Exclusive EP Premiere: Blood Vial – Beyond Recognition
Real recognize real.
As one of many resident slammers here in the porcelain throne, I am always honored to premiere brutal nasties like Beyond Recognition, the debut EP from Baltimore natives Blood Vial. Citing influence from BDM titans like Deeds of Flesh and Dying Fetus, Blood Vial clearly aims for the three car pileup of slam death, brutal death, and tech death. Beyond an intro that can only be described as “Adult Swim bumper music,” the contents of Beyond Recognition are, ironically enough, quite recognizable to a seasoned Devourment fan. This is far from critique or complaint, as the contents of this EP are immediately appealing with tight band chemistry and a really meaty sound that calls back to the legendary slam-scumbags of yore. With a sound as intricately putrid as the cover art, each song on display here blasts forward with strength and a surprising amount of agility. Breaking the cacophony down, you’ll find pulpy, damn-near-wet guitar tones and neanderthalic gutturals backed by a subtle, yet foundational rhythm section holding everything together. It’s certainly an impressive display from a new group, clearly hungry for extremity and eager to rip bone from flesh.
The EP format works incredibly well as an introduction for a group like Blood Vial, wetting the appetite of listeners with a handful of putrid bangers while still leaving room for growth. Beyond genre cliches and straight forward brutality, there’s a real potential in this group to make good on the legacy of a group like Deeds of Flesh, whose own brutalities were often married with a dedication to experimenting with the confines of death metal. Time may only tell, but, for the time being, Blood Vial are a group of up-and-comers who should be on your radar yesterday. Tired of hearing (reading?) me yap about them, take it from the horse’s mouth:
Channeling the venomous spirit of Dying Fetus, the surgical savagery of Deeds of Flesh, and the depraved brutality of Lividity, Blood Vial unleash hyper-violent riffs, ping-pong snare blasts, and guttural, sewer-dwelling vocals, that spew lyrics drenched in horror, pathology, and the disintegration of the human form.
Across the EP, the band navigates between skull-cracking slams and intricately twisted passages, crafting a relentless sound where every second is built to punish. Breakdowns land like structural collapses, each one a testament to the band’s uncompromising vision of brutality.
Brought to life visually by Arif Rot, the EP’s bleak, visceral artwork mirrors Blood Vial’s uncompromising sonic assault. ‘Beyond Recognition’, which is available to pre-order on CD via Iron Fortress Records, stands firmly in the East Coast’s tradition of no-nonsense extremity, marking the band’s full-scale declaration of war.
Either way you slice it (it being a corpse mid-putrefaction), this is a winner of an EP that makes me excited to hear what comes next and re-listen to what we’ve already got. Bonus points for a Stone Cold Steve Austin themed final track. Austin 3:16 may say “I just whooped your ass,” but Blood Vial 3:16 might say “I just found a rotting leg.”
Beyond Recognition is out December 19th on Iron Fortress Records. Pre-order it here.
