This Week In Metal, 2025 Week 7

Our This Week in Metal post collects our thoughts on music released in or around this week in the music world. We cover mostly metal, but we consider other genres to allow our writers poseur flexibility. Follow us on Instagram too!

Scuttlegoat's Curmudgeonly Critique

Pentagram - Lightning in a Bottle
Pentagram - Lightning in a Bottle Heavy Psych Sounds ~ Hard Rock / Doom Metal

What about Pentagram has ever been “Lightning in a Bottle”? Pentagram are, fundamentally, the first all-American Sabbath rip-off. Given, Pentagram were early adopters, releasing singles all throughout the '70s even if the first full-length only materialized in the mid-'80s. Being early is not always a good thing. Good thing lightning in a bottle strikes exactly when it needs to. Like a wizard. That's how that works, right?

Cosmo's Chaotic Curveballs

othaliel - ectrulhys - 01
Othaliël - Ectrülhys Independent ~ Psychedelic Folk

For the first time since the Pandora’s box of Esoctrilihum opened, project mastermind Asthâghul created a side project. Othaliël is the folk-tinged fever dream parallel to Esoctrilihum’s metal-induced psychosis. You could call it a folk in the road.

fleshbore - painted paradise - 01
Fleshbore - Painted Paradise Transcending Obscurity ~ Technical Death Metal

Fleshbore don't reinvent anything on Painted Paradise, instead sticking to the tried-and-trve formula of machine-gun blasts, rapid-fire vocals, and riffs for days. Who needs a revamp when the wheel is ablaze?

Anti-Peat's Perplexing Position

sabhankra - nocturnalelegies 01
Sabhankra - Nocturnal Elegies Independent ~ Black Metal

Album names shape expectations, and Nocturnal Elegies suggested something atmospheric. Sabhankra's mix of melodic black metal, folk, and even thrash reinforced that idea — but they defied expectations. Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong.

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