Less than a week after British tech death metal band Ingested announced the impending release of their new album Denigration, the band announced via social media that their vocalist Josh Davies was no longer a member of the band “effective immediately.” The split is an abrupt about face for the band and we don’t know exactly why they took this step, but abuse allegations leveled against Davies that have sprung up online may be to blame.
Though the band’s statement about Davies’ firing does not reference the TikTok post or the allegations, they announced that ex-A Wake In Providence vocalist Adam Mercer would be handling vocals for the time being, including for their upcoming tour with Bodysnatcher.
Despite not knowing exactly why Davies was fired, a TikTok post by user @_summerjx could be the catalyst for the decision. In it, a woman outlines the interactions she allegedly had with Davies that began when she was 17 years old. She outlined what she said was a moment where she had been “taken advantage” of by Davies after she’d been drinking.
“I couldn’t see or walk straight. I didn’t want to sleep with Josh, I had no intentions of sleeping with him. I needed a friend that night. I’d been drinking for at least nine hours and Josh was stone cold sober when he decided to take advantage of me.”
In her recollection of what allegedly happened that night, she said it didn’t take a lot of time, but that she hadn’t realized how wrong her interaction with Davies had been until some time afterward, as she hadn’t talked to anyone about it. She said she “blamed myself for being so naive” and that she “felt guilty for him touching me when I was almost paralytic.”
Sometime later, she posted about hoping to not run into Davies while at Download. Posting that story, she said, led other women to reach out about their alleged experiences with him. One woman who wished to remain anonymous shared a statement about her experience with Davies. She’d apparently also met Davies when she was 17. In it, she said he would only see her when she was drunk, that he was “very pushy with sex and other sexual things”, and that he allegedly was “very mentally abusive.” You can read her full statement here.
The TikTok user said she didn’t go to the police because she’d been “let down by the police in the past and I knew I didn’t have enough evidence.” By the time she realized that what had gone down was wrong, she said it was “too late.”
“I was incredibly unstable when I met Josh. He knew about my past, he knew I was easy to manipulate, because that’s what men like him do — they prey on the vulnerable. I’d also like to note that he made me literally sneak into his room because he didn’t want anyone in the house to know I was there.
“Josh Davies isn’t a good person. I always think when something like this happens to me that it’s not that deep, but it is that deep.”
At this time, we don’t know what Davies’ ousting means for the release of Denigration or the future of the band moving forward, but we expect to learn about all of that in the coming days or weeks. As for the allegations against Davies, he’s not released any statements about them or his removal from Ingested. If and when he does, we will follow up.
i never thought i’d be making this but after hearing he’s been taking advantage of other people i will not be silent anymore. his behaviour is disgusting and people need to be made aware of what he is like. im probably going to take some time away from socials after posting this as im not good at dealing with stress very well :,) thank you for listening #ingested ♬ original sound – summer ????