I originally interviewed Xaphan from KULT OV AZAZEL a few years back when their debut album, Triumph of Fire, was released. They have gone on to release two more excellent full -lengths as well as a split with KRIEG, and KULT OV AZAZEL’s output has just become stronger and stronger with each release and they are at the forefront of the black metal scene as one of the best bands currently active, in my opinion. I decided to catch up with Xaphan again to see what had changed in the KOA camp. Interviewd by Al Kikuras Quite a lot has changed in the black metal scene since we last spoke (just after the release of Triumph of Fire). At that time, you weren't happy with the state of the genre. Has your opinion changed at all? Worsened? Improved? My opinion if anything has worsened. What is it that you find most distasteful about where things are now? What, if anything, can be done to improve the genre, or is it too late? The fact that this is the only genre of music outside of teen pop that allows children to dictate standards. The self proclaimed elitists who are nothing more than overnighters boost and praise bands of no merit instantly granting them a following by leading others to believe that what is weak and of herd mentality is being true and elite. Then there’s the fact that nowadays people feel they must be a “part of the scene” rather than “being in the scene” and I use the word scene very loosely here. I could rant for hours about this shit so I’ll just stop here. There’s many things that could be done to remedy this but I believe it may already be too late. It will take total death to this genre for it to rise again from the ashes of its past and to what it once was. You have had a "revolving door" of guitar players over the past few years, it seems. What led to Nocturath. and them his replacement, VJS, leaving the band? Because I’m an asshole! All kidding aside both had different reasons. Nocturath wanted to focus on being a father to his child. VJS had spread himself too thin since he played in three other bands while he was in Kult ov Azazel. Those bands were his priority before he joined and remained his priority so it was just time we looked for someone else. How has it been working out with Necrol thus far? So far things are working out well. Each KOA release has been very impressively packaged, with a great layout that is all focused on the same idea. Does the band come up with the design and concept or is that left to the artist? It’s left up to the artist but at the same time it’s a collaboration between whoever is doing it and myself if that makes any sense. I don’t tell them what to do or how to do it but rather just approve, suggest or contribute ideas, art, etc. KOA has done a few tours thus far... has Arctic provided much support for touring? What type of vehicle do you travel in? Where do you sleep? Arctic has been good to us. Both tours they have provided tour support for which we are very grateful. Travel wise we use vans or mini-vans. When it comes to sleeping it can be in hotels, motels, people’s floors, in the vehicle hauling ass to the next show, basically wherever we can. In retrospect, what is your opinion of each KOA full-length? What would you have done differently? Both Triumph of Fire and Oculus Infernum I would have recorded at Mana Studios. Opinion wise I think the albums have all been strong releases without dissecting what I like or dislike about each. Did Erik Rutan bring a lot to the release? He did but it was more indirectly than anything. Rutan was not really all that involved with the actual recording process. The whole album was engineered and mixed by Ohtani. We spent the majority of time with him and saw Rutan on occasions like when we first got drum tones and guitar tones before recording those tracks or at the end of the night when we were done. He did master the final mix which I must admit brought a lot to the overall sound of the release. The mastering job he done perfectly. We are definitely going back there for the next album and I believe Rutan may have a lot more involvement on it. Minimalism seems to be very prevalent in black metal right now, with many bands opting for a low-fi approach. KOA, on the other hand, are tight, fast and heavy... very much going against the grain of what is "popular" (for lack of a better term). Have you experienced any backlash as a result? Unfortunately in this genre popular usually equates to what is the trend. With that being said fuck the current mentality in black metal. This is the only style of music where the inferior can be made to believe they are superior. Production wise we will continue to go against the grain and if people don’t like it then they don’t have to listen. It’s that fucking easy, we aren’t doing this to win a popularity contest or for approval. Similarly, one of the more annoying trends I have picked up upon since black metal has become more widespread in the US is the dismissal of bands as "selling out" once they achieve any level of notoriety or success, or have the gall to sign to a label that distributes more than 1000 copies of a release. Have you noticed this trend as well? Did you receive any negative feedback after signing with Arctic? We got some but not much. And the ones saying this bullshit are now eating their words since times have changed and their oh so sacred uberkult true underground bands have gone and done the same. There are countless examples I could give but I believe these are obvious. I have noticed the trend yet this goes back to what I was just saying about the inferior being led to believe they are superior. Are there any songs in your repertoire that you think will ALWAYS be staples of a live set? Yeah, there are more than a few. “Triumph of Fire”, “Mark of the Devil” and “An Eternity with Satan”, “My Misanthropy”, “Rex Infernus in Excelsis” all are songs that end up in every set. Are you still working with Malevolent Creation? I am. Last work I did with them was some Mexican dates back in December. Are you able to make your living from your involvement in music (in one form or another) at this point? I had been running live sound 5 years before beginning this band and this is still how I make my living. From involvement with this band, absolutely not but then again this band was not formed with the intention of making money. So yes, I am able to make a living from music but through other means than the band. Do you listen to much music outside of the extreme? What albums in your collection would the average black metal fan be surprised to know that you own and appreciate? Yeah, I listen to a wide range of music but I tend to listen to metal in general if I listen to anything. I guess people might be shocked to know I have a bunch of albums from The Sisters of Mercy. Are you still involved with Hateplow? To my knowledge but Hateplow has been inactive since the 2003 European tour. Everyone has just been focusing on their other bands. How was the "HELLSTORM OF UNHOLY LEGIONS" tour received, in general? Was attendance strong? The attendance was decent but I don’t know if I’d say strong. In certain cities it was strong but overall it was decent in turnout. For a black metal tour it was perceived well. It was a strong lineup that we put together and wasn’t terribly hard to book dates. We definitely will do something like it again when time allows. I found that, in my experience, attendance of shows has dropped off a lot, from the larger metal fests to smaller shows. Have you noticed a similar trend over Kult Ov Azazel's existence? To make it short this was bound to happen after years of fests leading people on only to suck cash out of them for bogus festival lineups and once booking agents starting mixing musical styles when putting together tours. Who wants to go to a fest that has bands they want to see to find out it was all a waste of money and the bands aren’t even playing or to a show that has only one of the bands you like with three to six other bands that suck both in musical direction and in their fanbase? I know I don’t, won’t even so I’m sure there are others out there like myself. I saw you did some shows with HELLWITCH, a band I am a big fan of from back in the early 1990's. Just out of curiosity, how were they live? They are killer. It’s cool to see Pat bringing Hellwitch back form the grave. Satan’s Wrath!!!! How is the writing for the fourth release going? Any ideas as to the album title? Any changes or developments in the musical direction? It’s going well. I have a good deal of material just waiting to be recorded for demo purposes until we enter the studio. We’ll start doing that next month once our drummer has some time to come back down to Florida. I’ve been toying around with the title of Destroying the Sacred and at very least it will be a song that appears on the next album. But at this time there is no title and something we’ll all decide on when that time comes. Change wise it will be the first time we have gone outside the band to collaborate with someone else that being Jeff Becerra. Musically my goal is to outdo the last album but there will not be any change in direction.