Story by Maddy Howell // Photo by @jessekojima
Six years is a long time to go without an album in metal - long enough for a scene to splinter, rebuild, and reinvent itself twice over. That’s how long it’s been since Crystal Lake dropped their last full-length, and in that time, they have undergone as many internal changes as the genre has around them.
On their first record since 2019’s Helix, the Japanese band are sharpening their identity into a savage point. As they approach their 25th anniversary, The Weight Of Sound is a defiant rebirth of sorts, welcoming a new vocalist into the fold and kickstarting a major label chapter as part of the Century Media family.
Since joining the band in 2023, frontman John Robert Centorrino has kept himself from dwelling on the legacy of Crystal Lake. Formerly of Pennsylvania based deathcore outfit The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, his focus has been firmly fixed on what comes next.
“What’s been important for me to remember is that the history of the band often changes,” he nods.
“The fanbase changes and the sound changes, as do the singers and other members. We’ve had all these different generations of Crystal Lake, and to me each one is like a different band. When you go back to the albums that don't have Ryu [Kinoshita, former vocalist] on them, that's a very different Crystal Lake. Every time this band goes through a major lineup change, they go through a sound change.”
That perspective is essential in understanding the goal that The Weight Of Sound is shooting towards. On album six, Crystal Lake aren’t trying to return to a past version of themselves, nor are they attempting to completely reinvent themselves, they’re simply committing to what they truly are in this moment. The result of a remarkably natural process, reframing their identity without forcing any shifts, its eleven songs introduce a fresh, emboldened chapter for the band.
For Centorrino, it’s been a particularly refreshing journey. With the freedom to create in a way he’d never felt able to in previous projects, the creative environment gave the vocalist an opportunity to step fully into his own voice.
“The way we do things in Crystal Lake is very different to how I’ve done them before,” he explains.
“YD [Miyamato, guitarist] treats me the way a director treats an actor. Robert De Niro is an amazing actor on his own, but when you have him act under the direction of Martin Scorsese… You have a great movie on your hands.”
“They want me as the singer to be able to lead with lyrics, especially when we think about how the language barrier impacts things,” the vocalist continues.
“The rest of the band know enough English for us to speak to each other, but when it comes to the lyrics they really just want to hear words that sound cool and that you can feel the emotion in. Being in this position has allowed me to finally be all the things that I wish I could have been as a musician before.”
As a band that have always valued creativity and emotion over all other factors, there’s no real restrictions surrounding what a Crystal Lake song can be from a sonic perspective. Free to toy with influences from outside the metal world in a way that’s often frowned upon in the deathcore scene he previously worked within, it’s given Centorrino a renewed passion for songwriting.
That passion soars through every moment on The Weight Of Sound, the frontman’s creative freedom leading him down roads he has never ventured before in his writing. Opening up about his life in blisteringly candid fashion, the album sees him unpick everything from his role as a father to his relationship with religion.
“I don't have anything to hide, so I'm not saying things in code here,” he asserts.
“I talk about my faith in some of these songs. At church, I was told that if you don't believe in something, you're a bad person… But that's not how faith works.”
“I'm 37, and my grandmother still shoves religion down my throat,” the vocalist continues.
“It’s not that I don't believe in God, I just don't believe in the church. It has been a tremendously negative experience for me, both in church and at home. If you want to believe in a positive entity, you can do that on your own. You are the temple; you don't have to go there.”
Those past traumas colour the likes of ‘Crossing Nails’ and ‘Don’t Breathe’, whilst other moments on the album such as ‘The Undertow’, ‘Neversleep’, and the album’s crushing title track address ongoing battles Centorrino still finds himself facing, from the emotional weight of being away from those you love to the struggles of pursuing a career in music.
A record of such personal significance to the frontman, it was vital that everyone involved in its creation was on the same page, including its impressive array of guest vocalists. Featuring the likes of Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), David Simonich (Signs of the Swarm), Taylor Barber (Seven Hours After Violet, Left To Suffer), Myke Terry (Fire from the Gods, Volumes), and Karl Schubach (Misery Signals), the collaborations on The Weight Of Sound are enough to make the mouth of any heavy music fan water, and each one serves a distinct purpose.
“When I joined the band, we all made it pretty apparent who we were friends with,” Centorrino smiles.
“The band had just started coming over to America, and I had been touring here for seven years between two bands. We wanted the album to have a lot of our friends on it.”
“Funnily enough, it was the hardest part of making the album,” he continues.
“I was done with my parts in February, but we didn’t get all the guest spots done until August. We really wanted them all on there though, and we did whatever we could to make them happen.”
With all the meticulous planning out of the way, and the record now finding its way into people’s ears across the globe, this is the clearest version of Crystal Lake we have ever seen.
Acknowledging their past but choosing to fix their gaze purely on the present, The Weight Of Sound is an album stitched together with pain and pride. If you’re looking for gnarly riffs, gut-wrenching screams, and huge hooks then you won’t be disappointed, but ultimately, it’s a collection of songs that does what the best heavy records always do: make the most personal stories feel universal.
“I hope the album proves to everybody that even though the band changed their music, we didn't lose who we are,” Centorrino finishes.
“We have stayed true to what Crystal Lake is, and that comes down to the fact that our sound is an open door. When things do sound different, I think our fans are prone to accept it. They're used to hearing things that they're not expecting from the band. We’re staying true to who we were and the idea that we are progressive.”
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The new album from Crystal Lake, The Weight of Sound, is now available via Century Media Records. Order the album - HERE
Catch Crystal Lake live on their upcoming co-headlining tour across the EU/UK with Miss May I starting next month along with Great American Ghost and Diesect. The band then takes on Australia for a run of dates with Of Mice & Men, in addition to several festival dates in Japan. See the list of confirmed dates below. Get tickets - HERE
CRYSTAL LAKE & Miss May I
24.02.26 The Netherlands Utrecht @ Tivoli Pandora
25.02.26 Belgium Antwerp @ Zappa
27.02.26 Germany Karlsruhe @ Substage
28.02.26 Germany Cologne @ Essigfabrik
01.03.26 Germany Hamburg @ Logo
02.03.26 Germany Berlin @ SO36
03.03.26 Czech Republic Prague @ Rock Cafe
05.03.26 Austria Vienna @ Szene
06.03.26 Germany Munich @ Backstage
07.03.26 Switzerland Geneva @ PTR/L’Usine
09.03.26 Spain Barcelona @ Razzmatazz 2
10.03.26 Spain Madrid @ Copérnico
11.03.26 Portugal Lisbon @ LAV Lisboa ao Vivo
12.03.26 Spain Vitoria @ Jimmy Jazz
14.03.26 France Paris @ Nouveau Casino
15.03.26 France Lille @ The Black Lab
16.03.26 UK Southampton @ The Brook
17.03.26 UK Cardiff @ Tramshed
19.03.26 UK London @ O2 Academy Islington
20.03.26 UK Manchester @ Club Academy
21.03.26 UK Glasgow @ The Garage
22.03.26 UK Birmingham @ O2 Academy
CRYSTAL LAKE with Of Mice & Men
05.05.2026 AU Perth @ Magnet House
06.05.2026 AU Adelaide @ Lion Arts Factory
08.05.2026 AU Melbourne @ Max Watts
09.05.2026 AU Sydney @ Manning Bar
10.05.2026 AU Brisbane @ The Triffid
Festival Dates
08.02.2026 JP Nagoya Port Messe BLARE Fest
04.04.2026 JP Osaka Yogibo Meta Valley Furious World Fest
05.04.2026 JP Kawasaki Higashi-Ogishima East Park SiM's DEAD POP FESTiVAL
12.04.2026 JP Tokyo Cyclone Metal Battle Japan Waken Open Air Qualifier
25.04. & 26.04.2026 JP Sendai - Eco Camp Michinoku - Abaraki Rock Fest
25.04. & 26.04.2026 JP Sapporo - Zepp East - Kitakaze Rock Fest
