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Kim Dracula and HANABIE. announce 24-date North American co-headline tour
Kim Dracula and HANABIE. will be joining forces for a North American run in the spring, featuring special guests Kaonashi and Crystal Lake (at select dates).
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Album review: Crystal Lake – The Weight Of Sound
With a new vocalist in tow, Japanese metalcore heroes Crystal Lake turn the volume up to 11 on their first album in seven years.
- Words:
- Jasmine Longhurst
With fans champing at the bit for new music from Tokyo metalcore quintet Crystal Lake ever since they started teasing a new album in 2024, having already been waiting since 2019, The Weight Of Sound is finally upon us in all its ferocious glory, along with new vocalist John Robert Centorrino.
They waste no time with slow-burn opening instrumentals. Instead, the album erupts with Everblack, a snarling, spittle-flecked opener featuring David Simonich from Signs Of The Swarm. Far from the only featuring vocalist too, David is one of five star-studded additions on the mic – Taylor Barber from Left To Suffer, Volumes' Myke Terry, Karl Schubach of Misery Signals, and Killswitch Engage hero Jesse Leach each join Crystal Lake at one point or another.
Not slowing down one bit across the first five songs, the band only pause for breath come the title-track. Having already been released, fans will likely be more than enamoured with this more melodic song, which discusses the toll of being away from your family and friends, and not being able to be there for them whilst on tour. It also marks a turning point in the sonics, with the first half acting as the more aggressive side, but from then on it slips closer to more melodic metalcore.
This is exemplified most as the album starts to wrap up. The final three tracks aren’t ragers so much as large-scale sing-alongs, and the finale starts as a solemn piano-led piece before unfurling into the kind of emotive intensity that Deafheaven would be proud of.
The Weight Of Sound is a showstopper by design. With razor-edged riffs and melancholic piano lines holding equal weight underneath potent vocals, this comeback could be Crystal Lake’s most impactful release to date.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Alpha Wolf, Northlane, Brand Of Sacrifice
The Weight Of Sound is released on January 23 via Century Media.