Glen Benton

Glen Benton
Benton in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Glen Michael Benton
Born	(1967-06-18) June 18, 1967 Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.
Genres	Death metal technical death metal blackened death metal
Occupations	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Vocals bass guitar
Years active	1985–present

Glen Michael Benton (born June 18, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and bassist for the Florida death metal band Deicide.

In addition to his work with Deicide, Benton was also a of member of the band Vital Remains, occasionally recording and performing with the band. He is known for his extremely low and powerful guttural growls, high shrieks, and overtly anti-Christian lyrics. Benton's music and personal life have been subject to controversy at various points throughout his career.

Career

Early life

Glen Michael Benton was born in Niagara Falls, New York but was raised in Clearwater, Florida. His family eventually relocated back to New York only to relocate back to Florida several years later. He reflected, "I couldn't wait to get the fuck outta that place."

Benton's interest in music began at an early age; he claimed he knew he wanted to be a professional musician as early as age "9 or 10". He described himself as "the kid in the mirror rocking out with a tennis racket", naming Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Little Richard, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones as his earliest inspirations. He eventually began creating music by experimenting with his father's guitars, claiming to have been heckled by his "douche bag brother" in the process.

Benton's musical interests took a drastic turn when he was exposed to Black Sabbath for the first time. He reflected, "I remember being at the breakfast table 7:30 in the morning with my boombox blasting ‘Paranoid’ at my mother."

Deicide

On July 21, 1987, after guitarist Brian Hoffman replied to Benton's advertisement in a local music magazine, Deicide was formed. Within days the band, consisting of Benton (bass/vocals), Hoffman, Hoffman's brother Eric (guitars) and Steve Asheim (drums), was named "Amon", after the Egyptian deity. Within a month, Amon had recorded the crude Feasting the Beast 8-track demo in Benton's garage and had started playing the occasional gig in the Tampa area. In 1989, Amon recorded their second demo, Sacrificial, at Morrisound with producer Scott Burns.

Glen Benton at Midgardsblot 2019

Since 1990, Benton has recorded and released thirteen full-length studio albums with Deicide.

Artistry

Stage persona

In early years, Benton was ostensibly a theistic satanist; he implied he had held the belief of the Christian God but worshipped Satan instead. Thus, his beliefs have been questioned by followers of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, which Benton has blasted on the grounds it is an organized religion, promoting what he perceives to be "Hollywood Satanism". Benton said,

"I was always referred to as ‘the evil little bastard’ in my family. I just fell into it, and it’s the persona I’ve had ever since I was a little kid, through school and through everything else. I don’t even really know why, but do I get off on raising eyebrows and ruffling feathers? Fuck yeah, I do! Fifty-six years old and I still love getting a reaction out of folks. Most kids rebel, and I wanted to fight the powers".

Despite having claimed in an interview he shares a "spiritual link" with Lucifer, who tells him "what to say and what to write about," the nature of Benton's 'Satanism' is obscure and a subject of controversy, particularly due to allegations by former Deicide guitarist Eric Hoffman, who dismissed it as insincere and spurious.

Benton's claims are generally considered to have always been tongue-in-cheek, as his purported "Satanism" has since largely been defined as vehement anti-Christian atheism complemented with theatrics suitable for the band. In the July 2008 issue of Revolver Magazine, Benton stated there was no ideological agenda in Deicide and the music is foremost. Additionally, Benton himself is a self-described "showman".

Benton is notorious for an inverted cross he has repeatedly branded into his forehead over the years, beginning when he was 22. According to Deicide drummer Steve Asheim, this act was likely in response to previous press attention the band received when Brian Hoffman burned an inverted cross into his arm with a cigarette. Benton estimated that he had burned the cross into his skin twelve times, adding that the most recent time he was able to veins and bone from his skull. He eventually stopped this practice after his mother begged him to. Benton commented:

To this day, I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, but I knew that I had been christened Catholic as a child, and I felt that the best way to take care of that would be my symbolic way of taking that Catholic mark off of my skin.

Lyrics

Benton had a religious upbringing with a Catholic father and a Lutheran mother. Deicide's lyrical content rarely deviates from topics such as Satanism and anti-Christianity. Benton said:

"It’s beaten into me, so I can’t sing about anything else. If I try to sing about other things, I draw a complete blank. I let the universe speak through me, and if I have to force it, it just won’t come".

Benton attempts to incorporate double messages into his lyrics. He claims some of the messages he has heard while playing Deicide songs backwards have "scared the shit out of [him]".

Technique and influences

Although Benton played bass guitar with his fingers early in Deicide's career, he eventually switched to using a pick. He elaborated:

"The reason I switched to a pick is because in this style of music, the bass player has to be tight because it’s just so fast. It’s hard to play that dynamic with your fingers. When you’re speed – when you’re blasting, all you hear is “beep-boop-bl-bleep- boop.” It should be more like a guitar. It’s just like playing rhythm guitar".

Benton has cited Black Sabbath, Dio and Judas Priest as influences. Benton believes modern heavy metal bands lack the theatric personalities in their frontpeople that inspired Benton when he was young. Benton has stressed "we need that guy out there biting the heads off of bats", saying it was "that off the wall shit" that inspired and influenced his stage personality.

Equipment

In May 2015, Benton was endorsed by ESP guitars, and has been using a custom-made EX bass with a reverse headstock and EMG pick-ups since then. He has also used Phoenix and Stream bass models.

Controversies

Sacrificial Suicide

Main article: Deicide (album)

Deicide's 1990 self-titled debut album featured a song titled "Sacrificial Suicide", in which Benton was alleged to have claimed that in order to achieve a life opposite that of Jesus he planned to die by suicide at age 33. This claim that he would kill himself at the age of 33 continued throughout the 1990s. However, he passed that age in 2000 and did not die. In 2006, he stated that these statements had been "asinine remarks" and that "only cowards and losers" choose to kill themselves.

Bob Larson controversy

In the early-to-mid-1990s, Benton was a frequent opponent guest to Christian radio shows, such as Bob Larson's "Talk Back" show. Though a serious discussion rarely took place on the program, the exchanges between the two mainly consisted of taunts from Benton and tongue-in-cheek teasing. Larson continually invited Benton to his talk show, but Benton often declined.

Despite rumors that Benton had mailed a scab to Larson, the former eventually refuted these claims, saying:

"Bob Larson is a fucking carny. He's a showman, like myself. He does what he does for ratings and to sell his fucking cult-shit videotapes and his cassettes to you, the weak-minded fuck. Okay? [...] Bob Larson has actually admitted this shit it to me. Bob Larson and me are actually kind of friends [...] Bob Larson does what he does to make fucking money to support his prostitute habits."

Allegations of animal abuse

In 1992, newspapers reported that Benton had expressed an interest in, and participated in, the slaughter of live rodents such as rats and squirrels. During an interview with NME Magazine, Benton shot a squirrel with a pellet gun: Benton explained it was to prevent any further damage to his electrical system and other contents in the attic of his home where the interview was held. The publicity led to an attempted bomb attack on Benton during Deicide's Legion tour at the International 2 in Manchester, England, by an animal rights organization. Benton was also beaten up in Bradford. A similar attack was attempted at a previous show in Stockholm, where a supposed small fire bomb was set to detonate during Deicide's set. No one was injured, but the bomb damaged the venue. The bomb was reported to be an M-80. The tour was curtailed.

Bob Dole controversy

When then-US Senator Bob Dole mentioned Deicide and death metal on TV, Benton reportedly returned from the supermarket to find a news crew parked on his front yard. He recalled, "they wanted my reaction to Bob Dole’s reaction to somebody else’s fucking reaction, and I told them to get the fuck off my property."

Personal life and views

Benton has two sons, Daemon Michael Benton and Vinnie Benton. He has an interest in motorcycles, which can be seen in the music videos for the Deicide songs "Scars of the Crucifix" and "Conviction".

Benton is known for his Satanist and anti-Christian beliefs, and views of "today's corrupt religious systems". He commented,

"Religion is a three-legged dog, and it’s on its way out. I think people know how to treat each other, and don’t need a book full of bullshit to tell them how to do it."

His resentment of organized religion began at an early age. He recalled:

"When I was eight years old and forced against my will to participate in the Christmas play at the church my mother was a Sunday school teacher at, I was singing at the front of the church thinking, ‘How did I get myself into this shit?’ My father’s side of the family were Catholic and my mother’s Lutheran, so I got the worst of both worlds."

Benton believes that the modern music industry is lacking big "celebrities" and "personalities" that it had "in days gone". He claims he is motivated by dissenters, saying "the more you tell me not to do this, I'm gonna do it."

Legacy

Benton has been referred to as "the face of Satanic death metal". Metal Injection said Benton "will absolutely go down as one of death metal's most well-known characters".

Discography

With Deicide

• As Amon; Feasting the Beast demo (1987)
• As Amon; Sacrificial demo (1989)
• Deicide (1990)
• Legion (1992)
• Amon: Feasting the Beast compilation (1993)
• Once Upon the Cross (1995)
• Serpents of the Light (1997)
• When Satan Lives live album (1998)
• Insineratehymn (2000)
• In Torment in Hell (2001)
• The Best of Deicide compilation (2003)
• Scars of the Crucifix (2004)
• When London Burns DVD (2006)
• The Stench of Redemption (2006)
• Doomsday L.A. live EP/DVD (2007)
• Till Death Do Us Part (2008)
• To Hell with God (2011)
• In the Minds of Evil (2013)
• Overtures of Blasphemy (2018)
• Banished By Sin (2024)

With Vital Remains

• Dechristianize (2003)
• Icons of Evil (2007)

Guest appearances

• Cannibal Corpse, Eaten Back to Life (1990); backing vocals on "Mangled" and "A Skull Full of Maggots"
• Napalm Death, Harmony Corruption (1990); backing vocals on "Unfit Earth"
• Cancer, Death Shall Rise (1991); backing vocals on "Hung, Drawn and Quartered"
• Cannibal Corpse, Butchered at Birth (1991); backing vocals on "Vomit the Soul"
• Transmetal, Dante's Inferno (1993); backing vocals on "Dante's Inferno" and "Hymn for Him"
• Roadrunner United (2005); vocals on "Annihilation by the Hands of God"
• Roadrunner United Live Concert DVD (2008); vocals on Obituary's "The End Complete" and Deicide's "Dead By Dawn".
• Belphegor, Conjuring the Dead (2014); additional vocals on "Legions of Destruction"

External links

• Media related to Glen Benton at Wikimedia Commons
• Deicide: Sons of Satan Archived July 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Metal Forge, 2006-10-16