Glen Michael Benton[2] (born June 18, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and bassist for the Florida death metal band Deicide.

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 several public schools in Niagara Falls before enrolling in Catholic 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 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.

He decided he wanted to become a metal vocalist during a night spent tripping on psychedelics and listening to the album Seven Churches by Possessed.

[7] On July 21, 1987, after guitarist Brian Hoffman replied to Benton's advertisement in a local music magazine, Deicide was formed.

[8] 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.

[citation needed] Benton had his tonsils removed when he was 24 years old, following the release of Deicide's second album Legion.

Described as "an artist whose public persona and music will forever be intertwined," Benton has been referred to as "the face of Satanic death metal".

[13] Benton believes modern heavy metal bands lack the theatric personalities in their frontpeople that inspired him during his youth, such as Ozzy Osborne and Elvis Presley.

[6] Despite having claimed in an interview he shares a "spiritual link" with Lucifer, who tells him "what to say and what to write about,"[14] 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.

[15] In early years, Benton was ostensibly a theistic satanist; he implied he had held the belief of the Christian God but worshipped Satan instead.

[16] However, 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.

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 is known for his Satanist and anti-Christian beliefs, and Deicide's lyrical content rarely deviates from blasphemous topics.

[25] Benton's vocals alternative between high shrieks, death growls, and screaming (which he self-describes as his "angry man voice").

[10] Although Benton played bass guitar with his fingers early in Deicide's career, he eventually switched to using a pick.

"[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.

[36] 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.

On the role of religion in society, Benton said "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.