Vital Remains is a Blackened Death Metal band hailing from Providence, Rhode Island in 1989. Originally comprised of guitarists Paul Flynn and Tony Lazaro, vocalist Jeff Gruslin, bassist Tom Supkow, and drummer Chris Dupont, the group has been through several line-up changes and record labels over the years. A pair of demos (1989's "Reduced to Ashes" and 1990's "Excruciating Pain") led to a contract with French label Thrash Records, who in turn released "The Black Mass" in 1991.