Cast down, careening deep within nine levels of medieval spiritual damnation for seeming eternity Rancagua, Chile-based death/thrash metal quartet DEATHWARDS return from the adversarial domain transformed, readied to enlighten doomed mankind of their myriad corruptions on this diabolically achieved debut full-length album. Calling upon the abyss for its classic thrash-era death metal esotericism ‘Realms of Sin‘ is both derivation of and dementia incurred from an ongoing obsession with the increasingly rare forms of late 80’s thrashing extremism. What they achieve herein amounts to a feat of uncanny mastery which stretches beyond arcane forms and plainest fandom without escaping the unholy void that’d birthed their inclinations.

Deathwards formed circa 2017 between bassist/guitarist The Magus (Wrathprayer, Oraculum) and guitarist Extravasation (Executed) under the grip of ancient death, soon welcoming vocalist Hellavenger (ex-Communion) and drummer The Penance into their brief pact. That original lineup would stick together long enough to record two of the finest thrashing late 80’s styled death metal tapes out of Chile in recent years, a demo and a rehearsal which’ve been recently been consolidated into the ‘In Deathlore 2017-2019‘ (2026) compilation. Their knives were sharpened in the name of classic thrash malevolence naming Slayer, Incubus (Florida), Slaughter Lord among others in conveying their intent to create true riff driven death-thrash metal. Hellavenger left soon after to do his own thing in Hellavenger, The Magus took over on vocals, and The Usurper (Saturnus) joined on second guitar all before the end of 2018 and from there the band pretty much went silent beyond the release of their rehearsal tape in 2019.

For the last half-decade it’d appeared that Deathwards would stand as an obscure lightning-in-a-bottle event, captured once with little more than carbonized ruins to show for it… but ‘Realms of Sin‘ makes it clear that they’d been on a mission since reconfiguring their Mark II lineup. Within these ten songs (plus a re-recording of demo track “The Black Key” as bonus) they’ve not merely met the standards of the late 80’s death obscuritas but presented an authentic article capable of surpassing the naiveté of their arcane idols. That isn’t to say that records like ‘Schizophrenia‘, ‘Into the Macabre‘ and such don’t still apply to their sorcery but that their arcana has expanded in remarkable ways in the years between, methods which touch upon the surreal (re: “Unbound From Divine Omnipotence (Heresy)”) in order to break loose of any sense of imitation.

The ten songs which comprise ‘Realms of Sin‘ represent the nine circles of Hell in descent, cracking along fast within its first half via shorter ~3 minute pieces up front on Side A as they represent the building intensity of said descent. This finds Deathwards‘ efforts violent but never thoughtless, a keen killer which becomes increasingly involved in their mayhem, eventually stretching closer to the ~4-5 minute mark as their assault progresses in its second half. Beyond the striking effect of this running order and its destination within the clutches of Lucifer the listener is granted a sense of composure, intentional creation as the quartet’s hail of death-magick floods the skull with densely riffed-out, aggressive songs. There isn’t a song included here that isn’t worthy of mention here, the whole album smokes start to finish.

Opener “Sting of Guilt (Limbo)” appears as an ancestral thought beyond ‘Abominations of Desolation‘ connecting peak ‘Darkness Descends‘-era Dark Angel (alternately early Sadus) immediacy to the unholy combustion of Mike Browning-concieved Florida death metal showmanship, finding their own maniac spirit within semi-technically wrenched up thrash reeling. The machinery of this first piece was fascinating compared to expectations set back in 2018/2019 as their black fire is still a scourge but their movement reads as remarkably sophisticated in authorship, not the usual barren death-thrash saladry. “Supplicum (Lust)” and its chaotic off-kilter strike into gear is more familiarly stoked, taking that ‘Altars of Madness‘-stewed speed metal mechanism and giving it a restless rip through. When the piece bears down on its chainsaw motor ~1:31 minutes in that moment of merciless focus strikes as righteous extension of the dark 80’s energy found on Deathwards‘ demo tapes.

Dedicated fans of the darker side of classic thrash should appreciate the post-‘Hell Awaits‘ and South American thrash bands that’ll inevitably spring to mind on the course through ‘Realms of Sin‘. Deathwards‘ approach to both sound design and vocal performances are the main culprit as the register of The Magus‘ vocals carry a ‘Malleus Maleficarum‘-like timbre, more of a reverbed shout versus the growl one might expect from a death/thrash tag. Likewise the precision ideation of The Magus‘ own studio (Equinox Studio) and the mix supplied + mastering from thee indomitable Patrick Engel @ Temple of Disharmony finds some perfection in the drum sound in particular, offering an immediate sense of space which is eruptive but still contained within a gig-sized hall, plenty of room for all four engines and gang-shouted vocals (“Sullen Blood (Wrath)”) to share. No detail is spared and it makes for a record exceptionally well attuned to the ‘old school’ ear.

Side A is a firestorm in its quickness, not an unthinking creation but a wall of pieces which’re made to rip through which peaks brilliantly within standout “Sullen Blood (Wrath)” and from there the second half of ‘Realms of Sin‘ digs deeper into its own detailing and this is where some of the Infernäl Mäjesty and Sadus comparisons might begin to make more sense to the listener. The thinking man’s thrash with a sort of Kreator-esque edge should hit the temple on “Unbound From Divine Omnipotence (Heresy)” and this marks a corner turned for the album’s rhythmic interest, not merely a conflagration of ancient death but a true dialing into the skillful hand of another era for inspiration. In direct contrast “The Sore Weight Of Repentance (Violence)” and “Lawless Fire (Lucifer)” call back upon Floridian finesse for variation, turning its own corner into shouting and gnashing death/thrash blur for its action.

Rather than dig through the tone and details of each song here it should suffice to say ‘Realms of Sin‘ goes somewhere singular within each piece it offers, defining them without interrupting the melee of it all in force. There is great cohesion available to Deathwards‘ work yet each song brings its own revelation be it a steeling classicist moment or a surprising turn taken. While I’d been impressed by the mastery of their work and the exceptional curation of the whole package (cover art by Jorge Olavarria should be counted among the best of the year) it was the intoxicating barrage of the band’s action that’d stuck with me as an addictive force, a gravity I’d dropped into countless times. A highest possible recommendation.

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