Review
Scrapped, shelved, and eventually resurrected from a 2014 hard drive, Nargaroth’s ninth album finds René “Ash” Wagner discarding the atmospheric experiments of his previous work for a "direct, raw, and savage" approach. Rather than plotting a grand evolution, Apocalyptic Steel leans into a "vocal-centered axis of aggression" heavily influenced by classic thrash and death metal, prioritizing repetitive density over progressive structure.
Critics have split on whether this sheer brute-force approach holds up over the record's runtime. Reviewers celebrate the album's "uncompromising 'Stabbed in 'he Balls' energy" as a powerful tribute to Wagner's foundational metal influences, but others claim the album feels "disjointed" and argue that the "relentlessly tiring croaking vocals" are mixed so prominently that they disrupt the instrumental balance. What remains is an intensely polarizing, uncomplicated rush of old-school extremity.
