DEICIDE members Glen Benton and Steve Asheim recently answered 20 questions submitted by fans via the Earache Records web site. A few excerpts follow:

Q: How do you see the recent suicide of DISSECTION's leader Jon Nödveidt? It seems it was a suicide in order to respect his own Satanic beliefs. How do feel about that, taking into consideration your own past declarations about your own suicide?

Glen: "We all made asinine remarks as children mine was no different, I don't find any honor in suicide and only cowards and losers choose that option instead of living with one's responsibility or the actions that landed that person in jail to begin with. Do I feel sorry for him? NO. The person he murdered was someone's child and being a responsible father of two, I would have been waiting for him to get out of jail… as to finish him off before he had the option of taking his own life."

Q: I recently learned that Ralph [Santolla, DEICIDE guitarist] is a Christian and has objected to certain aspects of DEICIDE's artwork and even chooses to wear a crucifix on stage to protect himself from the "evil" of DEICIDE. My question is simply: is this a joke? If not, I think you seriously risk making your fans question the legitimacy of DEICIDE's stance on Satanism. Frankly, it is hard to believe that you are vehemently anti-Christian when you not only openly embrace one but embrace one within DEICIDE itself!

Glen: "Ralph is as much a Christian as Joey Buttafuoco. Everyone knows that it is I who writes the blasphemy. Does Ralph have a hard time with it? Who cares?! Just like, who cares what you believe?! I don't, unless you make it that way. Hey man, you'd be surprised to know how many closet Christians listen to DEICIDE and heavy shit…when it comes to that kind of crap, don't you worry, ole' GB is the only one you need to respect!"

Q: There has been a lot of speculation over Glen's reputation as a Satanist. A while ago, Glen has claimed he was going to kill himself at age 33 to fulfill his destiny as the antithesis of Jesus Christ, yet he is still alive and kicking well beyond the age of 33. Not that I want him dead, just curious as to why he would make such a bold claim and not see it through? Was it simply nonsense from an intoxicated Glen? Is Glen simply moving out of his rebellious stage? In no way am I criticizing the integrity of DECIDE's music, but rather questioning your moral stance as of late.

Glen: "Here's the deal, man. We all met with the writer and photographer for a magazine called Raw from England at their hotel in Tampa to do photos and pictures. After the photo shoot we hit the bar to do the story, we were all talking about hypotheticals and I mention that I had premonitions of dying at 33. Why did I say it? Who knows?! Did I believe that to be the outcome for myself? No. Was I drinking? Yes. Did I think that such an off-the-wall comment would last so long in the minds of people like yourself? No. When I was 33, I did have a really bad accident on my bike with my son on the back involving a car. We were both injured pretty bad — I had a choice then, either drop the bike or hit the car with the bike and kill myself and possibly my son or drop it and hope for the best. Well I'm still here and so is Daemon. I had the choice then and still do. I prefer to be around to keep my eyes on the road…if ya know what I mean."

Q: Steve, are you pleased with the fact that the "Ralph is a Christian" crap has been shown up by the AWESOME guitar work he performs on the album?

Steve: "Ralph is about as Christian as he is sober, which isn't much. So the fact the people even let something like that bother them is just fuel for the fire, and yes his guitar work on the new record is enough to silence even the most hardcore 'Satanists' out there. They end up saying, 'DEICIDE has a Christian in the band! And the leads fucking shred,' so let whoever believe whatever they want about Ralph, Glen, or whoever, but at the end of the sentence they're gonna say, 'Damn, have you heard 'The Stench'!?'"

Q: I recently learned that Ralph [Santolla, DEICIDE guitarist] is a Christian and has objected to certain aspects of DEICIDE's artwork and even chooses to wear a crucifix on stage to protect himself from the "evil" of DEICIDE. My question is simply: is this a joke? If not, I think you seriously risk making your fans question the legitimacy of DEICIDE's stance on Satanism. Frankly, it is hard to believe that you are vehemently anti-Christian when you not only openly embrace one but embrace one within DEICIDE itself!

Steve: "You're obviously one of these guys who take his metal very seriously. So let's say for a second that Ralph is indeed a Christian. Is it a defamation of our character as members of DEICIDE to play with a Christian, or is it a case of bringing a child of light into the darkness, twisting his weaknesses for success and admiration and money while defiling his beliefs, making him do Satan's bidding on CD, on stage, backstage, bringing him closer and closer to embracing to true meaning of humanism and teaching him to let go of his former, childish, brainwashed belief system? It takes a long time to de-program a brainwashed mind, and if he wears a cross to protect himself from the evil on stage, I find that very amusing."

Read the entire question-and-answer session at this location.