1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Hello. Thanks for having me. Azerothul is a one man black metal project from the Netherlands. I get nothing done by anyone else. I do the music, art and mixing myself. Does this always lead to the best results? No not at all hahah. But I just like to do it like that.
2.So far this year you have released a good amount of material, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recordings?
Uhm I didn’t release that much tbh. 2 of the EPs are basically the same EP but one has 2 songs extra. I fell on ice while recording so couldn’t finish art and the last 2 songs so I just released as it is. Then later on when I healed I finished it like I wanted. So technically I only released 2 short releases. The style I went for? Well I just tried the make the type of Black Metal I personally enjoy. Raw and dark. Wether I succeeded or not is up to the listener hahah.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover Satanism, Occultism and Vampirism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?
Ever since I was a small child I was rooting for the bad guy in movies. Watching a disney movie? All my friends rooting for Hercules and I was going: HADES! HADES! HADES!
Captain hook was cooler than Peter Pan, so was Sauron etc etc.
I was about 14 years old when I really really started to get into occult, call myself a Satanist, do rituals and so on… and now at almost 32 I still do.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Azerothul'?
Well, starting a project in late 2025 it’s hard to find a unique name. Every demonic name or cool dark name is already taken you know. So I decided to take 3 words that have a dark spiritual meaning to me and mix em up, leave some letters out etc etc until I had a word that clicked. So in itself it doesn’t mean anything at all. What words and how? I never told someone before and I shall keep it that way. It’s mine and mine alone.
5.Can you tell us a little bi more about the artwork that is presented on the ep covers?
Well the first one is just a picture of my backyard during the snow. Like said in an earlier question I had made a big fall on ice so couldn’t use my right arm for about a month which also meant no drawing. Then the 2 after are just things I like. A bit occult and medieval. Not much meaning behind it tbh. I just make what I like. The last release with the viking/warrior spirit was actually made for a split with a band that had to cancel. Felt too good to let it collect dust so I used it for an EP.
6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
For this project I won’t let anyone in. This is one of my most personal projects. Just me. I am however open to work with other musicians. I have many other projects. Some where I only do guitar. Some where I do guitar + drums. Working on a project with a vocalist atm. I do all instruments he does vocals. We gonna make occult heavy metal. He sings in the dutch band Epifyse btw if you wanna know what he sounds like. I also work a lot with my girlfriend. She plays bass and likes to do vocals. Some new projects with her coming soon.
7.You have also done a 'Venom' cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
Well very simply put… I fucking love Venom. One of my all time favourite bands. Last year for my 31st birthday my father gave me this huge ass Venom vinyl boxset. I own most of their material, fuck ton of shirts and other merch. Venom just one of my biggest loves in metal. One of the projects I’m working on with my gf mentioned above will have a very Venom inspired sound. First wave black/thrash/speed.
8.You also have a grindcore project called 'Biological Collapse', can you tell us a little bit more about the material you have recorded with this project?
Well my 2 main loves within the metal subgenres are black metal and grindcore. So I just had to get that itch out you know. I have 2 main loved genres I like to create and it doesn’t feel right to mix em both in 1 project. Grindcore does come a bit easier to me. Black Metal I gotta sit down and write. Grind just comes out. I improvised and recorded a full Biological Collapse EP on a livestream on twitch as a challenge some time ago. Writing, playing and recording all while people looked at me. Was a lot of fun.
9.On a worldwide level, how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Well worldwide is a bit big for my small projects hahah. But generally speaking people very positive. Most critique I get is based on the production value, which is totally fair btw. Even the people that have some constructive feedback on that are still positive about the riffs etc. There also is a very small portion that just hates me and insults me for no other reason than to hate. But I won’t go into much details or specifics… only gives em power you know. Let em accuse me of crap and insult me. I’ll ignore em and happily sit with my guitar in my lap in my living room doing what I love.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
Uhm I actually found 4 leftover songs from my first BM band I started in 2014 that unfortunately fell apart some years ago. Found em on an old USB stick along with some art. First gonna re-record those songs and release em along the old art but under the Azerothul name instead of the old bands name. After that I’ll look into doing a full length. When? Idk. I am but an amateur with some homerecording stuff so most things go naturally. I can’t really plan like a pro.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Among my fav bands is the aforementioned Venom ofc. But also King Diamond, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dark Funeral, Emperor, Hypocrisy, Krypt and a lot of bands from the Dutch black metal scene like Wederganger, Yaotzin, Sammath, Suttungr, Mortifer and many more. But I’m very diverse, walk into my house or join a twitch live stream and you hear many different genres and bands. From underground black and death metal to mainstream heavy metal bands like Judas Priest or Maiden… Hiphop music like N.W.A. and Wu-Tang Clan.. Reggae and a lot of metal bands the trve people would call poser bands like deathcore or nu-metal stuff. There are just many many sounds I enjoy a lot. If someone thinks I”m less ‘trve’ or ‘a real black metalhead’ doesn’t bother me, I can’t stop liking a certain sound hahah.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Well first of all: thanks for doing the interview, I really enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy it as well.
And the last thing I want to say is: There is nothing I love more than doing splits. So if you got a Black Metal project and are reading this hit up Azerothul for a split. If you have a grindcore project and are up for it hit up Biological Collapse hahah.
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