Nargaroth - Apocalyptic Steel (2026) Review

Believe it or not, one of the defining moments in my relationship with black metal came the first time I heard Nargaroth's Jahreszeiten, and specifically the repetitive riffing on the last track, "Winter". This was my introduction to this band, before I knew of their earlier, more notorious records, as well as before many of the genre's foundational names. This kind of monotonous melodic austerity captured what I found to be essential in black metal, and shaped how I continue to appreciate it today. Through the 2000s, Nargaroth had a remarkably consistent catalog of releases, but the following decade felt emptier. Era of Threnody left me largely indifferent, and I sort of lost connection to Kanwulf's (now Ash's) musical activities. Nine years later, Apocalyptic Steel arrives curiously as it diverges from the band's established character, yet consists of material that is anything but new. According to the band, the album was initially recorded in the United States back in 2014, only to…