Crystal Lake - 'The Weight Of Sound' Album Review

Tracklist:

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  

Japanese metalcote outfit Crystal Lake are back with their 6th album 'The Weight Of Sound', released on 23rd January, their first album in 8 years, and the first release to feature vocalist John Robert Centorrino, rhythm guitarist Hisatsugu "TJ" Taji and bassist Mitsuru. 

'Everblack' throws you right in at the deep end, exploding out of the gates, hitting you with a wall of sound, with Centorrino leading the charge. It's a chaotic sound, but never feels out of control, thanks to how tight together the entire band is, working seamlessly with guest vocalist David Simonich of Signs Of The Swarm. The drums from Taura in particular are a highlight for me, extremely intricate in places, but played with such pinpoint precision, and the breakdown at the end is just stupendous. 

Carrying on with another show of musical technicality and brutality is 'Blüdgod'. Yet again, the band is fully locked in with each other, the guitars from YD Miyamoto and TJ Taji working in perfect tandem with a frantic synth line, while Centorrino and Left To Suffer's Taylor Barber exchange growls like a couple of wild animals. It is intense as all hell and unrelenting until the end, but my god is it gorgeous. 

'Neversleep', once again, shows off just how well Crystal Lake pull off fucking heavy music. It is note perfect in every bar, and yet again is completely unrelenting, with yet another guest vocalist, Myke Terry of Volumes, also absolutely killing it. For me, Mitsuru's bass is the standout performance for this track, holding down a solid line while still being given equal opportunity to show off with YD and TJ's insane guitar work. 

'King Down' provides a rest from the guest vocals, but not from the heavyness, with Taura playing the song in with a phenomenal drum fill. This track feels like a nod to Architects to me, from Centorrino's "blegh" at the start to the vocal rhythm of the chorus, it does Sam Carter and the rest of the Architects crew proud, and gives Crystal Lake a slightly different way to show off. 

Speaking of different ways to show off, 'The Undertow' feels more contemplative (don't worry, it's still plenty heavy), YD and TJ reigning in the insanity of their guitar playing, really shining a spotlight on ex-Misery Signals frontman Karl Schubach and Centorrino's back and forth, as well as the unexpected but still welcome inclusion of a saxophone solo. 

Title track 'The Weight Of Sound' keeps the pace on the slower side with a very Parkway Drive-esque intro, the way the guitars and vocals build is just gorgeous, before gaining more of a sense of urgency without becoming a while lot more aggressive. There are some beautiful clean vocals for the first time on the record, showing a good deal of diversity, which pairs so well with the slower, more drawn out guitars. There is still a good amount of heaviness, mainly provided from Centorrino's screams and Taura's fast paced drumming. 

'Crossing Nails' ramps the pace right back up to 11. Taura's legs must be on fire from the machine gun like double kick drums, perfectly reflected in Centorrino giving some very fast paced delivery, verging on rapping. This is an all-out sonic assault from every single member, and not one but two half-time breakdowns is just the cherry on top of the heavy cake. 

'Dystopia' gives us the final guest vocal of The Weight Of Sound, this time coming from none other than Killswitch Engage's Jesse Leach, and in an album stacked with phenomenal vocal features, dare I say this is the best? Backed by some more absolutely frenetic instrumentals, the blend of cleans and screams from both vocalists is just pitch perfect and sounds so good, with another slower moment coming towards the end to give a good variation. Another absolute beast of a track. 

'Sinner' drops the pace a touch again for its intro, suckering you in before sending things right back up to the max again. This is perhaps the darkest sounding song on the record in the verses, with Mitsuru's bass doing a lot of heavy lifting. Synths providing an almost Knight Rider effect is an interesting choice, but weirdly works in this context, with screams and soaring riffs to back it. In the back half it takes on a more contemplative sound, punctuated in the switching between screams and cleans, and indeed the blending of the two. 

Penultimate track 'Don't Breathe' is perhaps the heaviest track on the album, and that is saying a LOT. Centorrino's growls feel particularly full of malice in the verses, but the heaviest elements are once again Taura's insane blast beats and the ludicrous guitar and bass work from TJ, YD and Mitsuru, accentuated in the pre-breakdown and breakdoen, with all four instrumentalists damn near seeing God with their playing, before a simpler extended intro takes us into the finale. 

'Coma Wave' begins with a slightly menacing soundscape, but leads into an absolutely haunting piano, matched by some equally beautiful clean vocals. Building slowly by adding in elements subtly, it almost reminds me of the way Bring Me The Horizon ended 'That's The Spirit' with 'Oh No'. This, however, doesn't go down the dancy route of that track, instead bringing on some of the amazing screams and guitar work we've been treated to over the course of the rest of the album, taking a very dark turn with the repeated growling of "coma wave" for over a minute, with the once again insane guitars fading out, leaving the vocals with that solitary piano, which is the final thing we hear. 

Over the past few years, I've been steadily throwing myself further and further into the world of Japanese metal bands, and 'The Weight Of Sound', to me, feels like the perfect album to sum up the ethos of the county's attitude to the genre. To put it plainly, it is controlled chaos, but in the best way possible, and Crystal Lake have proved that despite the lineup change, they aren't here to fuck around. 

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Review - Gordon Rae