Crystal Lake are set to release their highly anticipated seventh studio album, The Weight of Sound, on 23rd January 2026 via Century Media Records. For over two decades, the Japanese metalcore titans have been bridging Eastern and Western heavy music, building a global fanbase through relentless touring and ferocious live performances.
The addition of American vocalist John Robert Centorrino marks a new chapter in that story. His path to Crystal Lake has been fairly unconventional. He cut his teeth in Pennsylvania deathcore outfit My Bitter End before stepping into the considerable shoes left behind by departed vocalists in The Last Ten Seconds of Life. Now he finds himself fronting one of Japan’s flagship metalcore bands. It’s a journey defined by resilience, by constantly having to prove himself as “the new guy,” and by the emotional weight that seeps into the lyrics he writes.
We caught up with Centorrino ahead of the release, and what followed was one of the most candid conversations we’ve had in a long time. From the pressure of joining a band with such history to childhood trauma that still shapes his lyrics, he didn’t hold back. He spoke about collaborating with Killswitch Engage‘s Jesse Leach on ‘Dystopia’, the emotional breakthrough of writing the title track, and stated that rock and roll keeps him alive.
Joining a band with over two decades of history is no small thing. Can you walk us through what those first conversations with the rest of Crystal Lake were like, and the moment you knew this was the right fit?
John Robert Centorrino: I just looked at them as normal people. I didn’t focus on how massive the history was etc. I just wanted to get their vibe both on/off stage and in the studio because I knew how limited our time was. I can’t really say an exact moment of realization but I think we clicked quite well at multiple points right up front.
The album title The Weight of Sound feels intentional. What does that phrase mean to you personally, and how did it come to represent this record?
Centorrino: In my life, it’s difficult to balance both full time touring life and full-time Dad/Partner/Son/Grandson life. Both things are equally important to me. If one fails, it all fails. Joining Crystal Lake, I really had to invest more time away than at home and the weight of that has been absolutely immense to handle. It made me re-realise how precious and delicate this whole situation is. The phrase represents the album in the sense that all the songs are about stress in some sort of way and this band works INSANELY hard. Not only as a band but as humans. The culture of Crystal Lake and being in this industry together, it all has a weight to it. They all have their own lives and “challenges” also.
YD has spoken about the album honouring Crystal Lake’s history while looking forward. As someone newer to the band, how did you approach writing lyrics that respect that legacy while bringing your own voice and experiences into the mix?
Centorrino: Well, the band is very emotional, so I wanted the lyrics to be the same. My favourite emotional lyrics come from Misery Signals and Counterparts. I also know that about myself and how emotionally chaotic my whole life has been. So I wrote it all about my emotions.
What’s been the most surprising thing about becoming part of Crystal Lake’s world, whether that’s the creative process, the fanbase, or touring internationally?
Centorrino: I think it’s everything. Coming from a smaller deathcore band in America to a larger metalcore band from Japan is littered with surprises. I’m grateful to experience it all.
With the co-headline tour alongside Miss May I approaching, what are you most looking forward to bringing to those stages?
Centorrino: The new songs. I’m super excited to play them.
There’s a line in your single ‘The Weight of Sound’ about screaming in crowded rooms where no one hears you. That feels like a very specific kind of loneliness, being surrounded by people but still feeling invisible. Can you talk about where that image came from?
Centorrino: I think it means a few things. I do tend to feel very isolated at work abroad and at times, I even do at home. My professional career hasn’t exactly taken the normal path. I have quite literally been replacing vocalists, the entire time. From My Bitter End – The Last Ten Seconds of Life – now Crystal Lake. I’m always the new guy. So people almost like, WANT to hate me in a way. They immediately judge me harder. Even members of any band I’ve ever been in, they can be the same way. So it feels like there’s not an army with me like every other singer has, ones who are already established BECAUSE of their band they were in and I’m just me, established through each band I’ve taken up residence in. Sometimes I’m dying inside because of god knows what back home and I just wanna give up, but I can’t. I keep moving. Rock and roll keeps me alive. It’s a lot of things.
You’ve said this is your favourite song lyrically on the album. Was it also the hardest to write, or did it come more naturally because it’s so personal?
Centorrino: Actually quite natural, even though challenging at small moments. Mostly I remember it being heavily emotional and crying through most of it like a breakthrough at therapy. I write a lot of my songs like a diary. The emotions are all there in the moment.
‘Dystopia’ with Jesse Leach feels like a real standout track on the album. There’s a sense of hope. What was it like working with someone who’s been such a significant voice in metalcore for so long?
Centorrino: It was absolutely incredible to sing side by side with a legend like Jesse. He took what was initially a really interesting part and blessed it with his twang, so to speak – really brought it to life in the way it needed to be. I think it exceeded my expectations. I don’t want it to be misunderstood but ‘Dystopia’ lyrically is about my mental state in my previous band and how I felt there. If you know my previous work you can catch the little Easter eggs in the lyrics and it’ll all click.
‘Don’t Breathe’ is relentless in a different way, all those commands of what not to do. Is that song addressing something external, or is it more of an internal dialogue about pressure and expectation?
Centorrino: ‘Don’t Breathe’ is about my relationship with my mother as a child. How terrified and angry I was, living with her as a kid. It left me socially awkward and mentally distraught for a lot of my life. She’s not a bad person per say. She just only cares about herself without realising it i guess..idk. Now she’s like 100 and is a little bit better.
Listening through, there’s a clear balance between brutality and melody, moments that feel like hope breaking through. Is that contrast something you and the band consciously craft?
Centorrino: No I don’t think we do it consciously. I think it’s just a part of our style. We want to be brutal and melodic so we just naturally gravitate towards those things as we flow through different parts of it.
What impact do you hope this new record has on listeners?
Centorrino: I hope it gives people the hope, peace and the solitude music gave me as a kid when I felt like I didn’t have anybody. I want you to feel like you’re not alone.
Will Crystal Lake be in the UK at any point? The hype is building over here!
Centorrino: We will be back to the UK and Europe from February 24 to March 22nd. The UK dates are in mid-March. We’re touring with Miss May I, Great American Ghost and DIESECT.
The Weight of Sound is out 23rd January 2026 via Century Media Records. Throughout this conversation, Centorrino has laid himself bare in a way that few artists do: the isolation of always being the new guy, the childhood trauma that still echoes through his lyrics, the constant balancing act between the road and the people waiting at home. That honesty makes Crystal Lake‘s seventh album feel special.
