DEICIDE Frontman: 'I Used To Hate My Job, But Now I Enjoy It'

Justin Donnelly of Australia's The Metal Forge recently conducted an interview with DEICIDE frontman Glen Benton. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the overwhelmingly positive response to "The Stench Of Redemption":

"Man, after twenty years of getting my balls busted, it feels good to finally start getting some recognition. Everybody has been freaking about the album. It's in the charts everywhere, and it's a nice feeling. It's very humbling and gratifying after all these years of taking all the criticism and hits that I have to get some good press. I'm thirty-nine and I finally have an album out that nobody has anything too bad to say about it."

On the addition of new guitarists Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla:

"We've all known each other for years, so everybody fits in nicely. The whole transition of guitarists fell into place so easily. I mean the day after we knew that Brian (Hoffman) was leaving, Owen stepped in. And it was maybe a few days later that Eric (Hoffman) stepped out, when led to Santolla stepping in. Throughout the whole change, we didn't miss a beat. Since then, nobody has had anything harsh to say. Everybody pretty much gets along for the most part. It's been enjoyable because we all get along well. The entire band is now full of professionals. You know how it is with musicians. They've always got a hang up. There's always a major problem with someone, whether that be drugs, steroids or whatever the case might be. So everybody has a problem. Sometimes those problems after a while will surface into every aspect of that person's life, and that's what was basically happening with the Hoffman brothers. But with Owen and Santolla now members of the group, and all four of us pushing forty years old, all of us have pretty much worked out our idiosyncrasies. Santolla's a character. I won't deny that. He's a stereotypical guitar player. But his idiosyncrasies are nowhere in comparison to what I was used to dealing with in regards to the Hoffman brothers. We all get along, and it's a comedy show sometimes. We all work off each other, get along great, have fun and laugh. I enjoy doing it now. I used to hate my fucking job man, but now, I enjoy it. I don't think about quitting every time I go out on the road now. It's made being in DEICIDE a lot more enjoyable for me. After putting up with the hell that I've been through for the last twenty years, I kind of look at things now as a reward. Tours go by quicker, and we're playing longer sets. Obviously the albums are going to get better too. It's just great man. For once I'm really pleased with my life, or at least the job aspect of my life."

On the recording process for "The Stench of Redemption" compared to its predecessor, "Scars of the Crucifix":

"The recording of 'The Stench of Redemption' was easier because we didn't have fucking Neil Kernon (producer) in the studio wasting our money! Asheim and I had always pretty much done most of the production work on previous DEICIDE albums, and Earache Records' decision to bring Kernon in was a big mistake, I think. He ate up a lot of our budget, and he didn't really add too much as far as any input to what finally came out. I would say that he didn't meet a producer's qualifications. He dragged the sessions out for a long time, and I wasn't really happy with the end result. Adding to that, the Hoffmans tried pulling some shit on the mixes with the guitar sounds. It was just a mess. But with 'The Stench of Redemption', we reverted back to what we had done in the past. Asheim wrote the music like always, and I wrote all the lyrics like always, and we got together and learned the songs, went into the studio and bam, knocked them all out. We came out of the studio with big smiles on our faces. Everybody enjoyed turning up to the studio and we had a lot of fun. It was a good time. I was able to get on top of my shit from the word go too. So I wasn't behind schedule at all, and neither was anyone else. This album was really easy to make."

On Earache Records:

"We initially signed to Earache Records for one album, and at the end of that deal, I renegotiated for two more albums. Looking back, I didn't want DEICIDE to finish the way they did with Roadrunner Records. It was the Hoffman brothers that wanted out of that deal. So what they did was rush through the processes in order to get out of the Roadrunner Records deal. The end result was there meant that the albums really suffered. Personally, I didn't want out of the Roadrunner deal. I didn't, and still don't have a problem with Roadrunner Records. They always treated me right, and if I ever needed any money, or any help, they were always there for me. The only reason the relationship got the way it did was because of the Hoffman brothers were constantly calling and harassing them. I didn't want the deal I had with Roadrunner go out that way, that's why towards the end of the whole thing, I had very little to do with the band. I just kept my distance, and didn't put too much effort into the band, or the albums. I just threw it out there. But now that everybody's heads are where they need to be, it makes me doing my job a whole lot more fun. I would rather write lyrics to Asheim's songs, rather than have a bunch of shitty fillers on our albums. When it came time to find a new label, I think Earache Records were pretty much done. It took a year to negotiate that deal. I helped them, and then they helped me. That's how I'll say it. They really didn't have many big bands on their label at the time, and they were really hurting for somebody to help bring them back out of the toilet. I think we've helped to do that. We negotiated a deal for one album, and 'Scars of the Crucifix' did really well for them and us. It's fifty/fifty profit share. It was a great deal, and the album did really well, so I wanted to lock them in for a deal, more than they wanted to lock us into a deal! (Laughs) Usually it's the record company that what to lock you in for a bunch of albums. I said to the band that with this deal is something that we need to lock them into! So far 'The Stench Of Redemption' has been doing really well, and both Earache Records and DEICIDE are doing well."

Read the entire interview at www.themetalforge.com.