A vocalist is such an integral component in a band’s working, so much so that they are not easily replaced. AC/DC did, Iron Maiden did (and failed), but beyond a handful of examples swapping lead singers rarely works out well. However, Japanese metalcore crew Crystal Lake have bucked the trend and are leaping towards the future with new screamer John Robert Centorrino. Having joined the band in 2023, John has already been blooded on various live dates (including Download) but now he steps up to the plate and makes his presence felt on the band’s latest long player The Weight Of Sound. Almost seven years since their last UK album, Crystal Lake make a bold and welcome return, and one that finds them regaining their crown.
As if to make up for lost time, Crystal Lake arrive without warning and go straight in for the kill with opening salvo ‘Everblack’. Featuring a guest spot from Signs Of The Swarm warbler David Simonich, there’s no time to waste on fancy introductions or elongated preambles, the band preferring to leap directly for the listener’s jugular and ‘Everblack’ ensures that the band draw first blood. John and David’s vocals work well together, each acting as a foil that highlights and enhances the other. It’s the first of several guest appearances, yet these are not just random people pulled into the project, rather each singer brings their own unique feel to the album, and that makes The Weight Of Sound a multifaceted affair. Like a (black) diamond, the ten tracks comprising this album shine their light in every direction and if Centorrino is feeling intimidated by the calibre of guest vocalists on this album, then it doesn’t show because the turns in a deeply personal performance, bringing an emotional depth to songs such as ‘Neversleep’ and claiming the microphone as his own.
Metalcore is not an easy genre to define and whilst Crystal Lake would undoubtedly embrace the term, in truth their sound is about so much more and The Weight Of Sound is an album that shows of their whole oeuvre. There are plenty of lighter, almost ethereal, moments alongside the crushingly heavy, and sometimes they combine to great effect, such as on the monolithic title-track where the weighty riffs and Centorrino’s emotive lyrics conspire to create a song that reaches deep into the listener’s psyche and gives their heartstrings a hard tug.
Any album with such a lengthy gestation as this one is going to come heavily loaded with expectation, yet Crystal Lake have risen to the challenge to ensure that The Weight Of Sound was more than worth the “weight”.
- The Weight Of Sound is released via Century Media Records on 23rd January 2026.
Track List:
1. Everblack (feat. David Simonich)
2. Blüdgod (feat. Taylor Barber)
3. Neversleep (feat. Myke Terry)
4. King Down
5. The Undertow (feat. Karl Schubach)
6. The Weight Of Sound
7. Crossing Nails
8. Dystopia (feat. Jesse Leach)
9. Sinner
10. Don’t Breathe
11. Coma Wave
