So I'll start off ... thanks for the opportunity to hear your band as well as this interview! So what have Kult ov Azazel been up to since the release of Triumph of Fire?

We have been playing shows here and there in support of it as well as finally found a permenant drummer that has been brought into the fold. Right now things are pretty slow for us so I am just writing new material which will be recorded sometime this fall.

Well that's good to hear ... where have you guys been playing, and who's the drummer that was recruited? Last time we talked KoA didn't have one and you were still searching...

We have done 3 shows in Florida since it was released as well as a show in NYC about a month ago. The new drummer will be a guy named Goss. Not to be confused with Gus who did session drumming for us. I met Goss on the Hateplow European tour since he was our tour manager. I found out he played drums and he heard an advance of the CD and was like "let's fucking go." That's the attitude I like for the members of this band to have and that's one of the main reasons we have been unable to keep a drummer. This guy has the attitude and the dedication, things should work out well.

Sounds like he has your work ethic, hah! Have you guys had good responses at the shows? What about turnouts? And speaking of Hateplow, you told me you're the new bassist for them ... so what's it like being in a black metal band playing guitar, then a death metal/grindcore band playing bass?

Yeah he totally has our work ethic. The responses and turnouts to our shows grow each time we play. As for Hateplow, I don't know... I am the new bassist but I won't know any of the new songs until we practice for the new recording. I don't contribute any songwriting to the band, just my playing. My main focus is always on Kult ov Azazel.

And it shows. The album is absolutely mindblowing. Most people stereotype USBM as "doing what's been done," but I sense a uniqueness in your approach to the faster side of black metal. While you guys play a familiar style to all of us, it's definitely your own design -- do you agree? And how is Goss working out so far, if he's been practicing with you guys?

Thanks man. It's definitely our own approach and we have since the beginning always had our own sound. I do agree that it's our own design and that's been an intention of this band from the beginning. Of course people will hear this band and that band in our music, I do too when I listen to other bands. But we have never gone out of our way to copy another band or to be like another band. We started out with our own identity and this has helped to shape this band into what it has become. So I completely agree with you there, but others may not. As for Goss, he has been practicing with us and is working out just fine.

Those judgments are typically based on the more superficial aspects of the music. For instance, people may compare you guys to Dark Funeral based solely on the speed factor of your music. But I don't because, for one reason, you guys do something most faster-than-hell bands forget to do -- put variation in your music, such as in "Destruction to the Throne of God" with the tempo and riff change. Speaking of which, how the hell do you play so fast and not break every finger?

Yeah, I can understand that. We are a new band to most people and I suppose at times you must reference us to another band so you can give people a general idea. But that's the key, variation. To drone a riff into the ground gets quite old to the listener as well as the musician. I like to constantly be changing up the riffs and keep the song fresh. It takes a lot of practice to play that fast, haha.

No kidding ... I think if I even tried my fingers would be severed by the strings. Brutal! Anyway ... you're right about the riff repetition, and another thing is constant speed -- as in, bands not varying their tempo throughout a song and remaining in 40,000 BPM mode. While you guys play fast, you also switch things up to keep the songs interesting. Again, like you said, keeping the song fresh.

That's a important factor in a song. Without that you might as well record one song and put it on your album 10 times.

On another note, has Xul suffered from laryngitis yet? I keep expecting to hear about that while you guys are on tour, hehehe...

No, he hasn't suffered from any shit like that. He has a technique that he has down pretty well so I doubt you'll ever hear of him losing his voice.

That's good ... he has to be one of the best screamers I've heard in a while. Amazing that he sounds perfect live, too! So how did you two come into contact and start with Azazel, and what circumstances led up to the change in moniker?

I met Xul at my place of employment at the time. A friend had asked me to dump his four track demo down to CD for him and when I heard it I was just like, man this is exactly the same style of black metal I am playing. I had been doing Azazel as myself for maybe about 4 months and was getting nowhere. I knew in order to continue I had to find others that wanted to participate. So running into him was quite refreshing. He was at the time looking to do the same thing, make his band Erebus into a full-fledged band. We started talking and then got together a few times to see what we could come up with and things just clicked. The rest is pretty much history. Basically there were no circumstances that led up to the name change. We just found out there was way too many bands going by the same name, we had our own identity musically, now we just needed our own identity with a more original name. By changing it we achieved that by distancing ourselves from all those other bands that are still known as "Azazel."

Makes sense. Glad that you found a kindred soul in music. So how long have you guys been at this? You've also put out two releases before this if I'm not mistaken, and also your recent split with Krieg, so tell me about those...

It has been two and a half years since we first started. We have put out a self released CD which was titled Order of the Fly and before that a 2-song promo that had recordings from the Order... sessions. Then we released another 2-song promo titled Of Evil and Hatred, which had a demo track that would appear on the split with Krieg and our cover of Mayhem's "Chainsaw Gutsfuck." After that it was the split with Krieg on Genocide Music which was recorded last year and wasn't released until February of this year due to all kinds of complications.

Sounds like Kult ov Azazel's been pretty prolific throughout these couple of years. And it seems a favorite of the band's is "Destruction to the Throne of God," because unless I'm mistaken it's appeared on just about every release. I can see why, though -- it's a great song. Do you think you have a hard time coming up with new, fresh material, or are things just slowly coming together?

"Destruction to the..." has only really been on 2 releases, the split and Triumph of Fire. Just to clear that up. No, I don't find it hard to come up with new, fresh material at all. The reason behind doing that song again for Triumph of Fire as well as 3 other songs that were on past recordings was because we beefed them up and added new ideas to the songs because most of our older shit is out of print. The newer versions give people that are hearing us the first time a chance to hear what we have been doing since the beginning. It also gives those that have followed us since the beginning a chance to hear the song the way it had been originally envisioned.

And what a mighty vision it was and is! I have to say that I'm still impressed by this album every time I hear it. It's great to hear a band from the US making quality material. Speaking of which, what's your opinion on the black metal realm in the US? Feel free to give praise or talk shit about any band...

Some good bands here would be Black Witchery, Cult of Daath, Krieg, Cryptic Winds, Thornspawn, Ibex Throne, Vukodlak, Averse Sefira, and Bloodstorm. There are many more and anyone that really follows the bands here will know which ones are worthy and which ones are not.

Okay, we're getting towards the end ... we've been at this for a while now and you probably want to sleep or drink more, haha. As if we couldn't guess already, though, what are your views of religion and what are some of the ideas behind the lyrics of your songs? They don't have the typical raving/frothing at the mouth "SATAN SATAN BLARGH" approach, and when reading them it's obvious someone's put thought into them, especially in a song like "To Cold Beyond."

All of our lyrics are from a nihilistic point of view and incorporate the philosophy of Satanism in them as well. Xul writes most of the lyrics so I don't know what goes through his mind while he writes those out, this may be a better question for him to answer. The lyrics that I have written would be "Destruction to the Throne of God" which is all based around the "war in heaven" myth where instead of Lucifer and the rebelling angels being cast out they destroy the heavens and the hierarchy of God. There's a lot of symbolism that goes into that song. I also wrote the lyrics for Altar of Satan, which revolve more around a lyrical visualization of a destruction ritual.

I enjoyed all of the songs, though I was confused as to why lyrics for "Le Messe Noir" weren't included. What's this song about?

Lyrics for Le Messe Noir were not printed because they were taken from LaVey's The Satanic Rituals, and we did not have permission from the publisher to print them. We were granted permission to use the passages that were chosen, but not to print the lyrics.

You are a member of the Church of Satan, right? You had something about that in your profile once...

Yes, I am a lay member of the Church of Satan, meaning I am not an active member.

Ah, okay. That was simple curiosity, not anything else. Just my horrid memory playing with my mind again. But anyhow ... I'd like to thank you for all the time you spent doing this interview, and I know you've probably had enough of my questions ... so any final thoughts for the viewers that, if you're desirous of it, may involve the sacrifice of small furry woodland creatures?

Thanks for giving me this interview and for the support you've shown to the band in the time that we have known each other. For any information about the band or releases it can all be found at our website which is www.kultovazazel.com. Hails to those that have stood behind us and death of the most tormenting kind to those that have opposed us!