Review Summary: Myspace deathcore revival is in full effect.
The “Myspace” metalcore/deathcore phase of life was pretty unique. It was a niche on the internet for mainly high school kids with black parted hair, eyeliner and spikes on their wrists to feel at home and to enjoy some good music. Maryland’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a relatively new deathcore band, releasing their first album in 2023, but listening to their music will make you feel like it’s 2005.
I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm is the second album from these guys and it is 10 tracks of a pure ass beating assault from the moment you press play. A static intro leads you into a facemelting melodic riff. That riff then leads you into a stank face inducing breakdown and from that point forward you know it’s on. Thus Spoke might not throw the most original ideas at you, but their execution is impeccable.
The aura surrounding this band is undeniable. They have a swagger to them that reflects heavily in the music. All Shall Perish and Heaven Shall Burn are clear influences here with the melodeath influenced leads and the spine crushing breakdowns being used as a creative outlet to further the track’s point and not just as filler.
Even the production makes you feel like you’re in a time machine taken back 20 years. The emphasis on the thundering drums combined with the barrage of riffs creates a wall of sound that will cave your skull in 10 times out of 10. The towering gutturals and mid pitched squeals soar over the insanely catchy melodeath leads like a lion roaring before a bloody attack.
And bloody it is my friends. By the time Thus Spoke is done, the listener will have been bludgeoned within an inch of their measly life. What these guys lack in originality they more than make up for in energy and catchiness. If you like bonecrushing riffs, maniacal vocals and drumming that sounds like machine gun firing off,
I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ Harm might just be an album you want to look into.
