GLEN BENTON IS SUCH A SILLY-FACE

Cosmo Lee of Invisible Oranges unearthed these phone calls that Glen Benton made to evangelical radio personality Bob Larson back in 1992, and, as Lee writes, they’re a good reminder that Benton was once ” the poster boy for everything the religious right hates about heavy metal,” and not a guy who ” loves motorcycles, wrote a record about his divorce (Till Death Do Us Part), and records anti-Christian music with guitarist Ralph Santolla, a practicing Catholic.”

But, mostly, they’re a reminder that Glen Benton is just a big ol’ silly-face — in fact, I’d argue that he’s only marginally less silly than Marilyn Manson. I mean, listen to the voice he’s using in these calls, and the things he’s saying, and keep in mind (as though you could forget) that Benton is the dude who burned an inverted cross into his forehead (Benton into mirror every morning: “Still a good decision! No regrets here, friend.”), and the whole thing seems pretty ridiculous. “I’M GOING TO DEAL WITH YOU,” Benton says in a bizarrely sing-songy voice, and then he breaks into an “evil” cackle that would not have seemed out of place on an episode of He-Man. So, yeah, this is way entertaining, but it’s still pretty ridiculous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcgmWrhSg8c&feature=player_embedded

Check out more at Invisible Oranges.

-AR.