Crystal Lake are set to release their highly anticipated seventh studio album, The Weight of Sound, on 23rd January 2026 via Century Media Records. As one of Japan’s most internationally recognised metalcore exports, the band have spent over two decades carving out their place on the global stage, touring relentlessly and building a reputation for ferocious and impactful live performances. With this seventh record, they’re cementing their status as pioneers of Japanese metalcore.
The album starts full throttle with ‘Everblack’ featuring David Simonich of Signs of the Swarm. The death growl midway through is intense and perfect. The melody at the end blends seamlessly; I love it when heavy bands mix in elements like this. There are some clean vocals throughout, but make no mistake: this is a heavy, heavy, heavy track!
Second track ‘BludGod’ featuring Taylor Barber of Left To Suffer and Seven Hours After Violet gives us another intense death growl, and we’re here for it. This one very much keeps up the intensity. Just past the midway point, we get some absolutely perfect breakdowns, with howls in the background. The mood is well and truly set and it’s epic! This time we have some synth towards the end to break up the intensity, and it adds so much to the feeling of the track.
Third track ‘Neversleep’ features Myke Terry of Volumes and Fire From the Gods. Opening with a metal ‘hurgh’ (you’ll see what I mean), it’s obviously epic. The pace is still here; I’m envisioning arm flailers in the pit. There is some groove here. I’m now expectant of a format as I approach the midway point and I’m not wrong. Will there be some sort of melody towards the end of the track though? We’re in a whirlwind guitar solo, heavy epicness ready for the pit. More heavy than melody at the end of this one, but there is groove.
Always love a song that starts with a ‘blurgh’ and ‘King Down’ delivers on that, no need to say more.
‘The Undertow’ featuring Karl Schubach of Misery Signals feels like we’re moving through a battlefield. We’re picking up the pace past the midway point, feeling the hope and reward of the progress we’ve made. Some interesting melody towards the end of the track, very uplifting and nostalgic for this writer. I wonder if others will feel that too?
It’s clear why ‘The Weight of Sound’ is the lead single: it’s the best song on the album. It has everything you need from a band like this. The feeling of excitement that builds within you, the sense of pride, it just comes across so well. There are going to be people singing their absolute hearts out to this at festivals.
‘Crossing Nails’ dials up the heaviness once again. The fast vocals and the “666” bring new elements not shown until now on the album, leaning into pure death metal territory. It’s unrelenting, a mid-album gut punch that refuses to let you get comfortable.
‘Dystopia’ featuring Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage is another strong contender for best song on the album. The guitar melody really evokes a lot of hopeful feeling, along with the vocals and lyrics. Hearing Leach alongside Ryo feels like a passing of the torch and a collaboration between equals all at once; two voices that have defined metalcore for different generations, now sharing the same track. It’s heavy, with blastbeat drumming and an amazing death growl. The spoken word breakdown tells a story you’ll want to sit with.
‘Sinner’ has us singing together, the kind of anthemic chorus that begs for a crowd. There’s a mystical feeling in the breakdown, almost meditative, before bringing that heavy back around with a slow groove. The lyrics here carry real weight.
‘Don’t Breathe’ starts by making you feel like someone just screamed at you and all of your hair flowed straight backwards. We’re running in the breakdown, running so fast you can’t stop, you can’t look back, and like they say: “don’t breathe.” Actually, they tell you a lot of things not to do here. Funky melodies towards the end, nice creativity here.
‘Coma Wave’ provides a nice comedown after an intense ride. We’re slowing it down, we’re thoughtful, we’re free… just about anyway. The breakdown kicks in, reminding us that the heavy darkness is always there, lingering in the background.
Crystal Lake have delivered the perfect kind of heavy melodic album. It’s music that makes you question, makes you feel. It takes you through the paces, and that’s what we want, to be allowed to feel. The Weight of Sound delivers that. Now bring them to a UK festival stage. We’re ready.
