DEICIDE’s GLEN BENTON Blasts ‘Crybabies’ Over A.I. Paintings Controversy: ‘We Gave All The Fallacious Individuals A Voice’

In a brand new interview with Belgian Jasper, DEICIDE bassist/vocalist Glen Benton as soon as once more addressed the controversy surrounding the duvet art work for the band’s newest album, “Banished By Sin”. Launched on April 26 by way of Reigning Phoenix Music, the LP options artwork that some folks imagine was generated by synthetic intelligence (A.I.). When the duvet art work was first unveiled in February, hypothesis over the way it was created led to backlash from followers on social media, in addition to memes mocking it and DEICIDE.

Benton stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “For me, I am an artist. I come from a household of artists. I like artwork. I’m going to museums. I am into that. To me, it is extra deeper than what’s on the floor.

“We stay in a day and age of bandwagon years — everyone’s simply prepared to leap on the subsequent bandwagon — and I knew it was gonna disturb folks,” he continued. “And that is the entire level of it, man. Artwork is meant to get you considering, and that is the place I’m. I am not gonna dumb down my creative creativity simply because anyone finds it offensive or I did not use their cousin who attracts anime or no matter. I imply, that is about artwork, man.

“Should you ask an artist to attract an image of one thing for you and so they do it in a manner the place it actually creates controversy, you’ve got accomplished your job, man. And the truth that I bought all these crybabies continually making an attempt to…

“We gave all of the fallacious folks a voice — that is all I can say,” Benton added. “There’s some folks that basically simply do not must be heard from in society, and we gave these folks — these sad, indignant, imply, upset, self-loathing people — we gave all of them an avenue, and it is only a unhappy commentary on life proper now.

“Me and [DEICIDE drummer] Steve [Asheim], each time we do a file, it is, like, ‘Okay. How lengthy is it gonna take earlier than they name me this or they are saying we’re this?’

“You understand what? Dangerous press is sweet press,” Glen stated. “I discovered that on my first album. So if individuals are speaking and individuals are disturbed, pay attention, man, you probably did job. And that is how I [see it]. I needn’t learn all of the shitty feedback on YouTube or wherever else to know that I did one thing [worthwhile].”

Benton beforehand mentioned the “Banished By Sin” art work final month in an interview with The Brutally Scrumptious Podcast. On the time, he stated: “Properly, folks do not perceive that the album cowl that we did, it was accomplished with Photoshop and with some A.I., but it surely’s a extra trendy model. It is like ‘Legion’ [DEICIDE‘s second album, released in 1992] — once I did the ‘Legion’ album cowl, computer systems have been nonetheless fucking new. No one knew something about three-dimensional art work or any shit like that. And I used to be the primary particular person to even fucking fuck with that once I designed the ‘Legion’ album cowl. Now I have been within the computer systems and all that shit since all of them took place. So I could also be forward of lots of people in relation to computer systems. I’ve two iMacs and MacBook Professional and iPad Professional. So I am a bit of versed with the entire laptop age and in Photoshop and all that stuff and that.

“I love to do one thing totally different and provocative,” Glen defined. “And I do know the entire A.I. factor, everyone’s [up in arms about it]… Nevertheless it was meant to stir. Individuals do not perceive. It is a modernization of… It is a signal of the time that we’re in. Individuals simply cannot — their first [reaction] is, like, ‘Oh, he is making an attempt to place all of us artists out of labor. And I will be caught drawing penises in males’s bogs for the remainder of my life.’ So everyone’s up in arms and considering that that is the top of the fucking world. And it is actually ridiculous, man. It is only a type of artwork and expression. So I believe folks ought to simply actually cease being ridiculous and settle for it for what it’s, man. It is a signal of the instances.

“I do not do the identical album art work over and over and over, and I do not use these scribble artists to create these logos that you just can’t learn or make out,” Benton added. “I am simply not into that shit. All these wannabe Rembrandts and shit, man. You understand what? I design art work round the entire thing, man. And I do not take different folks’s emotions or their concepts or I do not sit right here and suppose, ‘Properly, what’s this blue-haired child in Nebraska gonna take into consideration the album cowl?’ I do what I do as a result of I prefer it, and I do not give a shit what anyone else thinks. So if it pisses folks off… And it is actually extra like these bandwagon little shitheads; all of them wanna soar on the bandwagon, ‘Boohoohoo.’ However this is the factor, how hypocritical it’s, as a result of my artwork was being stolen [through illegal downloading] and stepped throughout within the ’90s. METALLICA had seen it come and so they tried to cease it. However all these wannabe mercenaries for artists and all these idiots on the market, they have been the identical folks proper there stealing my artwork again then. So the place have been all you guys at to defend my artwork being stolen and brought benefit of? So, all I did was simply did an album cowl, actually, that simply targeted on the entire modernization of the trendy time and, actually, it is only a reflection of the age that we’re in proper now. I am unable to spend my days making an attempt to clarify this. I’ve a saying: I do not attempt to persuade silly is dumb and I do not attempt to persuade dumb is silly. So I simply let it do its factor and piss folks off. I’ve a good time with it. It is hilarious. Yeah, it’s what it’s, man. It is meant to stir the shit paddle, and that is what I do.”

Earlier this month, Asheim additionally addressed the “Banished By Sin” art work controversy, telling the Heavy Demons radio present: “Properly, from what I perceive, the label stated, ‘Hey, we need to get a canopy that’s harking back to the primary file,’ some type of medallion or one thing like that. So, working with… Glen has a man in — I believe he is from Sweden, and he’s a jewellery designer, and he is an artist, as a result of, clearly, he has to craft the jewellery, he has to design the art work for no matter. Anyway, so he requested this man, ‘Hey, create a medallion for the art work for the file. After which we will tie it in with jewellery that we’re gonna promote additionally.’ And in order that was this man. So when folks get all bent out of practice about the way it’s A.I. generated, I imply, we had a human artist design this factor. An artist, they use laptop software program to design it, and whether or not or not he ran it by some program to scrub it up, I do not know. I imply, some individuals who know extra about artwork than I do appear to have an actual downside with it.”

Steve continued: “Everybody’s all up in arms about the entire thing. And I do not actually perceive why. I imply, I suppose I see that time about, ‘Hey, an artist who paints may have gotten paid.’ Properly, you understand what? An artist did receives a commission for this art work. Our fucking man. I imply, it is not like he is not an artist. So, I do not know what everybody’s all up in arms about. I believe folks identical to to have one thing to bitch about. That is cool. I get it. I wish to bitch, too.

“However anyway, that is my tackle it,” Asheim added. “And I believe that is fairly cool. I’ve heard loads of folks bitch about it. I’ve heard loads of folks say, ‘I do not see what the fucking downside is.’

“Anyway, we made super-huge banners of the art work for stay. So everybody who hates it’s actually gonna love that.”

This previous February, DEICIDE launched the second single from “Banished By Sin”, a track referred to as “Sever The Tongue”. The monitor was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, whereas the blending and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for “Sever The Tongue” that enhances the monitor’s blasphemous undertones.

To shut out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with one other blasphemous track referred to as “Bury The Cross…With Your Christ”.

In August 2022, Benton instructed “The Garza Podcast” that DEICIDE‘s new music “is absolutely anthem-style stuff. It is actually good, man. There’s a number of prog stuff in there, combined in there. Steve‘s our prog man, man; he is the progressive rock man. He likes to put in writing these actually black steel riffs and the progressive stuff. He is a tremendous expertise, man. He performs piano. He can play sweeps on guitar. He is a drummer. Yeah, he can do all of it.”

Benton went on to say that the subsequent DEICIDE album was written in 2021 earlier than he and his bandmates agreed to embark on a tour celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of DEICIDE‘s sophomore album, “Legion”.

DEICIDE performed its first present with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on Might 21, 2022 on the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Two years in the past, Nordberg spoke about how he landed the DEICIDE gig in an interview with “The Zach Moonshine Present”. He stated: “In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE within the U.S. And we bought to know the fellows and bought alongside rather well. And I really discovered that Glen lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, the place we stay. So Jeramie and Glen grew to become good buddies and so they trip bikes all of the instances. It is a humorous little factor, eager about that. However lengthy story quick, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I imagine he is the top of A&R at Dean Guitars so he is specializing in that for proper now. I heard that they wanted a guitar participant, so I discovered a few songs, made a few movies, and Glen noticed ’em and preferred what he noticed. So we had a few practices, and bing bang increase, right here we’re.”

Cannella amicably left DEICIDE in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English grew to become a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Photograph credit score: Gene Smirnov