SONG REVIEW: Deathakles - "You Decide"
“Bringing a love letter to life in this killer new track “You Decide”
by Jesse Smith
On the heavier side of music, there have been far too many songs about heartache and anger, but not too many about the raw emotion of love for someone else. Deathakles, a solo project from Dallas, Texas has dove into the emotion of love in their song “You Decide” off their debut EP “Nightshade”. Forming in 2020, Deathakles is an interesting blend of Symphonic progressive metal with a dash of rap influences creating something personally I haven’t really heard before so I was super interested in writing this review.
“You Decide” is more than just a song, it’s pure poetry. Having a heavy ballad vibe, this song just spoke to me on a spiritual level. The music is so ambient and spacious while the heavy syncopated drum beat adds it’s own dynamic to mix. The percussion section is the leader of the melody which is extremely satisfying while the guitars softly add texture to the background which makes it sound soft yet heavy at the same time. The vocal performance by Brett-Michael Jones has such an ambient and astral vibe that everything he says just hits you heart. In the first verse there is a rap cadence that follows the double kick drum and it just seems to come out of nowhere but it was perfectly placed and a change of pace that catches your attention. You Decide also features vocalist Farhad Kalwar who adds a long second verse of a higher voice. The mix of both vocals is so beautiful and complimentary.
This song especially reminds me of Sleep Token but just a little more straightforward and emo. But the very big ambient vibe the song creates with the heavier chorus really makes for an interesting song. Lyrics like “I want to be yours, My Life is nothin’ without your light” makes this a beautiful love letter. The strongest part of this song is the lyric content so when you listen I advise you read the lyrics along with the song so you can fully grasp everything this song has to offer. There needs to be more love in the aggressive side of metal, because song’s like these kick so much ass and “You Decide” in particular especially rocks.