In a firestorm of speed and unmatched brutality, Southern Florida's Kult ov Azazel are among the forefront of uncompromising black metal bands proud to taint US soil. There is no light in this music, but skilled dissonance and feverish kill riffs do arise from the smoldering pyre to reflect its creators frustration with our increasingly religious, and often oppressive society with violent aggression. With the unleashing of 2 CD's this year (KoA's "Triumph of Fire" debut full-length and also 5 tracks on their split CD with Krieg), Kult ov Azazel spew forth their point blank message of contempt through complex musicianship, a crisp sound production, minor death metal characteristics, and are one of the few on these shores that have the backing of a bigger independent label with strong distribution. Even with the financial backing of Pavement, KoA have in no way lightened their delivery, and stand to bring all the underground might of the USBM scene to a wider level of recognition. KoA guitarist Xaphan recently gave us a moment of his time for a closer look into the abyss that is this bands creative center. - Marty The history of Kult Ov Azazel has been built upon development and opportunity. How would you describe the bands evolution over the years, and is "Triumph of Fire" the desired and ultimate level of progression? Is there more you hope to achieve for the future? I think over the past 2 years we have definitely improved with our songwriting and have become better musicians as a whole. Granted that we were already seasoned musicians when we came together I think over the years we have found our musical identity and sound that makes Kult ov Azazel what we are today. So far "Triumph of Fire" is our best release yet but I don't see it as the ultimate level of progression. We still have a lot more to achieve but that is what I feel keeps a band hungry enough to strive for more. In the future I really would like to see us tour so we can terrorize and spread our propaganda. With the K.O.A.'s uncompromising underground persona, and affinity for scathing speed, are you surprised that the band will have the vast distribution push of a bigger label such as Pavement? To tell the truth I am actually still surprised that Pavement is pushing our recording. In the early stages of signing with Arctic Music (who Pavement does the distribution for) I was told that they did not like working with many black metal bands and thought that when they heard this recording there would be definitely no way they would work with us. Fortunate enough for us it blew them away and I am very pleased that they have decided to work with our label and us on this release. Now that the Scandinavian era of black metal appears to be fading away, do you feel the whole world has turned its sights towards the U.S. for the darkness and aggression? Has this benefited your band in any way? Yes and no. Now that the Scandinavian Black Metal era seems to be fading I do see people looking to the US for the aggressiveness and blackness that the US scene continues to embrace. At the same time though while I was in Europe in February not too many people seemed to know that American Black Metal even existed until they heard the tracks from "Triumph of Fire." On the other hand, we have been in contact with many zines and persons from Europe, Asia, Russia, etc., so I do see this decline helping out our band. Even though the US black metal scene is widespread, there is a common bond tying a good share of the bands together, such as a dedicated continuation of black metal's ancient, "necro" sound. What are your thoughts regarding this style, and the US scene in general? Is there indeed networking between bands? There's definitely a common bond between the American Black Metal scene, not only with the bands but with the zines as well. The "necro" sound I personally enjoy but as far as Kult ov Azazel goes we have never gone for that specific sound. Granted all of our recordings until now were recorded and mixed by us, it still never had a "necro" sound. We never wanted to back ourselves into a corner as being some "necro" band. WE have always gone for a clean recording sound but still keeping it raw and ugly musically. The US scene in general is getting stronger and stronger each passing day. There are a lot of great bands over here that continue to play black metal the way it was meant to be played. Such bands as Krieg, Thornspawn, Ibex Throne, Havohej, Cryptic Winds, Vukodlak, Maskim, Judas Iscariot (although he now lives in Germany), and Burning Winds all uphold the true meaning of black metal. There is indeed networking going on between bands and I personally try to stay in touch with all the bands mentioned above as well as up and coming bands that are not very well known right now. I also stay in contact with bands from Europe, Canada, and South America. The war must be fought on all fronts! This is always an open topic for discussion, but what does black metal mean to you as a musician, and on a more personal level? Does the true meaning of the genre even exist in 2001, or has the style been picked over like a carcass under a mighty bird of prey? Black metal to me is the embodiment of hatred, destruction and blasphemy in musical form. The true meaning does exist in 2001 but as with anything else there will always be bands that never really embraced the meaning of black metal and for this reason they never stay true to the style. Kult ov Azazel lives and breathes black metal, we'd have it no other way! Where so many in the black metal scene regard LaVey as the enemy, and not "true" to biblically derived Satanism, you use his writings from the passage "Le Messe Noir" for your track bearing the same name. What are your thoughts on Anton LaVey, and bands claiming to be something far more sinister due to their belief in actual demons, and "Satan"? Where does Kult Ov Azazel stand in the spiritual realm, if at all? (Give the readers a glimpse into your lyrical concepts) Ok, first let me start off by saying this…ANYONE that believes in actual demons and "Satan" as a deity is nothing more than a pathetic christian. I myself am a member of the Church of Satan and have held LaVey's writings and philosophy in high regard since I was a teenager. People tend to think of him as the enemy when the real enemy is not him it's the opposition, the christian movement. Satanism is seen and thought of in different ways according to the person. No two people involved in it will ever answer the same when asked, "What does Satanism mean to you?" Our lyrics are very much satanic and based around our hatred and misanthropy. I choose to use the passages from the Satanic Rituals because I felt we as a band could take them to a more extreme level with our music. In a sense it was ritual for me and a goal I wanted to see if I could accomplish. I have to say in this day and time I think I achieved what I was going for. The early 90's were a big era for the Florida death metal scene. Is there still any evidence of this in 2001? Has this movement had any influence on Kult of Azazel? I ask, for there are select riffs in tracks like "Legions Unleashed" and "Crown of Fire" that bear the stylistic mark of "Florida". Would you agree? I suppose the death metal movement is still going here in Florida, but to be honest I don't really keep up with death metal too much anymore. There are a few bands since 94/95 that I have kept up with and even some newer bands that I have bought CDs of but all in all I don't follow it or stay up to date on it. In a way I'd agree with you that you can find traces of the early "Florida" sound in our music but that just comes from us being influenced by it back when the "Florida" death metal scene was really thriving. But on a whole scale basis, we don't think about it and just write and play the way we feel. If you hear some traces of death metal in our music I can say that it's definitely not intentional. It seems as though playing live really isn't a priority in black metal since so many "bands" are a 1 or 2 person project. I know K.O.A. make it a point to take the music out and assault willing bipeds, but is it difficult in your area to be accepted in front of an audience? Is it really that important for the band to be a touring entity, as well as a recording artist? Is it really important to be a touring identity or recording artist? This really depends on the person. Some would say no it isn't important, but to me it is. I enjoy playing and therefore I like to record and play live. People have been accepting us since our first gig in 1999. Every show we play more and more maniacs show up, so obviously we are doing something right within the black metal scene here. March 27th will mark our last South Florida show until the Blood Fire Death Festival happens down here in October. Now that "Triumph of Fire" is available, and Kult has achieved the goal of a full-length CD, what is the next step for the band as you fill out the rest of this year? Does your deal with Arctic Music Group/Pavement look to the future and strive to support your music on a global scale? Our first step is to find a replacement drummer since we used a session drummer on the CD. Our next step after that is to book US and European tours and just go out full force and assault the world with our blasphemies! Other than that probably sometime in the fall we will begin writing new songs for our second CD. Arctic/Pavement has been very supportive so far, so I don't really see it changing anytime soon. Thank you for your time. Feel free to inform the masses on what merchandise you have available, and continue the fight to keep black metal underground. Hailz!! Many fucking hails to you Marty for allowing us this interview! I urge everyone to go out and buy the new CD "Triumph of Fire" and I promise that you will not be disappointed. With 11 tracks, just a little under 40 minutes, this CD is pure Satanic American Black Metal in it's most extreme form. We also still have Kult ov Azazel/Krieg split CDs and T-shirts for sale. Be sure to check out our website, www.kultovazazel.com, for a list of all our merchandise and contact information. Hail Worm Gear! Hail Satan!