This interview was supposed to be used for an article on American Black Metal. Interviewed by Brandon Stosuy, answered by Xaphan I wanted to start off with the general question of USBM. I know some folks even chaff/hate the term. In the beginning this term really did not bother me when used in association with our name. Yet over the years I have come to hate the term. Nowadays this acronym has come to define shit. When I was talking to Umesh of Brown Jenkins, he argued black metal's origins are traceable to Blasphemy, so therefore he sees the early roots in Canada. Most folks place these roots in the UK, Scandinavia, etc. What are your thoughts on the lineage of black metal? I would have to disagree with that statement. I clearly believe that the beginning of black metal began with Venom and their album Welcome to Hell in 1982 and then later defining their style with the album and genre bearing name Black Metal. That said, I'm interested to know how you first got interested in black metal. Please give a bit of the band's history/current projects/etc. My start was in 1984 with Venom. This is because ever since I can remember the bands I enjoyed were always link to devil worship or the occult, many since have claimed no affiliation but I have always been into the darker side of music and by 1984 those paths lead me to Venom. That's where I started. History wise, I formed Kult ov Azazel with Xul in 1999 under the moniker of Azazel. We released a few promos and a self released mCD titled Order of the Fly which got a lot of attention and lead to a split with Krieg by which time we had changed the name to Kult ov Azazel. In 2000 we signed with Arctic Music and have since released the full length albums Triumph of Fire, Oculus Infernum and The World, The Flesh & The Devil. We have also done numerous other splits over the years with Horn of Valere, Vrolok, Satan's Blood, Obitus, Humanicide and ThyLord and have released a few other rarities like live and demo material through various labels. Currently we are in pre-production mode on the next album Destroying the Sacred. This will be recorded later this year and released through Arctic Music. What do you think makes USBM different (or the same, if that's what you believe) as European (etc) black metal? Aesthetic, subject matter, politics, etc. I wonder, for instance, if you can see anything particularly American in USBM. Building upon or shifting away from earlier models. I find black metal from America to usually be more brutal in the way it is executed compared to most European black metal. Who do you consider the key USBM bands/projects? My interest here is surveying what's going on now (so contemporary) in North America (there will be some Canadian stuff, etc) in relation to the rest of the world. Are there any other USBM bands you like? To be honest with you I can't even name any newer bands that have popped up. I lost interest in the US scene a few years back when the depressive/suicidal/eco-fascist trend started which only sucked in insecure nerds, emo kids and scenester hippies. One part of USBM that gets skirted (or lazily lampooned) in the media is groups with a connection to NSBM. One of the bands I'm talking to for this piece is Grand Belial's Key, who're certainly more outspoken re: these matters. Generally, though, this is the side of the black metal (from Varg onward) that's spoken about in reactionary/cartoonish terms. Or brushed under the rug. What are your thoughts on NSBM? I have no problem with bands that have a national socialist agenda I just personally am a firm believer that black metal is a form of music that adheres to the ideology of Satanism and satanic ideals. Can you be more specific about your Satanism? As well as the ideology and ideals? How do you practice Satanism in the everyday? I do not put a label on myself, meaning the Satanism I adhere to is not Traditional, Modern or Theistic but rather a conglomeration of the three with a bit of Luciferianism mixed in. So how one would define it is really insignificant. The matter at hand is I follow my own path with my own twist. As for everyday life, in the past I practiced every day with meditation, casting or ritual yet as I have grown up other responsibilities come into play and time is not always there for these things. That's where the formation of the band came into play. I can put these emotions and feelings into a stronger form of conjuring which in essence is music. There's a lot of power and energy behind music but without going completely off topic, the band was formed as a ritualistic outlet. Kult ov Azazel took the place of personal practice. Norwegian black metal's been presented in this Lord Of Chaos soap-opera light. USBM doesn't necessarily have the tabloid church burnings or Euronymous-style slayings attached to it. I was thinking this is something unique about American black metal... it seems less caged-in by an outside narrative. What are you thoughts on this? I mean, the sorta extracurricular aspects of European/Scandinavian black metal. Can't really say as this is something I never think about. I'm sure there are unique factors to what is happening in the US as opposed to Europe but at the end of the day I'm only concerned about what Kult ov Azazel is doing. I could care less about what other bands or individuals think or feel.