I was instantly hooked on Kult Ov Azazel when I first heard them on the compilation “Visionaries Of The Macabre vol. II”. Their fast and punishing black metal was killer. Winters have come and gone since then and the band has just released their second full length album “Oculus Infernum”. I got hold of vocalist/guitarist Xaphan to get updated on the situation in the band. Interviewed by Anders. Hails, how are things in Florida at the moment, hot as hell and awaiting tropical storms? Hail! Things are going well as I sit here soaking in sweat from the Florida heat and humidity. One of my favorite parts of the season in South Florida is here and that is hurricane season. Violent storms are quite inspiring. Will you introduce yourself, tell us everything there is worth knowing about you and how your metal adventure started? It first began when I started listening to music consciously back in 1977. I started out listening to Black Sabbath, Kiss, Judas Priest, AC/DC and stuff to that extent. Then in the early 80's I got turned onto Iron Maiden, WASP, Motley Crue and from there I discovered Venom, Exodus, Possessed, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and the list goes on. Since then I have lived and breathed metal to the fullest extent. It's become my life and my passion. How did you get introduced to the art of black metal? Through Venom's "Welcome to Hell" LP in 1983. It will be great with an introduction of the rest of the band and a bit of the bands history! Kult ov Azazel was formed in the spring equinox of 1999 under the infernal name Azazel consisting of Xaphan (myself) on guitar/vocals and Xul on vocals/bass as the main components of the band. Under this name and lineup we recorded and self-released "Order of the Fly". In 2000 we paticipated on a 4 way split with Obitus, Humanicide and Thy Lord which was put out through Christcrusher Productions. Also in the same year we recorded and released the material on the Kult ov Azazel/Krieg split CD through Genocide Music. In March 2001 we released our first full length "Triumph of Fire" and now in 2003 we have released "Oculus Infernum" both through Arctic Music and is the first time in our history that we have recorded with a full permanent lineup. Currently the band consists of Xul on vocals/bass, myself on vocals/guitar, Nocturath on guitar/vocals and Goss "The Hammer" on drums. You are ready with your second full length attack on christianity "Oculus Infernum", what do you expect from the album? Honestly I don't expect anything; all my expectations were finalized when we completed the mix down and mastering. It's completed, out and we are pleased with the final result. It has exceeded our expectations much more than we had envisioned. Have you gotten any feedback on the album yet, how has the press and your fans responded to the album? It has gotten some mixed reviews but the majority has been in favor of the newer material. Seems a lot of people like the newer stuff much better than the last album, including the people that show their support to this band. How much did your debut full length "Triumph Of Fire" stir up the scene, how many copies have you sold and how has the black metal community responded to it? The reactions towards "Triumph of Fire" were quite good to say the least. It got killer reviews the world over and gained us some new supporters. We have sold 3000 copies of the CD as well as 300 copies of the vinyl LP version so I would say the metal community has responded to it very well and much better than we had expected. The sound on "Oculus Infernum" is more powerful, ugly and raw than "Triumph Of Fire", why did it turn out like that? Because that is how we wanted it to be. We had a vision from the beginning and stuck with that same vision up until the mastering. Although both of us, Xul and myself that is, were pleased with "Triumph of Fire" we wanted to make this new album much darker and even rawer than the past. We wanted to make an album that would surpass the last one. It also has a lot to do with the fact that we now have two new members which both bring their own characteristics into the fold. There have been some confusion about who delivered the drum work on your releases, will you one final time go through the releases and tell who is drumming on what and how you ended up with your current killing machine Goss "The Hammer"? It started in 1999 with Von on drums and the release "Order of the Fly." Not long after we recorded this Von was kicked out and Hellspawn took over drum duties and appeared on the material that's become the Kult ov Azazel/Krieg split CD. In the spring of 2000 we kicked out Hellspawn and incorporated Vetis (Gus Rios/ex-Sickness, ex-Malevolent Creation) as a session drummer. In 2001 we wrote and recorded "Triumph of Fire" with Vetis appearing on the album and just recently we have released the new album "Oculus Infernum" with Goss "The Hammer" on drums and he is a full time member. The way we ended up with Goss was through the Hateplow tour I did with them in 2001 since he was our tour manager. Both Xul and myself knew we needed a full time drummer and Goss heard the material and was totally into it. Once the tour was over he flew down from Buffalo NY to try out and everything clicked. He was the perfect fit for the band and we are very pleased that he has choose to become a part of this band. You have done very much to mark the band in the underground scene, with various split releases, how important is for you to have contact with the underground? It's the underground that keeps this music alive. Without it there would be nothing. Some of the split releases offered the same material from your side, how come? Plainly because there wasn't any new material available, this is especially the case with the 4 way split on Christcrusher. As for the split with Krieg there's only one song that appeared on another recording and that is "Forever Heaven Gone". It appears again on this Krieg split because it's a different version than the one on "Order of the Fly" not to mention a different and better drummer, which isn't saying much but that's the reason. The band has build up a strong satanic image, is it all image or are you burning with hate to the church? I am as you would say "burning with hate to the church". I can definitely tell you this is no image for me. I live and breathe my beliefs along with having the utmost disgust for religion as do the other guys in the band. We don't use this imagery in our lyrics and art as gimmicks. We have never and will never present ourselves in a false light for the sake of selling something. What you see read and hear are all real emotions channeled into a musical form and presented without any misrepresentations. What is satan to you? Satan is a metaphor for the dark driving force of the soul and represents adversity to all that is considered holy and sacred. Your music is fast, atmospheric, furious and a bit chaotic, almost like a blaze, how did the band come up with the musical style which you now are delivering? You got me there. I don't know how to answer this question. We just play the style that we play, don't know what else to say. I guess it would be that each of us has our own individual inspirations and when these ideas are put together the result is what you hear on a Kult ov Azazel release. What did inspire a bunch of people from the sunny Florida to create a black metal band? I can't speak for the others but as I said earlier it was Venom's "Black Metal" that inspired me. I am not originally from Florida so it definitely wasn't anything here as I did not move here until my twenties. The other guys are all from other States as well so I doubt Florida had anything to do with inspiring them. But Venom was the main inspiration for me and that's where it began. What are inspiring you when you are writing music, any certain moods or do something else which sets you off? Many things can trigger inspiration for me. It can be anything from a single note to an idea that continues to reocurring in my mind. Just differnet things trigger the motivation to write the music and then from the music I draw the inspiration for the lyrics. But overall there is no special atmosphere needed for me write songs. The band are delivering a triple vocal assault, which is giving a great specter of ugliness and evil, why did you choose to use 3 vocals and how do you share the vocal lines? Well Xul and I do the majority of the vocals. Nocturath is more or less a background vox except where he does the vocals on Oculus Infernum during the blast riff. I decided to start doing vocals again because it was something I felt comfortable doing again. I had done vocals on past stuff since we did dual vocals back then but it got to where I just wanted to write the music and play it rather than do vocals. On the new album I wrote a majority of the lyrics which is something that in the past had been Xul's department so when it came time to lay down vocals it was decided that instead of me doing background vocals this time around we'd go back to doing dual vocals since we finally had a solid lineup. We knew having the dual vocal approach happening again would add to the overall result. "Oculus Infernum", what does the title mean and why have you chosen that exact title? The title is Latin for "Eye of Hell". This title was choosen out of the inner vision we had going into the writing process. It then evolved from there. The release is covered with Latin phrases, medieval like paintings and occult symbols, how important is it for you to have mystique and occultism around you as a band and as a person? The thing with the album is all the Latin phrases, the paintings and symbols all act as aids to the lyrics/music. Everything was used for a specific purpose, not just for visual aesthetics. It's not so much of an importance as it is a natural need to have these things around me personally, but as far as the band goes, what we use visually has a connection to what the overall picture is about. They are there to explain rather than just be viewed. You are signed on Arctic Music, is it a good label, are they doing their job? Yes they are a very good label to work with and I think they are doing a fine fucking job when it comes to getting our music out there be it distribution or promotion. They have done a great deal over the past 2 years for us and for that we hail the ones at Arctic Music! Where are your biggest following USA or Europe? I'm not quite sure. We have good response from both countries. In the beginning it was definitely in the USA but with the past few releases we are starting to get tremendous response from the people in Europe, so it's not so easy to say now. Have you been affected of "the black metal war" between Europe and US, where Europeans are marking US bands as copyist of the European black metal, and US followers meaning that real black metal only are the old US bands? We have had people say their share about this band but overall it doesn't effect us. People nowadays are too worried about looking true to other people rather than being true to themselves. The ones crying over this or that band and what they can and cannot play are a joke. People need to wake the fuck up and realize that black metal doesn't come from the forest, snow or anything bound to Earth, it comes from the inside, the soul and from something which is vaster than the universe. Darkness, evil and blasphemy have no ties to any culture or nationality and when these idiots realize this fact then they will begin to understand what this form of music and ideals are all about. You have recently joined the grind/death squadron Hate Plow, why did you choose to join the band and how is to deliver another style? I run live sound for Malevolent Creation, which Hateplow includes 3 members of, and both bands were doing a European tour with Rotten Sound and In Aeternum back in 2001. I was going over to do sound for all 4 bands and two weeks before the tour was to start the bass player of Hateplow quit. So instead of Hateplow dropping off the tour I was recruited to take over bass duties. Once the tour was over they made me a permanent member and that's that. We just returned from a tour we did in June over in Europe so I have now done 2 European tours with them. I find playing their music not much different than playing ours other than I'm playing a bass instead of a guitar. It's much easier as well since I have no vocal responsibility in Hateplow. Other than that, Kult ov Azazel is my main focus, I do nothing other than show up, play the bass and drink in Hateplow. Will you share your 3 all time favorite albums with the Danish 'bangers? I can tell you Venom "Black Metal", Darkthrone "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" are my top two favorites, in that order, and everything else falls into third place. Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions, please close the interview as you like! All those interested in more on the band can write to Kult ov Azazel, PO Box 23308, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33307 USA. We can also be contacted online through our website at www.kultovazazel.com. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of Nocturnal Horde webzine and speak for all of us when I say the support is appreciated!