Glen Benton | |
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 Benton in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Glen Michael Benton |
| Born | (1967-06-18)June 18, 1967 (age 57) Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
Glen Michael Benton[2] (born June 18, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and bassist for theFlorida death metal bandDeicide.
In addition to his work with Deicide, Benton was also a member of the bandVital Remains, occasionally recording and performing with the band. He is known for his extremely low and powerfulgrowls, high shrieks, and overtlyanti-Christian lyrics. Benton's music and personal life have been subject to controversy at various points throughout his career.
Glen Michael Benton was born inNiagara Falls, New York but was raised inClearwater, Florida.[3] His family eventually relocated back to New York only to relocate back to Florida several years later.[3]
Benton's resentment of organized religion, for which he would eventually become notorious for, began at an early age. His father was a practicingRoman Catholic and his mother asLutheran, and he was dealt what he described as "the worst of both worlds." His mother was aSunday school teacher, and he recalled being forced to participate in his church'sChristmas pageant at age 8 against his will. He said, "I was singing at the front of the church thinking, ‘How did I get myself into this shit?’"[4] Benton was expelled from severalpublic schools in Niagara Falls before enrolling inCatholic school, where he jokingly recalled not “even [making] it past the first 20 minutes.”[5]
Like his dissension of religion, Benton's interest in music also began at an early age; he claimed he knew he wanted to be a professional musician as early as age "9 or 10".[6] He described himself as "the kid in the mirror rocking out with atennis racket", namingChuck Berry,The Beatles,Little Richard,Elvis Presley andThe Rolling Stones as his earliest inspirations. He eventually began creating music by experimenting with his father's guitars, claiming to have beenheckled by his "douche bag brother" in the process.[3]
Benton's musical interests took a drastic turn when he was exposed toBlack 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."[6] Benton later worked in a localrecord store, which exposed him toextreme metal. He decided he wanted to become ametal vocalist during a night spenttripping onpsychedelics and listening to the albumSeven Churches byPossessed.[7]
On July 21, 1987, after guitaristBrian 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 brotherEric (guitars) andSteve Asheim (drums), was named "Amon", after theEgyptiandeity.[8] Within a month, Amon had recorded the crudeFeasting the Beast8-track demo in Benton's garage and had started playing the occasional gig in the Tampa area.[9] In 1989, Amon recorded their second demo,Sacrificial, atMorrisound with producerScott Burns.[citation needed]
Benton had his tonsils removed when he was 24 years old, following the release of Deicide's second albumLegion. The procedure was financed byRoadrunner Records. He toured Europe with Deicide two weeks later while still recovering from the surgery.[10]
Since 1990, Benton has recorded and released thirteen full-length studio albums with Deicide.
Described as "an artist whose public persona and music will forever be intertwined," Benton has been referred to as "the face ofSatanic death metal".[11][12]Metal Injection said Benton "will absolutely go down as one ofdeath metal's most well-known characters".[13] Benton believes modern heavy metal bands lack the theatric personalities in their frontpeople that inspired him during his youth, such asOzzy Osborne andElvis Presley.[3] Benton recalls being referred to as "the evil little bastard" by family members while he was growing up. He said, "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! [...] Most kids rebel, and I wanted to fight the powers."[4] He claims he is motivated bydissenters, saying "the more you tell me not to do this, I'm gonna do it."[3] Benton has citedBlack Sabbath,Dio,Judas Priest,Ozzy Osbourne, andRonnie James Dio as influences.[6]
In a 1991 interview, Benton stated that his intention was "to create the mostevil-est music and to gain entrance into the sevengates of hell," describing Deicide's live performances as a "focal point to express [his] Satanism." He explained his understanding ofdemonic possession as "when you come to a certain point [where] there's no turning back [...] and your body is possessed, and there'sno way you can turn back."[14] He claimed in an interview he shares a "spiritual link" withLucifer, who tells him "what to say and what to write about."[citation needed]
Benton is notorious for aninverted cross he has repeatedly branded into his forehead over the years, beginning when he was 22. According to Deicide drummerSteve 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.[15] Benton estimated that he had burned the cross into his skin twelve times, adding that the most recent time he was able to see veins and bone from his skull. He eventually stopped this practice after his mother begged him to.[16] 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."[17]
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.[18] In early years, Benton was ostensibly atheistic satanist; he implied he had held the belief of the Christian God but worshipped Satan instead.[19] However, Benton's claims are generally considered to have always beentongue-in-cheek, as his purported "Satanism" has since largely been defined asvehement anti-Christian atheism complemented withtheatrics suitable for the band.[20] Additionally, Benton has called himself a "showman," and has stated that there is no ideological agenda in Deicide, and that the music is foremost.[21][22] Hence, his beliefs have been questioned by followers ofAnton LaVey'sChurch of Satan, an organization which Benton has denounced as an organized religion.[19]
Benton had a religious upbringing with a Catholic father and a Lutheran mother. Benton is known for hisSatanist andanti-Christian beliefs, and Deicide's lyrical content rarely deviates fromblasphemous topics. 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."[17] He explained, “Like taking a shit, you want it to [...] flow out of you naturally.”[23] Deicide's1990 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 ofJesus 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.[24] Benton attempts to incorporate double messages into his lyrics, and claims to have been deeply disturbed by some of the messages he has heard whileplaying Deicide songs backwards.[25]
Benton's vocals alternative between high shrieks,death growls, andscreaming (which he self-describes as his "angry man voice"). Benton claims that getting his tonsils removed at age 24 has contributed to the tone of his singing voice.[10]
Although Bentonplayed bass guitar with his fingers early in Deicide's career, he eventually switched to using apick. 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 blasting, all you hear is “beep-boop-bl-bleep- boop.” It should be more like a guitar. It's just like playing rhythm guitar".[26] He describes himself as "more of a rhythm player," and composes many of his contributions in Deicide on the guitar.[7]
In May 2015, Benton was endorsed byESP guitars, and has been using a custom-made EX bass with a reverse headstock andEMG pick-ups since then. He has also used Phoenix and Stream bass models.[27]
In the early-to-mid-1990s, Benton was a frequent opponent guest to Christian radio shows, such asBob Larson's "Talk Back" show.[28] Though a serious discussion rarely took place on the program, the exchanges between the two mainly consisted of taunts from Benton andtongue-in-cheek teasing.[29] Larson continually invited Benton to his talk show, but Benton often declined.[30][31][32][33] Benton claimed he was “roped into” the appearances on Larson's show, which he said were arranged byRoadrunner Records.[34] Despite rumors that Benton had mailed ascab to Larson, the former eventually refuted these claims, saying: "Bob Larson is a fuckingcarny. He's ashowman, like myself. He does what he does for ratings and to sell his fuckingcult-shit videotapes and his cassettes to you, the weak-minded fuck. Okay? [...] Bob Larson has actually admitted this shit 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."[35]
In 1992, newspapers reported that Benton had expressed an interest in, and participated in, the slaughter of live rodents such as rats and squirrels.[citation needed] During an interview with NME Magazine, Benton shot a squirrel in the head 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 being held.[36] The publicity led to an attempted bomb attack on Benton during Deicide's Legion tour at the International 2 in Manchester, England, by ananimal rights organization.[citation needed] Benton was also beaten up in Bradford. A similar attack was attempted at a previous show inStockholm, 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 anM-80.[37] The tour was curtailed.[38]
There was controversy between Benton andSlipknot vocalistCorey Taylor, stemming from the former's claim that Taylor once promised to take Deicide on tour, but ultimately never followed through with his offer. Benton was quoted on theTalk Toomey podcast as follows: "Not to fucking bust balls, but I’ll bust balls. [...] Slipknot: ‘Oh we’re going to take you guys out man, we’re going to take you guys out dude.’ Yeah, blow me. That’s what I say to you. Fucking blow me Corey Taylor and all you fags. OK. ‘Oh we’re going to take Deicide out on tour with us and blah blah blah.’ Blowing air up our asses, back in the day. You know what, you never did a fucking thing for us. You introduced us at a show once. Great, thanks. How about a fucking tour? How about fucking helping us out a little bit? I mean we’ve only been doing this for several years. You guys were like, ‘Dude you were what got me started.’ Well you know what, return the fucking favor. You know what I mean?"[39] The following day, Taylor toldLoudwire that he had no recollection of Deicide ever submitting for tours with Slipknot. Taylor said of Benton, "He wants to be pissed at me, go ahead -- get in line. Everybody's pissed at me. But don't talk shit on my guys and don't say shit that isn't fucking true."[40]
In 2022, Taylor again responded to Benton's asseverations in an interview withRock 102.1 KFMA: “I haven’t seen Glen Benton in 10 years and I haven’t talked to him in even longer. So I don’t know why he’s upset with me, I don’t know why he’s upset with us. [...] We take out the bands who submit for us. It’s just that simple. Out of respect to him and what Deicide has done over the years, it’s, like, if you talked to somebody, it wasn’t me, and they sure as hell didn’t talk to me, because I would have tried to do something. [...] At the end of the day, not everyone’s gonna like you, and you have to learn that. If you think everyone’s gonna like you, you need to get a helmet, because your life’s gonna be really sad."[41]
Benton's language in his initial rant was described byLoudwire as "homophobic." Benton returned toTalk Toomey, explaining: "What people don’t understand is when I grew up, man, when we were kids and that, we used to call each other names like ["fags"]. There was none of thispolitical correctness bullshit. [My comments were] taken a little more harsher than I wanted it to be taken." He acknowledged the incident as a "learning experience."[42]
Benton has two sons, Daemon Michael Benton and Vinnie Benton.[36] He has an interest in motorcycles,[36] which can be seen in the music videos for the Deicide songs "Scars of the Crucifix" and "Conviction".
Benton has expressed vehementantireligious sentiment throughout his career, which he has stated began during his childhood. He is quoted saying: "I think peopleknow how to treat each other, and don’t need abook full of bullshit to tell them how to do it."[17] Despite the lyrical content of Deicide, Benton does not dismiss all who believe in God; he elaborated on his stances in a backstage interview, saying: "If I was going to hate everyChristian in the world, or hatepeople that believe in God, I would have nothing to do with my parents. I would have nothing to do with alot of people in my world. That's just ignorance to condemn somebody for what they believe. That would be totally [hypocritical on my part]. I believe what I believe andI have the freedom to do that. [...] I ain't gonna condemn you for believing in God, I just think you're an idiot."[43]
Although Benton has admitted tohard drug use andheavy drinking during his younger years, he claims to have adopted a healthier lifestyle in his later years. He was quoted saying, "You know what? Who hasn't experimented with a few things in their life? Big deal. So what if I experimented? [...] Look, I don't even drink anymore. [...] I'll have aHeineken every once in a while, but I was drinking a bottle ofJack Daniel's every night before I went onstage and another bottle while I was playing. That startscatching up with you real quick, and I started goingblind in my right eye. So after a nice scare at the doctor's office about four years ago, I stopped."[44]
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