REVIEW: Thus Spoke Zarathustra – I’m Done with Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm [2025]

Artist: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Album: I’m Done with Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm

Let’s talk a little bit about the theory of eternal recurrence. Popularized by Friedrich Nietzsche in his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra (you can see where I’m going with this), eternal recurrence posits that the entirety of someone’s life is not finite, but rather repeats infinitely and precisely, illustrating the concept of time as a loop as opposed to a timeline whose limit is yet to be found. This topic, alongside the will to power, the death of God and more are all explored within the infamous pages of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke…, and if we’re to take it as fact, then we’re at about the point in the loop where the popularity of deathcore is spiking once more—and one of the bands you need to know about is Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Hot on the heels of their successful debut full length Act Like You Don’t Know, I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm is a stunning and refined approach to the variety of styles explored by the band’s breakout effort. I’m Done With Self Care… is riff-laden, ruthlessly heavy and occasionally melodic, with each track standing as a strong entry in its sturdy half-hour runtime and solidifying this young band as one of the most promising acts in deathcore’s resurgence.

Where Act Like You Don’t Know dedicated each song to a unique era or style of the 2000s heavy music scene (or at least it felt that way), I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm is a more focused and cohesive effort. Combining pummeling percussion with riffs as sharply honed as a broadsword’s edge on introductory cut “GGO” as well as lead single “I Can’t Save You,” Thus Spoke Zarathustra leap out of the gate with an astoundingly clear vision for the type of sonic maelstrom they aim to create, and do so with remarkable precision. “Mithrandir” is another excellent example of the act channeling a more metallic influence to their sound, not dissimilar to yester-decade’s records from As Blood Runs Black or Salt the Wound. “I Never Believed in Magic until my Dog Turned into a Snake” is another such cut. Here, Goliath breakdowns take turns swinging at the listener with skin-rending riffs and gut wrenching grooves in a practically peerless fashion. Even the tracks that take on a more melodic hue—“All I Feel is Cold” and “Bereft of Light”—still manage to bombard the listener with outright aggression, giving I’m Done with Self Care… a unifying element that takes the various explorations and elements of experimentation throughout the record and allows them to flow excellently together and work in dynamic unison. Whether it be cataclysmic breakdowns—and there are plenty of them—or strong displays of fretwork and meticulous songwriting, Thus Spoke Zarathustra emerge on I’m Done with Self Care.. an infinitely more focused and refined band, though still one able to retain a nostalgic and welcome sense of fun and whimsy.

Perhaps the area of least overall growth is Thus Spoke Zarathustra’s vocal element—though this is arguably because they were already excellent. Whether its shrill screams, harsh yells or blistering guttural bellows, I’m Done with Self Care… is home to a remarkable array of vocal dynamism in a fashion that simultaneously avoids the mantle of “vocal olympic deathcore” and does justice to many of the genre’s forerunner acts. “Gage Lanza 2: Return of the Red Hammer” is an excellent example of stunning range and remarkable vocal endurance, while “I Can’t Save You” is home to none other than Boundaries’ Matt McDougal—if you needed another reason to give the song a spin. A personal favorite is “I Never Believed in Magic Until my Dog Turned into a Snake,” where low, visceral screams work in tandem with a shrill high register, underscoring the excellent instrumental dynamism that shines throughout the track. Truth be told, there isn’t one song that puts the band’s vocal element on display better than any other—here, Thus Spoke Zarathustra are remarkably consistent, lending yet another constant tethering firmament to the release; a needed element for a band that so thoroughly loves to oscillate between sounds and styles.

I’m Done with Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm does its name proud—as it is very much a record hellbent on delivering harm to the listener’s doorstep. Lacerating and lightning-like in its assault, the sophomore full length from Thus Spoke Zarathustra is not only their finest work, but a relative masterwork in the context of Deathcore’s burgeoning revival (be it fourth wave deathcore, MySpace Deathcore, whatever you choose to label it). If you want raunchy breakdowns, fun samples, serrated grooves and precise, razor-sharp riffs, you’ll find all that and more throughout one of the most comprehensive—and surprisingly cohesive—records heavy music has offered in 2025.

9/10
For Fans Of: As Blood Runs Black, Float Face Down, Blind Witness, SURFACED, Tracheotomy
By: Connor Welsh