Interviewed by Zelijko & answered by Xaphan Hail Xaphan! Could you introduce your self and your band to the readers? Hails! I am Xaphan guitarist of the band Kult ov Azazel. We were formed as a full band in April of 1999 under the moniker Azazel which consisted of myself on guitar and vocals, Xul on bass and vocals and Beleth on drums. Beleth later went on to do other things and was replaced by Von who we recorded our self released mCD "Order of the Fly" with. We later got rid of Von and replaced him with Hellspawn on drums who we recorded the split with. Hellspawn was terminated right after the recording and during this time we changed the name to Kult ov Azazel to separate ourselves from the other dozens of bands using the same name. We then hired a session drummer to record "Triumph of Fire" and currently we are looking for a full time drummer in order to tour when the album is released. Last year you have changed the name of your band from "Azazel" to "Kult ov Azazel". Why? Do you think it's a smart idea to change the name of the band? I mean, some people could hear your releases under the old name of the band and then if they will try to find some info about you, they won't find it... and what can be even worst, they could go to the other AZAZEL by mistake. Like I stated above, the name change was to keep others from confusing us with other bands named Azazel whether it be past or present. It's really not a smart idea to change the name of your band after establishing it with a release but in our case we had no other choice. Besides when the split CD with Krieg was first being advertised the ad was for the Azazel/Krieg split. Instead of changing our name all together we opted to add to it so it would not cause confusion and keep us from having to establish a whole new name. So we changed it right before we sent the material in for the split thinking if everyone knows that Azazel is doing a split with Krieg then when the CD comes out with Kult ov Azazel it's only going to help establish the new name change. In the first issue of Ravenlord zine, I have reviewed "The night of satanachia" of AZAZEL, but that was not your release right? Do you know something about that band? I know nothing of this other Azazel. After the release of "Order of the Fly" we got an email from that band threatening to sue us if we did not change our name. Now let me make this clear that we did not change our name because of their lame threats. We sent them a letter back saying fuck you and your unheard of band, we're keeping the name, sue us. After that we never heard from them again. In December 2000. You have released a split CD with KRIEG on Genocide Music. Could you tell me about your material that appears on that split? Why with KRIEG? What can you tell me about that band? Ok the split with Krieg was actually just released in February. The material on the split is 3 new songs (well they were at the time) and a redone track from "Order of the Fly" called Forever Heaven Gone. The recording of the split featured a different drummer than the one on "Order" and was recorded ourselves the same way "Order" was. We decided to do the split with Krieg because Xul and myself have been long time fans of Krieg. The way the split came about was I had sent Imperial our mCD and he liked it and later asked if we would be interested in doing a split CD. Obviously we said yes and the idea was that both bands would finance the split. This became a problem for both of us and we were about to scratch out the idea of the split until Septimus from Genocide Music stepped in and offered to put it out. The rest we will say is now history. Tell me why does the bands releasing split releases with other bands? Is there any difference between split release and one-band-release from your point of view? This was our first split ever and we did it because we thought it would be a good idea. I do think there's a difference between splits and one-band releases. The difference is that with splits you open your audience up more. For instance people who have never heard of us but have heard of Krieg will buy the split just for the Krieg part which means they have to listen to us at some point. About two weeks, KULT OV AZAZEL will rise with the first full-length CD "Triumph of fire". Did you improve your music in any way when comparing with old releases? Can you give some details about that release? I think our song writing has become more solid but we haven't strayed from the musical direction we had on the mCD or the split. This was our first time as a band in a real studio so the production is a lot better since we weren't doing it ourselves. The CD will be 11 songs, just a little under 40 minutes of Crushing Satanic American Black Metal! You seem to have good response on your releases. What do you expect from the forthcoming one? I have read a review of your debut release "Order of the fly" in Worm Gear magazine #9 (USA) where you also got a very positive critics... I have heard about this review but have yet to see it. It's good to know that our first effort received such a good response, a lot better than what I had figured. I think the reviews for the new CD will be very good since I just returned from a European tour (playing bass in the band Hate Plow) and it got very good response every night it was played over there. People from Europe seem to be not very much interested in black metal scene of USA. What is your opinion about that? Do you receiving some support from European zines? Have you ever been in touch with somebody from Serbia? I have never been in touch with anyone from Serbia but we have had much contact with European zines, more so than here in America. Like I said above while I was in Europe it seemed like people were very much into Black Metal, yet not to many were familiar with American Black Metal bands, but we plan on changing that. You are coming from Florida, the country of great death metal acts. How much can a black metal band develop in such an environment? Well development all depends on the person. We have developed pretty well even though we are from a state that when mentioned people automatically equate with death metal. Why there are so many Satanists in USA? It seems that philosophy of every US black metal band is based on Satanism. I would have to disagree here. Most of the American Black Metal bands don't base their music around the philosophy of Satanism. There is only a handful bands beside ourselves that do. And contrary to popular belief there aren't that many Satanists in America and if there are I haven't met them. What have you found in Satanism? How do you accept an idea that Satanism has risen from Christianity and that none of these religions could survive, one without each other? First off what I have found in Satanism is individuality, creativity and the need to live by my own set of standards. Satanism in philosophy could continue to survive even if Christianity dropped off the face of the Earth right now. There's a big difference between devil worship and Satanism. Christianity and devil worship need each other to survive, Satanism needs neither. Satanism is the belief in ones own self and recognizes that ritual is needed to strengthening ones mind and will. What will be the next step of KULT OV AZAZEL after releasing of "Triumph of fire"? Next step for us will be to get a US tour going and eventually make it over to Europe in support of the album. After that we will begin writing new songs for our second offering. Well Xaphan, I would like to thank you on your time. Please end this interview by yourself. Many hails to you Zelijko for giving us this opportunity and I wish you continued success with Ravenlord Zine. March 27th will be the release date for "Triumph of Fire" and I'd urge anyone that is into true Black Metal to pick this release up as I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. We still have the Kult ov Azazel/Krieg splits available for $16 (postage paid) and they can be obtained through us. Be sure to visit our website at www.kultovazazel.com for more information on our activities and merchandise. Hail to all the hordes around the world that continue to fly high the banner of Black Metal our time is now. Blasphemy reigns supreme! Hail Satan!