{{Short description|American Christian metal band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Vials of Wrath | image = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | alias = | origin = Princeton, West Virginia | genre = Christian metal,<ref name="Untombed Interview Two"/> unblack metal<ref name="HM Review Two"/> death metal,<ref name="Untombed Interview One"/> Ambient black metal<ref name=Metallum/> | years_active = {{start date|2011}}–present | label = {{flatlist | * Unblack Metal Scene / Black Metal Underground * Vision of God * Avantgarde Music * Flowing Downward }} | spinoff_of = Bloodline Severed | website = {{Facebook|VialsOfWrath}} | current_members = Dempsey W. Mills Jr. ("DC" Mills) | past_members = }}
'''Vials of Wrath''' was an American Christian metal band, who play a mixture of unblack metal and death metal music, with one member Dempsey "DC" Woodrow Mills Jr. He is from Princeton, West Virginia, however the band was formed in 2011 in Charlotte, NC. The band has released three studio albums, ''Seeking Refuge'' in 2013, ''Days Without Names'' in 2015, and ''Dark Winter Memories'' in 2019. The project has released four extended plays, ''Vials of Wrath'', in 2011, ''Let There Be Light'', in 2013, ''Ataraxia'' and ''The Ways of Old'' in 2018.
==Background== Vials of Wrath is a one-piece Christian metal band,<ref name="Untombed Interview Two">{{cite web |first=Dale |last=Huffman |title=Interview: Vials of Wrath |url=http://untombed.com/interview-vials-of-wrath/ |publisher=Untombed |accessdate=October 14, 2015}}</ref> playing unblack metal and death metal music,<ref name="Untombed Interview One">{{cite web |first=Larry |last=Versaw |title=Vials Of Wrath – Interview |url=http://untombed.com/vials-of-wrath-interview/ |publisher=Untombed |accessdate=October 14, 2015 |date=March 20, 2011}}</ref> featuring Dempsey "DC" Mills, originally from Princeton, West Virginia. Vials of Wrath was formed in 2011 when Mills was not performing with North Carolina's Christian deathcore band Bloodline Severed, but wanted to write and record in the vein of his pre-Christian musical influences.<ref name="Untombed Interview One"/> Mills started Vials of Wrath after leaving Bloodline Severed to focus on his job full-time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metalpulseradio.com/interview-vials-of-wrath/|title=Interview: Vials of Wrath|publisher=Metal Pulse Radio|accessdate=April 25, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509133453/http://metalpulseradio.com/interview-vials-of-wrath/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mills has been a Christian since 1998. He is a former rhythm/lead guitarist and background vocalist for Bloodline Severed. The band name Vials of Wrath comes from Revelation 16, where it states, "'Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.'"<ref name="Untombed Interview One"/>
==Music history== Started as a band/project in 2011, with his first extended play, ''Vials of Wrath'', releasing that year. The first studio album, ''Seeking Refuge'', was released on April 30, 2013, and was recorded in Mills' own Wildwood Studios in Maryville, Tennessee.<ref name="HM Review One">{{cite journal |first=Michael |last=Larson |title=Vials of Wrath – "Seeking Refuge" |url=https://hmmagazine.com/blog/album-reviews/vials-of-wrath-seeking-refuge/ |journal=HM Magazine |date=6 May 2013 |accessdate=October 14, 2015}}</ref> Its second extended play, ''Let There Be Light'', was released the same year, in 2013, featuring remixed versions of the songs from the 2011 EP along with two additional tracks.
The band's second studio album, ''Days Without Names'', was released on September 1, 2015, and was again recorded in Mills' home recording studio, however its name was changed to Fallen Oak Recording.<ref name="HM Review Two">{{cite journal |first=Logan |last=Turner |title=Vials of Wrath – ''Days Without Names'' |url=https://hmmagazine.com/blog/album-reviews/vials-of-wrath-days-without-names/ |journal=HM Magazine |accessdate=October 14, 2015 |date=October 11, 2015}}</ref> An EP, ''Ataraxia'', was released in the summer of 2018 with a limited edition CD pressing via Mills' own Fallen Oak Recordings label. In November 2018, the band announced their signing to Avantgarde Music sub-label Flowing Downward, and released its third full-length, ''Dark Winter Memories,'' in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themetalonslaught.com/single-post/2018/11/29/Vials-of-Wrath-signs-with-Avantgarde-Music-and-Flowing-Downward|title=Vials of Wrath signs with Avantgarde Music and Flowing Downward|website=The Metal Onslaught|first=Mason|last=Beard|date=November 29, 2018|accessdate=November 30, 2018|archive-date=November 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202505/https://www.themetalonslaught.com/single-post/2018/11/29/Vials-of-Wrath-signs-with-Avantgarde-Music-and-Flowing-Downward|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On April 12, 2026 Dempsey Mills announced on the Facebook page Vials of Wrath that he was laying it to rest and that he was looking at a potential future project.
==Members== ;Current members<ref name="Untombed Interview One"/><ref name=Metallum/> * Dempsey W. Mills Jr. (a.k.a. "DC" Mills) – Lead Vocals, all instruments (ex-Bloodline Severed, ex-Endless Descent, Pallidus)
;Session members * Derek Corzine (ex-Bloodline Severed) – Guitars (2015) * R. Michael Cook (A Hill to Die Upon) – Drums (2015) * Aaron Macemore (Bloodline Severed) – Guitars, vocals (2015) * Josh Thieler (Slaves B.C., Twilight Fauna) – Drums (2019)
==Discography== ;Studio albums<ref name=Metallum>{{cite web|url=http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vials_of_Wrath/3540325962|title=Vials of Wrath|publisher=Encyclopedia Metallum|author=((Apophis2036)) |date=April 9, 2011|access-date=May 29, 2026}}</ref> * ''Seeking Refuge'' (April 30, 2013) * ''Days Without Names'' (September 1, 2015); featured guest musicians R. Michael Cook from A Hill to Die Upon, Derek Corzine from Whisper From Heaven and Blood Thirsty, and Aaron Macemore from Bloodline Severed. * ''Dark Winter Memories'' (December 8, 2019); featured guest musician Josh Thieler of Slaves B.C. * ''Remnants for Remembrance'' (October 7, 2025)
;EPs<ref name=Metallum/> * ''Vials of Wrath'' (2011) * ''Let There Be Light'' (July 23, 2013) * ''Ataraxia'' (August 21, 2018) * ''The Ways of Old'' (August 29, 2018) ;Split EPs<ref name=Metallum/> * ''Vials of Wrath/Warfrozen'' (2011; Split w/Warfrozen) * ''Consuming Fire/Vials of Wrath'' (2017; Split w/ Consuming Fire) ;Demos<ref name=Metallum/> * ''Empty Words'' (2013) * ''Vengeance Is Mine'' (2013) ;Compilation appearances * ''Metal From The Dragon (Vol. 1)'' (2017; The Bearded Dragon Productions) * ''Hymns of the Blackest Light Volumes 1'' (2017; Fallen Oak Recording) * ''Hymns of the Blackest Light Volume 2'' (2018; Fallen Oak Recording) ;Documentary appearances * ''Metal Missionaries: The Documentary'' (2017) * ''True American Black Metal'' (2020)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.facebook.com/VialsOfWrath Facebook page] * [http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vials_of_Wrath/3540325962 Entry on Metal Archives]
{{Authority control}}
Category:American Christian metal musical groups Category:American death metal musical groups Category:Unblack metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 2011 Category:Musical groups from West Virginia Category:2011 establishments in West Virginia Category:Musicians from Princeton, West Virginia