On December 25th, NME published Behemoth frontman Nergal's guide to having a merry black metal Christmas. Following is an excerpt from his list.

Remember that the true meaning of Christmas is pagan.

Nergal: “Everything about Christmas, right down to the tree, was stolen from the heathen tradition. It’s how Christianity took over the world. They stole all the pagan traditions and made them their own. They just put different names on them, so that the people didn’t revolt. Personally, I like to spend Christmas immersed in Nordic mythology. The Viking version. Yule.”

It’s all repeats on the telly. Why not get out the acoustic guitar and have a sing-song?

Nergal: “I’ve got some plans to do some things with my acoustic project Me And That Man next year. Our last album, Songs Of Love And Death, came out in 2017. You can expect a new single around spring or summer, with an album to follow after that in 2020. Me And That Man are definitely working on stuff.”

Try to get as far away from Jesus as possible.

Nergal: “Normally at this time of year, I try to get away from Poland to somewhere hot, preferably where they’ve never heard of Jesus. I was 14 when I started questioning religion. I decided I didn’t want my life to be ruled by dogma. I was raised Catholic. My parents were quite lax, to be honest, but Catholicism is huge in Poland. My father was a Communist, so he got it.”

Read Nergal's complete guide here.

Behemoth recently released a recap video from their November 24th performance at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Watch below:

Behemoth perform next on January 10th at Batschkapp in Frankfurt, Germany. View the band's complete live itinerary here.

The band's new album, I Loved You At Your Darkest, is available via Metal Blade Records (North America) / Nuclear Blast (Europe). Produced by the band themselves, with drum co-production by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames), mixing by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Children Of Bodom) mastering by Tom Baker (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), and a 17-piece Polish orchestra arranged by Jan Stoklosa, I Loved You At Your Darkest can be ordered here.

I Loved You At Your Darkest tracklisting:

"Solve"
"Wolves ov Siberia"
"God = Dog"
"Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica"
"Bartzabel"
"If Crucifixion Was Not Enough..."
"Angelvs XIII"
"Sabbath Mater"
"Havohej Pantocrator"
"Rom 5:8"
"We Are the Next 1000 Years"
"Coagvla"

"Bartzabel" video:

"Wolves ov Siberia" video:

"God = Dog" video:

Behemoth lineup:

Nergal - vocals & guitars
Orion - bass & vocals
Inferno - drums & percussion