I have similar feelings, when I recommend it I include a big disclaimer about the violence. Some of those scenes lingered in my mind for months afterwards, and I don't think I'll ever fully lose the impact of the novel's ending.

I also really enjoy his novel The Crossing, and feel that it has similarly beautiful, poetic descriptions while being a much more introspective and character-focused novel. Still plenty of violence, but nothing close to the brutality of Blood Meridian.