Japanese metalcore band Crystal Lake were formed in Tokyo in 2002 but their latest album The Weight of Sound is my first encounter with their music. Ever keen to expand my musical range especially some of the more extreme sub genres of metal, this album pushed my tolerance levels. However, I’m glad I persevered with is as there is much more to this album than just brutal riffs and throat shredding vocals.
The five piece band consisting of (new) vocalist John Robert Centorrino, guitarists Yudai “YD” Miyamoto and Hisatsugu “TJ” Taji, bassist Mitsuru and powerhouse drummer Gaku Taura are joined by a plethora of additional musicians. Step forth Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), David Simonich (Signs of the Swarm), Taylor Barber (Seven Hours After Violet), Myke Terry (Fire From The Gods) and Karl Schubach (Misery Signals).
Things get off to a raucous start with ‘Everblack’ featuring thunderous riffs that subside into a hooky chorus, the guitars churn with a sickening sludgy filth, interspersed with needle like jabs. Mega blasting beats pummel your head in ‘BlüdGod’ while a plethora of heavy guitars spew out a bilious cacophony. It’s chaotic yet controlled adding to the confusion. A trilling piano (?) tone hovers like a deadly drone. ‘Neversleep’ drops with a seismic blast of chugging guitars and piledriver beats. The chorus of “it’s going to be alright, it’s going to be ok, not anymore!” gets driven into your head with vitriolic rage. ‘King Down’ pumps out some snazzy riffs that zigzag with a buzzing menace.
The first track to actually take it easier is ‘The Undertow’ with melodic guitar lines snaking through the powering drums and the utterly venomous growled vocals. Imagine my surprise when there’s a wild saxophone solo pitched into the mix. You get to cool off with some gloriously melancholic guitar lines to the start of ‘The Weight of Sound’ bringing relief and showing the band’s ability to reach beyond bluster with some intelligent songwriting. The melodic guitars remind me of Paradise Lost with elegant tones. ‘Crossing Nails’ punches really hard to make Slipknot sound lightweight by comparison. ‘Dystopia’ propels along like an out-of-control fighter jet, scorching the earth on impact. A powerful and emotive passage opens some brighter hues on their palette.
The chaotic ‘Sinner’ piles on layers of snarling riffs and there’s a lot of detail with synths and backing vocals for a mesmerising fusion of styles. ‘Don’t Breathe’ fights against the senses with a blur of riffs, murderous drums and twitchy tempos. ‘Coma Wave’ is something of a red herring in that it eases melodic synths, piano and clean vocals, almost ballad like, but you sense something rising from underneath. Sure enough, the noise is brought but it’s underpinned by some wondrous piano and melodic atmospherics.
As I said at the outset, this album pushed me hard to absorb all of the nuances of what could be interpreted initially as riotous noise. The vocals definitely took some getting used to, but there is more than enough detail in the instrumentation on this album that the vocals fuse themselves into the overall sound so as not to dominate. This is a seriously tight, energised and DOWNRIGHT FUCKING HEAVY album to get 2026 off to a cracking start.
