AN NCS PREMIERE: CLAY DAVIS — “B.C.G.C.”

 

We tend to pay close attention around these parts to the releases of Baltimore-based Grimoire Records, not only because the label’s owner Noel Mueller takes the unusual step of actually recording the music of the bands he releases, but also because the string of performance/recording collaborations the label has released has been so consistently good. And now we have one more coming our way — the 10-track debut by a grindcore duo who call themselves Clay Davis (a name that will resonate for fans of The Wire). The title of this new release is B.C.G.C., and while half the tracks have been previously released for streaming, we’re bringing you a full blast of all 10 of them right now.

You did read that correctly — Clay Davis are a duo. You could guess that one of them (Mike Barth) is a drummer. You might not correctly guess what the other one (Thor Buntin) does, but here’s a hint: The band’s motto is “No Gods. No Guitar Players.”

So, what kind of racket do a grind drummer and bassist get up to on B.C.G.C.? You’re about to find out, but here are some further hints:

 

 

The 10 tracks fly by in about 10 minutes — and it’s 10 minutes of corrosive feedback, filth-caked riffs, and violent drumming, accompanied by deranged vocal braying, shrieking, and gravel-throated howls. Sometimes the music erupts in a conflagration, a savage head-long flurry of brutally distorted chords and clattering percussion. And sometimes it falls into a slow stagger driven by bone-breaking hammer blows and a ugly low-end chords that vibrate with lethal radiation. It will keep you off-balance, and the rage behind it may be communicative, like a disease. It’s powerful stuff that stays with you.

 

 

The word is that “B.C.G.C.” stands for Baltimore City Grindcore, and may be a play on words for Baltimore City Detention Center, where the band’s members may or may not have spent some time.

B.C.G.C. was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Noel Mueller and will be released on tape and digitally by Grimoire Records on August 11. Those versions can be pre-ordered via Grimoire’s Bandcamp (linked below). The record is also being released on 7″ vinyl by Fake Crab Records, and the pre-order link for the vinyl is also below:

 

Grimoire Records
https://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/b-c-g-c
https://www.facebook.com/GrimoireRecords

Fake Crab Records
http://fakecrab.storenvy.com/products/13946454-clay-davis-b-c-g-c
http://fakecrab.sexy/
https://fakecrab.bandcamp.com/

Clay Davis
https://www.facebook.com/ClayDavisGrindAssault