Nathias Zine: Infernal Greetings, KULT OV AZAZEL!.. I would like to ask, firstly, how you first got involved in making music? For example, what were some of your first experiences with creating and recording your own songs? Did you always have confidence that you would be able to play and compete with others as a unique and original identity as you are today in the underground? Could you ever foresee yourself in the past as involved in such activities as you are now? Xaphan: I have always been into music. From the time I was a kid back in the 70's listening to Kiss and Black Sabbath I knew that playing music was what I wanted to do. What really inspired me to start playing guitar seriously was the bands coming out in the early 80's such as Venom, Destruction, Exodus, Possessed plus many others. By the time I got to high school I began forming bands and putting out demos. In the 90's I moved to Florida to start a band which was short lived and it wasn't until 2 years ago that I started Kult ov Azazel and begun playing and recording again. I have always felt that I have had the ability to write from the heart and to focus on my inner feelings which is where all my riffs come from. I am very surprised how well known we are as a band for our short existence. Nathias Zine: Can you please give our readers a synopsis of the influences/inspirations that were responsible for starting your composition of this music? Go into as much detail as you like. Can you describe your own music and the releases you have offered so far? What makes KULT OV AZAZEL different from other black metal bands? What made you decide to start writing material for KULT OV AZAZEL? What, to you, are the most fascinating aspects of black metal? What does it offer that other 'styles' can not? Xaphan: I get a lot of influence from thrash/speed metal of the 80's and early 90's black metal. My inspiration comes from being a Satanist. What is really responsible for my starting to play this style of music is passion. I have always had a passion for very dark, evil music so I guess that is where it all started. So far we have released 2 CDs, Order of the Fly and a split CD with Krieg from the US. Order of the Fly was self released by us in July of 99 and was original released under the moniker Azazel. It was later released this year to a limited edition of 50 copies on Blood Fire Death Records. The split CD with us and Krieg will be released in December on Genocide Music a label run by Septimus of Maskim, which is another USBM band. I decided to start Kult ov Azazel because I was sick of hearing watered down black metal. It seemed to me that black metal was starting to lose its rawness with the over flood of keyboard oriented black metal which to me is an atrocity. Black metal is meant to be ugly and raw not pretty and atmospheric. This is why I choose to start Kult ov Azazel and continue to believe this and will continue writing music in this vein. Nathias Zine: Can you explain, as well as you can, the ideas behind the band's name KULT OV AZAZEL - what it evokes for you, and what you want other people to understand by it? Xaphan: Like I said earlier we originally started out as Azazel. Azazel in case no one knows is a demon, originally a Watcher or Grigori, or better put one of the angels put on earth to oversee the affairs of the first generations of men and how to survive in the world outside of Eden. One of Azazel's tasks on earth was to teach men how to manufacture and make weapons and was eventually condemned for refusing to bow to Adam. I choose the name Azazel because of this. I have an extreme hatred for christianity and use my art to wage war upon its mindless sheep. So symbolically I thought if Azazel taught men how to make weapons for defense or war then I myself use my music for war and that is why I choose the name. Just this year we added to the name to distance ourselves from the other dozen Azazel's out there. Nathias Zine: How you feel about the state of the American black metal scene right now. Is it healthy - truly? Do you feel that the American scene can match the power and originality displayed by other national scenes around the world? Is America just too large to form one cohesive scene? Is it possible for the American bands to influence each other or do you find that this would be counter-productive? What do you think is the particular strength of the American scene? The weakness? Xaphan: The American black metal scene is still growing but is very much pretty strong. There are a lot of great USBM bands getting notice and a lot more will be noticed in the future. The thing with USBM is that we still believe in the raw, evil form of black metal and because there is so much hate for religion we continue to play black metal in the ways that the originators did. The American scene may not be that huge right now but every day grows stronger and will eventually become a force to be reckoned with. The problem with America is there are so many states and major cities are very far away from each other so it doesn't make it efficient for a band like us in Florida to drive all the way to let's say Texas to play a show with Thornspawn. It would take us 2 days to get there and that would be driving nonstop so you can kind of see where I'm coming from here. As far as one cohesive scene, no it will never happen but as many individual scenes in states is happening. Pennsylvania and Texas right now have very strong scenes happening. The strength of the American scene is the ability to still create black metal the way it was meant to be played and heard, our weakness is being spread too far apart. Nathias Zine: KULT OV AZAZEL's material, in my opinion, is completely contrary to the 'accepted' black metal styles of today, and it hearkens back to older, idiosyncratic utterances by bands like MAYHEM, DARKTHRONE, etc. Was this is a conscious decision on your part - to play in an atypical style, or was it just the result of a 'natural' originality on your part: i.e., is it perfectly normal for you to write in this vein? Or is it a combination of these factors? Why do you think so many bands just flat out refuse to try to bring some kind of originality to their writing? How can their music satisfy them? Do you think there is a real, legitimate split in the 'arts' between artists who create for themselves and 'artists' who create for other reasons, other people? Xaphan: It is killer to hear people compare us musically to the older styles of the bands mentioned but I still can't hear that when I listen back to our songs. Unlike many bands and individuals who start out playing their instruments learning other peoples songs and style I grew up just playing and concentrating on writing my own songs. I think this has had a major impact on my song writing, as I do not follow what other bands do. Most of my riffs come from some form of hatred that I am feeling at that very moment of writing it. Same with our lyrics. Xul writes most of the lyrics and hatred is a big factor in his life as well. Living in a world that is packed full of fucking idiots and dealing with these morons every day will drive just about any sane person to hate interaction and association that comes on a day to day basis. Then add a huge continent with christian thought and ideology and you will learn to begin to rationally hate everyone. So a big part of our lyrical aspect is for contempt of mankind. If there is no feeling or originality in the song then I don't know how it can satisfy the band to play it much less the listener to be able to listen to it. I don't see creating music for other people any different or yourself any different. I do see however creating and playing music just for the money as another thing. Once a band starts to make music for the money they immediately lose all originality and begin writing songs just to put out more albums in order to make more money and immediately it shows. I could name many bands this has happened to and all I can say is there will be many other bands to come but Kult ov Azazel will always create music for ourselves and the legions of die hard people out there, this I'd have no other way! Nathias Zine: Do you think that black metal should be free of all sociological and political implications or subject matter? Do these influences or considerations really have a place in black metal, or music as a whole? Should music be completely free of the 'real world', in your opinion? Should it be reserved as ideal world, an 'escape', a realm where expression is not constrained by the confusion of reality? Xaphan: I honestly don't ever think about any of that shit. I myself hate politics with a passion, any type of politics. I don't think black metal and politics have any thing to do with each other. Black metal is meant to be raw, destructive, hateful music with lyrical overtones on evil, Satan, blasphemy not to rally someone's political opinions. But there are many great black metal bands that do exist that are considered "political" because of their views and such. My view is the only thing that needs to be destroyed is the plague of christianity, which is all that matters to me so therefore the lyrics we write reflect that. Nathias Zine: What do you see happening in the future in the black metal scene? Will there be further experimentation and/or combinations of different musical styles - other styles brought into the black metal fold? Will this help to expand black metal's ability to express a greater range of emotions? Or do you see black metal collapsing in on itself again, becoming harder, darker, 'pure'? What would you like to see happen? Xaphan: I think black metal is going to go back to how it used to be. Lots of bands are doing all this experimental shit and are ending up looking or a better word would be sounding like a bunch of idiots. I think a lot of people in the black metal scene think that black metal is meant to be ugly, raw, dark, or to use your phrase "pure". This is why I think the US has some of the best black metal bands because over here the bands continue to play black metal the way the originators did. Take a listen to some of the bands like Vukodlak, Ibex Throne, Cryptic Winds, Maskim, Krieg, Black Witchery, the list is endless but my point is that all these bands play really dark hateful black metal. The way black metal should be! Nathias Zine: Lastly, what can we expect from KULT OV AZAZEL in the future? Will there be a new full-length or mini album soon, or are you going to try to release another demo/promo tape? Has there been a great deal of interest so far in KULT OV AZAZEL's music on the part of the industry? Do you see this happening in the future? Xaphan: The Kult ov Azazel/Krieg split should be out very soon. We just got finished recording our debut full length titled "Triumph of Fire". We signed with Arctic Music back in June and the tentative release date is February 15 and it will be distributed world wide through Pavement Music. The CD will be 11 tracks of blasting US black metal and will be 7 new songs with 4 older songs (2 from the Order of the Fly mCD and 2 from the split). Songs are "Le Messe Noir", "Destruction to the Throne of God", "Triumph of Fire". "To the Cold Beyond". "My Misanthropy", "In the Plagued Realm", "Legions Unleashed", "Altar of Satan", "Aether Cries", "Embrace the Burning", and "Crown of Fire". We will be doing some touring after the CD is released and will be going out in the US for some dates in March with Malevolent Creation and another band not confirmed yet. Nathias Zine: Thanks for this interview, and if you feel like it, please add anything else here that you would like our readers to see. Xaphan: Many hails to you for the interview! Expect to see the "Triumph of Fire" out in February and be prepared to be possessed by blasphemy. Also be on the look out for the Kult ov Azazel/Krieg split CD being released by Genocide Music in December. For further info or to obtain merchandise you can check out our website at www.kultovazazel.com or write to us at Kult ov Azazel, PO BOX 23308, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33305. Hails to all the ones that have supported us and to the many legions of hate that continue to carry the torch of black metal worldwide! Hail Satan!