done by Shawn Ohtani. In Kult Ov Azazel, who’s in charge of composing the music and writing the texts? On the new album that would be me. What do you prefer to do? : writing songs, recording in the studio or playing on stage? All of the above. Do you intend to realize some shows in France and most particularly in Paris in the future? Truth of the matter is no one in France has every expressed the interest in bringing us there. I don’t see any organizers or promoters showing any interest, hasn’t happened in seven years so I don’t see it happening in the near future but we would like to get there eventually, someday. Have you ever been in France for gigs or just for visiting? Believe it or not, I haven’t. I have been just about to every other country in Europe for work but the tours I have worked on have never gone to France. What do you think about the webzines and in a wider sense, downloading? Webzines are a good medium so I really have no problem with them. Downloading on the other hand is a much more complex subject and has its pros and cons. If I have never heard a band I may download their music but even then the chances of doing that are slim as I hate spending hours online for anything. Fuck we even put music up of our own songs for download but at the same time being in a band I know what all goes into doing an album as well as being on a label so it’s not hard to see that if you don’t sell the albums you get dropped. So when people are ripping entire discographies putting them up on the internet it has its repercussions. I mean in a sense one can look at it as tape trading but I remember those days and if I liked something I went out and bought the original which in supported the bands. To this day I’m still like this but not everyone is like me so in the end can be a double edge sword for all involved especially in this age of need it to go now. Which question don't you want to hear or be asked anymore, and what should be a question you would like to be interviewed? Being the only one in the band to really do interviews and after almost seven years of questions upon questions I have grown tried of answering interviews altogether but know if I don’t do it no one will and to me it’s important that Kult ov Azazel be recognized be it embraced or hated. If you have a message to say, it's up to you now…. Other than directing the legions to www.kultovazazel.com for propaganda or more information on our happenings I think I’ll just say thanks for the attention from Metal Impact.