I heard about Kult Ov Azazel from their split with Krieg, but what I found was that not only do they hold their own against Krieg, they're really insanely good themselves. Hailing from the steamy penninsala of Florida, they've been creating their Satanic blasphemic black metal art for a long time now, and aren't slowing down any, their new album The World, the Flesh and the Devil is due out on June 28th, so keep an eye out for it. Interviewed by Karl & answered by Xaphan First off, any news information about the near future of the band? We have a new CD “The World, The Flesh & The Devil” coming out June 28, a 10” split vinyl titled “Through War or Suicide” with Horn of Valere out now and a enhanced CD split with Vrolok titled “Feast of Sacrilegious Impurity” coming out later in the year. How did the recording of your new album go? The recording went very well. We recorded in Tampa, Florida at Mana Studio which has been known to crank out recordings by Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation, Krisiun, and In Battle to name a few, we were actually the first black metal band to record there if I’m not mistaken. It was tracked and engineered by Shawn Ohtani, produced by us and mastered by Erik Rutan and the sound we got on this one I believe surpasses the past releases a million fold. The drums are very organic sounding, the guitars are thick but razor sharp and the dual vocal assaults are stepped up much more than on the last album even incorporating at times three way vocal attacks. So we should expect in around June 28th? Yeah it will be out through Arctic/Crash Music on that date. What kind of gear do you use? My setup consist of a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier into 2 Marshall 4x12 cabs. I use Jackson V’s and BC Rich guitars only, mostly the “holocaustic black axe of Azazel” which is my ’89 Jackson Rhodes V. The BC Rich guitars get used only as my backup. How do you write songs? My formula is the riffs are written first then arranged with the drums. After this is completed a demo track is recorded then I decide on a title and just listen to the song repeatedly until the lyrics come to me. Lyrics tend to be evil/anti-Christian, what directly inspires them? My life long obsession and involvement with the occult and Satanism, my hatred of religion and sometimes what I see in the world around me. Are any members practicing Satanists? Both VJS and I are. What bands inspire/influence you? There’s way too many to name. Many people would say you sound very death metal inspired, what do you think? Maybe if we are talking about the recording “Triumph of Fire” than I can somewhat agree. We definitely come off sounding that way only because of the drumming on that album and we used a death metal drummer to session for that particular recording. The guy we used has been at one time or another in Sickness, Malevolent Creation and Divine Empire so naturally his drumming style was of the death metal stature. Since that recording Kult ov Azazel has gone from being just Xul and I using session drummers to a full lineup so as far as our newer stuff and the last album “Oculus Infernum” is concerned I don’t believe one will find these traces. Being a true cult band in the Southern United States, what do you find the reaction tends to be to your music? Do you think the States is receptive to black metal? The reaction to our music has always been the same since day one. There are those that like what we are doing and are very loyal in their support and then there are those that hate what we are doing either because of personal vendettas or out of jealousy whose sole purpose is to talk shit and spread rumors. It is no different than any other scene be here or anywhere else in the world. It all comes with doing this so in the end what it really comes down to is my reaction to the music, whether I am pleased with what we have achieved and created. The opinions or reactions of others are of no concern to me. What do you think of other States based black metal bands like Krieg, Leviathan, etc.? I think Krieg are great. Besides them there’s a lot of killer black metal coming from the States these days. Much more so now than a few years back. Are there any smaller bands in the States we should know of? Check out Sumeria, Incursus, Teratism, Demon Sword, Vrolok, Breath of Sorrows, Scorched Earth, Devastator and I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch. Those are the ones that pop into my head now. As I just stated there are many excellent bands from the States now worth looking into. How about bands from other parts of the world, anyone you think is really killer? Out of Europe Belphegor are definitely at the top of my list. I also like Nargaroth, Enthroned, Inthyflesh, again too many to name. In Mexico, there is Infinitum Obscure and Brazil there is Darkest Hate Warfront and Grave Desecrator. To be honest, there are bands from all over the world I find to be killer and if I were to sit here and type them all out you would have to dedicate the whole zine just to this one question. What do you think is most hateable about the Christian religion? The fact that it exists. Are you inspired by philosophers like Nietzsche, etc. or not? Yes. Do you think Satanism is at the heart of black/death metal, (or if not Satanism then Anti-Christian senitment)? In black metal I do. Death metal does not even come into play in this question. Black metal music only exists because of Satanism and anti-christianity. Satanism, anti-christianity, the occult and black metal has been intertwined since day one. I have stated a thousand times I firmly believe if the ideology and lyrics are not of satanic, occult or antichristian themes it is not black metal. One Anus.com there was an article stating the above, in relation to Christian black metal. They were saying that it should be banned by Black metal fans because the very idea was against the heart of black metal, what do you think, if anything? I think christians have been doing shit like this for centuries. They always try to weasel their way into everything, especially things they despise, to preach their shit. It’s their way of trying to impose their beliefs into something which was never intended for their ideology. There is no such thing as christian black metal. It simply does not exist. Those that say it does are only fooling themselves or just plain fools altogether. What do you think of the following statement: "Death is the final release"? I think that statement sums up things perfectly. Any touring info? Yes, we will be doing a two-week desecration of the East coast of the United States this August. This will be with Blood Storm, Teratism and Horn of Valere. Dates will be released soon and we will post them on the website as well. What do you think is the most important thing in black metal? Bands that remain true. I've read that you believe "black metal is a way of life" explain that to our readers. It is not just a form of music like many other styles, it has a meaning and there is a direct purpose behind it. For some it may be nothing but mere music, a form of entertainment but for me as well as many others it goes way beyond that. Finally do you have anything to say to the Tmetal readers? Our website is located at www.kultovazazel.com for those that want to gain more knowledge about the band, obtain merchandise or contact information and contains samples of our blasphemies. Thank you for the interview. Thank you for your support!!