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According to the Apocrypha Book of Enoch, Azazel is a demon who taught the sons of men how to manufacture weapons and to make war. And this is the perfect name for this band, especialized in aggressivity. Azazel is an american young band formed in April of 1999 when Xul(ex-Devoured by Darkness) and Xaphan(Church of Satan/ex-Coprophagia) decided to abandon to their side projects. Xaphan who was working with who would be Azazel’s first drummer was writing material for a four track demo that was going to be recorded under the name of «Azazel». During this time Xul who was working under the name of «Erebus» churned out a four song demo which eventually became «Entering Erebus» the first demo that would reflect Azazel’s intense style of black metal, influenced by bands like Venom, Possessed, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Destruction, Marduk and Beherit, among others. Beginning in April 1999 Xaphan and Xul along with drummer Beleth begun rehearsing the six songs they had for their self-release debut “Order of the Fly”CD, which was released on a limited edition. After a few weeks, Beleth left the band due to prior commitments and was replace by Von. As this line up Azazel began playing shows around the South Florida area and in July 1999 went into the studio to begin recording of “Order of the Fly”. The Mcd would consist of the four redone tracks from “Entering Erebus”, the one song that Xaphan had planned to record for the solo entity and a new track written with the current line up. For Milwaukee Metalfest Azazel distributed 100 “Forever Heaven Gone” promo tapes that consisted of two songs off of “Order of the Fly” that received good response and zine interest. With the release of the mcd in August the band has seen excellent reviews in Unchain the Underground and the ChristCrusher list as well as airplay on Broward/Dade County metal radio shows. In September the band went back into the studio, with Gus Rios of Sickness on drums to record Mayhem’s “Chainsaw Gutsfuck” for the Mayhem tribute “Reges Mortis Aeterni” which is scheduled for a November release date. Azazel will also be featured on the “Unholy Blood” compilation. For a short time period Von was replaced by Mortis on drums but this was short lived. At this point Azazel is rehearsing with new drummer Hellspawn and preparing for the Lost Disciple Records comp. entitled “Visionaries of the Macabre Vol 2 comp - An Evil Elite” in which they will be on with 14 other elite USBM bands and will begin recording for the upcoming Azazel/Krieg split which will be released in March of 2000 totally funded by both bands.
So, their line up
is: I became interested in the band, so I got in contact with Xaphan, who answered to us the next interview: Psicoterror: Azazel is relatively a new band, so I want to know how hard is for a new band in the U.S (no matter how good they may be) to sign with an American label? Xaphan: Let’s just say this...it’s not easy. We have sent promo packs out to so many labels and because we are relatively new most just say they want to hear more of what Azazel has to offer. This is the main reason why went ahead and self released the MCD. We will be doing a split CD with the almighty hellkult KRIEG this spring and once again it is going to be funded by both bands. Just sitting around waiting for a deal would be sheer stupidity. The blasphemy of AZAZEL must be spread to the four corners of the earth! Psicoterror: Why did you decide to self-release your first MCD “Order of the Fly” instead of releasing a tape which could be used as a promo for the labels in order to catch some attention of the musical media? Xaphan: Well I’d have to say that we did capture the attention of the musical media. We did in fact release a promo tape with 2 songs before the mCD was released. I believe that had a lot to do with the sales of the mCD. Besides, in this day and time you can generate more of a name for yourself on the Internet. So we felt that with the release of the “Order of the Fly” putting it out on tape would not be best so we opted to spend the money on a CD format. Psicoterror: Don’t you consider it (to self-produce a CD?) to be very expensive or unproductive somehow for a young band? Xaphan: I don’t see how it could be unproductive. In fact, we printed 200 copies of it and sold all of them with no problem. The mCD is actually now out of print. As for the monetary part of it money means nothing to us. It’s all about getting our hymns of destruction to the one’s who support bands such as us.
Psicoterror: I know that you have some problems with the finish band Azazel because of the name. Could you explain to us the facts? Are you planning to change the name of the band because of this? Xaphan: Fuck this Finnish band! The fact is we have made a pretty good name for ourselves in the short time we have been together. So to get an email saying that we are a shit US black metal band must mean we are doing something right. We do not intend on changing the name so these whiny bastards should get over it! Psicoterror: Lately, there has been an explosion of very talented metal acts in the U.S., could you give us the names of the most talented bands for you and why? Xaphan: Right now I would consider the best US Black Metal bands to be Krieg, Thornspawn, Averse Sefira, The Cold Beyond (formerly Dead by Mourning), and Bloodshed Divine. In my opinion the US is spewing forth some of the most hateful, blasphemous Black Metal. It is only time until the US hordes show the world what we have to offer. Psicoterror: How do you see the American metal scene in comparison with the European scene? FOR YOU, what are the main differences between your music and the typical European sound? Xaphan: I think the US scene is a lot fresher and more innovative than what is coming out of Europe right now. It seems that most of the European bands coming out today are lacking what the US is providing. The US scene is raw as fuck compared to the European scene. I’m not at all impressed with a lot of the crap that is coming out of Europe. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some killer bands still playing blasphemous music but still it seems the US has more hate and evil in the style which is what it is all about rather than these so-called “black metal” bands in Europe with their Casio keyboards and Mother Earth loving lyrics. The US scene has its own identity already and it will continue to become obvious to the rest. In the near future the US will be one of the dominant holders of the throne. Psicoterror: You have played recently in Florida- how would you describe an Azazel show and how do the public react to it? Xaphan: Yes we have played many shows to date. A typical AZAZEL show is extremely loud and raw. Psicoterror: You are affiliated with the Church of Satan. Do you think that your music could be used to enlighten the public with serious satanic propaganda? Please explain. What kind of support does Azazel receives from he C.O.S? Xaphan: The only support we receive from the CoS is the link to our website they have on theirs. I could see our music being a portal to spread the philosophies of Satanism to the masses but I try to keep my affiliation with the CoS and my music separated. I do not want to be looked upon as just another CoS band. Azazel is about spreading our hate and contempt of mankind to the masses and wish only to destroy the christian ideals of society! Psicoterror: What is the thematic or conceptual direction on which the band will be focused in the future (the new songs)? Please explain. Xaphan: Azazel will remain a fury of blasphemy. We have new songs written at the moment and in my opinion blow away the songs off the mCD. We shall forever keep the black flame alive in the music we create! Psicoterror: Future plans?...Your MCd has received very good critics,as I see: Have you received a proposal to record an album? Xaphan: We were currently contacted by Blood Fire Death records about re-releasing the mCD with a bonus live track and then a full length from there. Like I said earlier we will also be releasing a split CD with the hellkult of Krieg which will be funded by both bands. We also have songs appearing on about 6 compilations as well. Psicoterror: Last words for our readers? Xaphan: Thanks for the interview Renzo! Although the mCD is out of print if anyone is interested I can make a dub of it for them. Just write to me at 801 NE 18th Ct. #104 Ft. Lauderdale FL 33305 USA. Also check out our website at http://redirect.to/azazel. Be on the lookout for the AZAZEL/KRIEG split as well as the Lost Disciple “Visionaries of the Macabre-An Evil Elite”, “Unholy Blood” compilations and the Mayhem Tribute “Rege Mortis Aeterni” that we have songs on. Our flag of hate has been raised and we will continue to destroy the morals of society. Hail Satan! Hail Satan! If you want to contact this young but promising band, just don’t hesitate to write to:
Azazel
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