Interviewed by Tymothy & answered by Xul First of all I would ask you, what is on "Oculus Infernum" front cover, some machine? Yes it is a medieval torture device known as "The Rack" with other such devices in the background. It was inspired by Nocturath's vision of the reversal of parts in such times as The Crusades since he created the cover and did the layout to the album. It's homage to the eternal death of purity and sanctity which are reflected in the lyrics of the song "Oculus Infernum". All of the pictures were actually photographed ourselves vs. stealing things found on the internet which is so common these days. This makes the art work more of what we wanted to see and portray. In your country black metal hordes are not very common phenomena. What do you think is the reason why black metal is not very popular in USA; it seems that people prefer to play death metal. I believe in the theory “to each their own”. I wouldn’t want people in the scene that are not true to what they are doing; it is what it is. Black Metal requires a certain mentality that most people don’t have. It’s a common feature that most people lack, its called DEDICATION; strength to represent your music and message to the world without hesitation towards any other feelings or surroundings. Kult ov Azazel are from Florida, cradle of brutal death metal, don’t you feel like an outsider with your music? I don’t feel like an outsider at all. Our music is just as brutal, if not more evil, than those of our counterparts in the area. I don’t care what other people are doing anyway. This is for me, not them, or you. We work and get along with most bands here or at least the ones that are worth anything. When did you start to think about creating a metal horde which will be to start antichristian fire? Did that idea mature in you for some time or it appeared unaware and you without delay brought that idea into effect? What have inspired you to create Kult ov Azazel? I have been creating music for some time now and have played in metal bands within the same genre before KoA. Every band I was in before was always against christian philosophy and those related. I would have to say the promotion of “antichristian fire” would have started within myself from the day I picked up an instrument. As I have aged the ideas have matured and thus my contribution to “Oculus Infernum”. KoA was inspired as the next stepping stone in my musical career after leaving my previous band. I wanted to create an aura that summoned the apocalypse with fury. When you started band was named Azazel, why did you change this name? After we released our first demo recording we found out that a number of other bands were or had used the same moniker. Once this information came to light we decided we did not want to be confused with any of them so we changed the name. We decided to keep the name relatively the same, so that we would not have to totally rebuild ourselves again. In the end it was 100% the right way to go. Kult ov Azazel plays brutal and aggressive black metal, what do you think about bands who proceed another musical path than you but they also name their music black metal, for example Dimmu Borgir? I think every band brings their own style into every scene. I wouldn’t want to listen to bands that didn’t bring any sense of originality to the table as to distinguish themselves. A lot of labels are put on bands by other people rather than the band themselves; this usually leads people wrongly when they are introduced to the music. I listen to more than just straight-up aggressive bands. Variety is necessary within the scene. In USA there were a few lawsuits against metal bands. What will you do when some mother would put you in jail because their son which committed suicide had a Kult ov Azazel poster on the wall and listened to your music? Well, if I was going to be put in jail for something I have no control over then I think she would be forcing me to commit the crime towards her. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel proud. Metal doesn’t force people to make decisions… fuck them. I know that musicians don’t like tell about their own lyrics, but most of the readers don’t know your poetry, so could you tell them about it? The lyrics were written by Xaphan, Nocturath, and myself… so I wouldn’t be able to answer for them. I think that our lyrics can speak for themselves though. Buy the album and find out. Have you ever had any trouble connected with your extreme music, image and lyrics, any canceled concerts or something like that? Maybe somebody wants to censor you? Yes, we had many problems with the release of ‘Triumph of Fire’. Our first distributor in the states refused to carry our CD after reading the lyrics in the booklet and totally fucked us. I heard that there were special versions of the CD put out in England without lyrics for that release also. There have been some little things here and there but we always seem to get around it. Fuck the morons out there that choose to lead sheltered lives… get your head out of your mother’s cunt. How important for you is image, you know corpsepaint, nails etc.? I believe image is important to the music; to give it more of a balanced load to the senses. Audio and visual portrayal lets the listener engulf themselves in what we stand for. The image we portray is also for symbolism towards war and death. It has become ritualistic for us and part of what this band is. Anyone who is in this band must be willing to participate; this is what we believe in. "Oculus Infernum" was recorded a long time ago, maybe you have started to create new material, if yes, could you tell as about it? We have and the album will be titled “The World, The Flesh & The Devil”. It’s still uncertain how many tracks will be on it since we are still not finished writing it. At this point we have about 6 new songs and can only say it will be a full length recording. The style will be very close to ‘Oculus Infernum’. We hope to start recording in mid 2004. What black metal hordes from USA you can recommend European metal maniacs? Some bands from the USA that I support are: Inquisition, Krieg, Bloodstorm, Decieverion, Ibex Throne, Xasthur, Ominous, Averse Sefira and Demoncy. I think the American scene has a lot to offer the world. Have you ever thought about a video to one of your song? It’s been an idea we’ve kicked around but nothing we’ve seriously thought about but if we were to ever do one it would be included as an extra on one of our CD releases. What is most important for you when you compose Kult ov Azazel music? When we write the music we usually know if the riffs have the feeling we want to portray and/or something to build off of. Most of the music changes as we go through the writing process of the song. A lot of the things we add or change are last minute… sometimes in the studio. The music must be cold and dark. The bands European fans can count on Kult ov Azazel concerts on our continent? Right now we have nothing planed in Europe, though we would like to do some shows or even some festivals there, if not just to leave a stain on that side of the world. Things may change as it is a new year and the recording of a new album is in the future. Did you ever hear about christian black metal for example: Horde? I have heard of this but I think its one of the most ridiculous concepts and choose to ignore it. There can not be a christian black metal band… the concept is an oxymoron. If anything they are borrowing something from our genre that they have no right to have. Thank you for answers. Last words belong to you... Hails to all for the support. Visit our website for news, mp3’s, and propaganda. www.kultovazazel.com