It’s taken a lot for Crystal Lake to get here.
Three years on from announcing that John Robert Centorrino, known for this work with The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, would be taking up vocal duties following the departure of Ryo Kinoshita, their first full-length body of work since 2019 is out in the world.
For many a band, such stops and starts in your creative ascent would play havoc, but when you’re built like this band, nothing can truly stop you.
In many ways, that’s what ‘The Weight Of Sound’ is all about. That committing your life to this sort of music isn’t easy, but it was never supposed to be. And when you come out the other side with a project as emotionally riveting, gangantuanly heavy, and beautifully constructed as this, you realise that the hardship, heartbreak and upheaval was worth every last drop of blood, sweat and tears.
To detail this journey, Rock Sound chatted to John all about the respect and understanding that have gone into this new era of the band, both musically and culturally.
Rock Sound: How does it feel to be at this point where the album is finally out? There must be different feelings coming from not just you but also the rest of the band.
John: It feels relieving. We have all been working so hard on a million different things to get to a point where people can receive our art and music. I’m really happy because I finally feel like I’m going to get to have what other bands and other singers have. I don’t have this super huge hype fanbase underneath me, even though I have been doing this for a while. People love to hate me because I’m constantly replacing your favourite singer, so people are like, ‘Fuck that guy’. In that regard, I am the underdog. So it’s nice to feel like it’s going to work out finally.
RS: And from the very beginning, you were already at that level. You were already having to build, whilst the rest of the band were also starting fresh because of how quickly things had changed for them.
John: The way that we write music is like learning from each other. We clicked really well within the idea of how we wanted to write music and how we wanted it to sound. Because we put together two songs for the audition, ‘Dystopia’ and ‘Sinner’. That took some time, because I had to learn who their roots are and they had to learn who mine are and where I’m coming from. I think that with me, because I was coming from another established band, you also have to take in and consider that previous band’s sound as well. So that I am being used properly and not just abandoning everything that I am about.
So, integrating what I was into Crystal Lake was a new creative element we added to the band. I’m not going to say that was a difficult thing, but going down new avenues always means that you don’t know which way you are going to land. That’s how we wound up with a song like ‘King Down’. Then there are songs where I needed to sing more like they do and less like I do. But what is great about that is that it’s a natural feeling to me. It’s a part of music that I have always had and loved.
RS: How has it been integrating on the personal side, as well? How are you all around each other?
John: On stage, every band will tell you that there is an unspoken set of things that you’re supposed to do when your wires are crossed, or you walk past each other. It’s all stuff that is a reflex. But saying that, learning how they move and how I move in our little fun circus has been something. I feel like we do a really good job of blending the aggressive with the frantic. Then, when off stage, you know how different the cultures are, but you don’t really know until you fully experience it. It’s like having a kid; you can talk about it all you want, but until it happens, you don’t understand what it actually is. Living with five to seven Japanese guys and being in Japan for months on end has its own challenges. Their cultural habits are greater than mine because there are more of them. But again, I think we do a really good job of minding each other. The problem with that is that it’s not a spoken thing. There isn’t a handbook; it’s not something I can Google. So we have to step on each other’s toes.
RS: Being open to getting it wrong and knowing that you will is a huge part of making things happen. It’s all about respect, still, at the end of the day.
John: Oh yeah, we have 100% told each other that is how it is, and both of us have had to accept that. It’s not anything super crazy, either. It will be the way I want to do something on stage, or the way that I want to record something. And it has been the same vice versa. The way they might do something on stage or in the studio. Everything is not sprinkled with sugar, either. It has to be very matter-of-fact.
RS: So, from those two songs in the audition, which have made their way onto this record, how do you feel as though the creative process has changed since that very unique starting point?
John: I think that writing music together showed us that there are different parts of us that we didn’t previously utilise. I think that now we have come around to that, it’s really going to affect the direction of the band, and I mean that as a positive thing. It’s been a ‘finding ourselves’ kind of thing. When I joined the band, we weren’t trying to make me put on the Ryo costume. They needed somebody to pick up the torch and lead the way again. So I tried my best to accomplish that, and they have tried their best to lead me towards that. We work with each other all the time, whether that’s language, stage presence, or music. We show each other a lot. I could be thinking about making the drums sound slam-like, and they could be looking at ways to sound more emotional. They have taught me an awful lot about the upbeat, and that’s done an awful lot for me.
RS: A lot of that goes into the record’s title, too. ‘The Weight Of Sound’ sums up what it means to know that this life can take its toll, but being open about it is the most effective thing you can do. And your experience of that in Crystal Lake must be so different to what it was in The Last Ten Seconds Of Life.
John: That’s a phenomenal point. When I was in Last Ten…, I was not only in a shit relationship with the leader of the band, but I was also in a horrible partner relationship at home. Being anger in the van, at home, on stage, in my phone and in the studio, that does something to you. When you’re constantly focused on the darkness, only dark things will happen. So with Crystal Lake, it is different. I still have struggles; my life isn’t perfect. But I wanted this album actually to show that. I don’t see many people actually showing their vulnerability; they are just trying to be tough. I’m no pushover, but at the same time, I’m just like you. I wanted this album to feel like you weren’t alone. Like, there is somebody else who is going through the same bullshit as you. I felt like if I wasn’t afraid to talk about it, then maybe you wouldn’t be afraid to feel better about it.
RS: The thing that connects all of us is this music. The thing that connected you with Crystal Lake from the very beginning was this music and the deep-set passion you both have for it.
John: That’s absolutely it. They have the exact same thing. Think about how hard it has been for the entire crew of Crystal Lake to get to this point of putting these songs out. They encompass the weight of sound, too. They have been breaking their fucking asses for this. I’m now to the ass-breaking of this band. This shit is hard. They have been doing this for years; I’m new to it. They are not human. Their work ethic is so far beyond what you would ever expect. The attention to detail in everything, and it goes into everything they want to know and everything they want to do.
RS: In terms of that time, YD [Yudai Miyamoto, guitarist] has been at this for nearly 25 years, and he is still finding new ways to push this band. It is the purest form of devotion, and it must be incredibly inspiring to be around.
John: Here’s the thing that most people haven’t thought about in the process of Crystal Lake. YD’s idea of writing and recording, and idea of what music is, can be very different from mine because I am much younger. But he is one of the most intelligent guys I have ever met. He has the most perfect pitch I have ever heard. He can be a very traditional Japanese guy, too, in that he expects the utmost out of you. You’ve got to be able to handle that, and it can be really hard for some people. I respect the hell of it, because that’s what leads your team to greatness.
RS: To have that sort of set of ethics at this point in the culture, at a time when more eyes are on heavy music than ever before, is a real gift. Because it shows that this was the way things were done, even when those eyes weren’t pointing this way. This is the foundation.
John: It’s about being able to face what’s coming, now what you’ve got in your seat. The thing that happens in every band at the beginning is people saying, ‘Oh, I can’t dedicate that much time to this’. It continues as things go on, too, of course. But that’s ‘The Weight Of Sound’. This is forever, dude.
RS: In many ways, getting this album over the line is what truly breaks the dam. How has it been feeling, considering what you want to come next, with these songs now firmly in your possession?
John: We knew what we wanted, but we didn’t know how to present it to you. Now we know. We’ve written songs like ‘The Undertow’, ‘Neversleep’, and ‘King Down’, and now we know how to do it. That will result in more songs like that now, too, I feel. I’ve been able to be so outright about what I’m singing about. I have shit that pisses me off every day, and that is a constant inspiration for me to write a chorus or a hook or a verse. Once I do that and build a song, that’s when it becomes what it is about and where it belongs. I have to be not afraid to say things.
RS: What is exciting you about that next stage, then?
John: I am constantly pushed to my absolute limit because of Crystal Lake. And when you are pushed to your almost limit instead of your actual limit, what you do is create this feeling where that limit keeps on changing. And then you’re able to do more and more and more. Then I do more. Saying all of that, I’m excited to keep on growing. I’ve learned to be more mindful of my surroundings and the way things are, in ways that people in my culture aren’t. I’ve learned patience. I’ve learned that just because I am polite doesn’t mean that I have to be nice about it. I think this has opened my eyes even more. You are the people that you surround yourself with.
