Thrash Talk spoke with Behemoth frontman Nergal when the band hit Munich, Germany recently. He discusses the band's latest album, I Loved you At Your Darkest, his take on organized religion, and more.

Q: You've always been very vocal about your aversion for the church, but do you think, if Jesus actually existed and if he would live now, do you think he'd be a Satanist if he could see what people do in his name or have been doing?

Nergal: "I don't know. Probably a person like him did exist, there's some proof for that. I don't believe that this person is exactly how he's portrayed by Christians and their aesthetics, with this very noble gentle Luke and always like very vital, probably something quite an opposite. What is cool about it, apparently he was one of the rebels, I don't know man. I don't know, maybe one day, I should just pay some attention and try to think about it, but I never thought about it, and I guess that these days we're all overwhelmed by information.

Let's say Jesus comes. It's his second coming, right? And he just appears tonight, he'd be, like, in prison or just put in a mental house, or just completely ignored considering how vast and massive and overwhelming the whole information system is. Back then, when the population was, like, 20 times smaller or 50 times smaller, the world was that small, it was much easier to make an impact.

It's like, in the '80s, you had, like, death metal bands like Possessed and Death making the statement, there were very few death metal bands, that's it. Try to come out in an extreme death-metal band in this genre and make a statement and make something that's going to be remarkable and stand-out and eventually start out a new sub-genre. Not possible. It's all done. All we can do is interpret and mutate.

It was much easier back then to be a rebel and eventually someone wrote about it, and then the spoken word spread and you'd eventually make a statement. These days - nah. I bet that the world is full of Christs. I'm not saying good or bad, I'm talking pretenders, charlatans, fakers, spiritual people that are maybe very honest but maybe living in India or something. The world is full of these people that are trying to make a statement and start a cult that's going to reign for the next 2000 years... not going to happen."

Behemoth are currently touring Europe. Find the tour itinerary below.

In anticipation of the current trek, the band launched a new video for "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica" (directed by Grupa 13), taken from their latest album, I Loved You At Your Darkest, which landed at #1 on BraveWords' BravePicks 2018 list. Watch the new below.

Orion (bass & vocals) comments: "Behemoth Legions! As this 'ILYAYD' adventure continues onwards, we want to share a new video with you! Since we began the writing process, 'Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica' was a stand-out contender to be featured as a single and music video. As the song evolved during rehearsal and recording, it gained this lively, furious vibe... which you hear now - thus, it includes live performance elements which we've not done in quite some time. We are happy to work with Grupa13 once again - and once again, they showed their super-professional approach at every step of the shooting and video production. Two separate locations, hours of preparation, but it was all worth it. In absentia dei, we evangelize! Enjoy!"

Concert tickets can be purchased here.

Ecclesia Diabolica Evropa 2019 e.v., with At The Gates, Wolves In The Throne Room

February
3 - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
4 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
6 - Bristol, UK - Marble Factory
7 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute
8 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town
9 - Manchester, UK - O2 Ritz
10 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
11 - Glasgow, Scotland - QM Union

On November 25th, 2018, Behemoth's art show, Thou Art Darkest, made it's final stop in Los Angeles, California. The band has posted this recap video:

Behemoth lineup:

Nergal - vocals & guitars
Orion - bass & vocals
Inferno - drums & percussion
Seth - live guitar