Glen-Benton

Biography

Glen Benton was raised in Tampa, Florida where 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), had named the band "Amon" after the Egyptian deity of the same name. 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. Benton reportedly stormed into Roadrunner Records' A&R man Monte Conners' office and presented him with the demo, saying, "Sign us, you fucking asshole!" The next day contracts were issued to the band.
Benton is known for his interest in motorcycles, which can be seen in the video for the title track from Scars of the Crucifix. He also has two sons, Daemon Michael Benton and Vinnie Benton.
Satanism

Benton is known for his Satanic and anti-Christian beliefs and views of "today's corrupt religious systems". He is renowned for an inverted cross he has repeatedly branded into his forehead over the years. According to 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.
Despite having claimed in an interview that 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. In early years, Benton was ostensibly a theistic satanist; he implied he had held the belief of the Christian God but worshiped Satan instead. Thus, his beliefs have been put to question by followers of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, which Benton has blasted on the grounds that it is an organized religion, promoting what he perceives to be "Hollywood Satanism".
It's arguable that Benton's claims have always been tongue-in-cheek. Most have since defined Benton's 'Satanism' as vehement anti-Christian atheism complemented with theatrics suitable for the band. In the July 2008 issue of Revolver Magazine, Benton stated that there was no ideological agenda in Deicide and that the music was first and foremost, in response to a question by an observer.
Controversy

Sacrificial Suicide
The self-titled 1990 debut album of his group Deicide featured a song entitled "Sacrificial Suicide", in which Benton was alleged to have claimed that in order to achieve a life opposite that of Jesus he planned to commit suicide at age 33. This claim that he would commit suicide at the age of 33 continued throughout the 1990s. However, he passed that age in 2000 and did not commit suicide. In 2006, he stated that these statements had been "asinine remarks" and that "only cowards and losers" choose to kill themselves.
Religious beliefs
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.
Animal abuse allegations
In 1993, newspapers reported that Benton had expressed an interest in, and an active participation in, the burning of live rodents such as rats and squirrels. During an interview with NME Magazine, Benton shot a squirrel with a pellet gun during the interview (in context, 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).Such bad publicity led to an attempted bomb attack on Benton during their Legion tour at the Inter