Crystal Lake have been touring relentlessly this year, and we managed to catch up with them back in May while they were in Stockholm, Sweden. During our conversation, we talked about the band’s new lineup and the addition of US-based vocalist John. We also discussed the intentional balance between between English and Japanese, and what it’s like being a band with members living in different countries.

Crystal Lake will release their upcoming album The Weight Of Sound on January 23 next year. It will be the first full-length featuring John on vocals. At the time of the interview, the album had not yet been officially announced.

Don’t forget that Crystal Lake will return to Europe and the UK in February 2026 for a co-headline tour with American metalcore band “Miss May I”. Check out the details here and grab your tickets today!

How’s your condition today?

John: I am a little tired.

Completely understandable, you guys have been touring a lot!

Gaku: Yeah, 54 shows including today.

It’s been six years since you guys have been here in Sweden. In 2019, we saw YD, Gaku, and Mitsuru on stage. So how about the other members, is this your first time in Sweden?

TJ: Yes.

John: No, my first time with Crystal Lake, though.

You’ve also been touring with the Swedish metalcore band Thrown, how has that been so far?

John: Yeah, three times, I absolutely had a great time and the shows have been great.

YD: They’re professional and great guys. Every show was packed, and we really managed to get the crowd moving.

It’s great to see two amazing bands cross paths and tour together!

John, Gaku: Thank you so much.

YD, you mentioned in our previous interview that the Swedish hardcore band SHIELD was an inspiration to you, do their influences still linger on?

YD: Ah, SHIELD from 30 years ago, a classic band from Sweden. They gave me a lot of inspiration over the years, but right now we’re not directly influenced by them. I’m still in love with that old-school sound, which we call “new school hardcore”.

Hardcore tends to move in waves; it fades, then comes back again. About 15 years ago it disappeared, but around three years ago it revived with a new foundation. I still really enjoy that kind of music.

How would you say your music has evolved today, especially now that Crystal Lake’s foundation—its members—has changed?

YD: Musically, nothing has changed. We still love music, we still love playing shows. My core values are also the same.

John, since you live outside of Japan, how do you and the band usually coordinate when creating new music?

John: It’s a lot of scheduling, file sharing, working on your own, then connecting through video chats and constant messaging. Basically, a lot of preproduction and back-and-forth.

What about the language situation, does it affect you?

John: It’s pretty difficult, but the others speak a lot of English, so luckily, that is a blessing. We are slowly but surely making our way through it. For sure. It’s not easy.

That’s completely understandable. Is the planning similar with touring as well?

John: There’s a lot of scheduling and checking in on documents to make sure everything’s in place. Everyone keeps up with their own parts, so we’re all on the same page, and things get updated constantly. I normally check things through in the mornings to see if there’s something new.

Considering that Gaku and Mitsuru used to be support members, is there anything different when performing on stage now as full-time members?

Mitsuru: My mindset hasn’t really changed, but being a full-time member lets me connect with everyone more. I can communicate properly with the band now, which is really great for me, and it has helped me evolve a bit as a musician as well.

Gaku: In terms of the music, nothing has really changed. But now I handle a lot more of the band’s behind-the-scenes work, so that part has changed. The music itself hasn’t.

YD: When they were support members, they mostly focused on playing music. Now, as full-time members, they’re helping shape Crystal Lake’s vision and taking on more management roles. Gaku handles everything on stage, like a stage manager. Mitsuru manages the DAW and laptop on stage. TJ handles the log system and other tasks. Even John has his own responsibilities, like yearbooks and other things. Everyone has their role.

TJ, you previously played in HER NAME IN BLOOD. How do your responsibilities in Crystal Lake compare to your previous band?

TJ: With HER NAME IN BLOOD, everyone was about the same age, so it felt like we were just a group of friends making music. But when I joined Crystal Lake, everyone was so professional. They take music seriously as a full-time job—of course, there’s still a friendship between us—but I was surprised at how well everything is balanced. I learn something new every day, so it’s been a really great experience.

John, now that Crystal Lake is gaining more international recognition than ever, do you feel the band is breaking boundaries? How does that feel to you?

John: I think our music and especially our stage show are definitely different from what you’d expect from most bands. When you see a metal band, it’s usually all about an aggressive, angry presence, but Crystal Lake doesn’t really do that.

Crystal Lake does more like this gymnastic thing from the early 2000s. It definitely sets our stage show apart, and musically, YD is always pushing us to be more creative and try something different.

I like to think of Crystal Lake almost like “reverse deathcore”, if you will. It’s a hardcore band with death metal parts, not a death metal band with hardcore parts. So there’s a different way of creating music than most people might expect.

I believe the way we think about music is what sets us apart. The music itself might be similar to other bands, but the way we do things is what truly defines Crystal Lake.

With that in mind, we personally believe Japanese music has a certain essence that is unique to it. Do you feel that has played a role here?

John: Yeah, absolutely. Like at the end of “DYSTOPIA”, at the end of “Denial // Rebirth”, and even at the end of “BlüdGod”, you hear more melodic sounds. It’s maybe a little different than what I’m used to hearing from Crystal Lake, so I can definitely agree that the external influence is obvious.

YD: It’s like something from an anime, like “Ghost in the Shell”. There’s a lot of traditional Japanese music and authentic old-school melodies in it. These are some of my favorite things. As a Japanese person, I’m honored to include that kind of melody in our music.

We can totally see that! If we continue with YD, you’ve been with the band for 23 years—which is crazy impressive by the way. As a musician, what would you say is the most profound or important thing you’ve learned?

YD: Yeah, it’s crazy. The most important thing is loving music and believing in yourself. I just trust what I believe and try to make it real. When we aim for future goals, I believe we can reach them and that our dreams can come true.

I still believe in music and in shaping my life toward something great. Loving music is what matters most.

That’s very true. Gaku, you’re involved in a lot of production work outside of Crystal Lake too, like producing for “HANBIE.”. With such a busy schedule, what made you decide to become a full-time member of the band?

Gaku: When performing with Crystal Lake, there’s this feeling that the live shows are something only Crystal Lake can do. There’s this sort of spike, a moment where you really feel the energy during the show. That’s my reason.

[Everybody laughs]

Is that the main reason, or were there other factors as well?

Gaku: I’ve played drums for a lot of bands, I’ve played guitar and bass too, even done vocals, but I’ve never really felt this kind of feeling until I performed with Crystal Lake. That’s my reason, to put it simply. It’s why the shows are really fun for me, and on this tour too, I’ve been able to experience that multiple times.

So in short, it’s simply explained by your emotions you’ve got from Crystal Lake?

Gaku: Yeah. It’s kind of hard to put into words.

YD: At the same time, that’s one of our strengths. Compared to other bands, our stage presence is different. We bring both aggression and passion to the table.

Ah yes, John said something similar to that as well.

YD: I think we really get that across. There’s this kind of “gap”, a discrepancy, the difference between what we’re trying to express and how it actually comes out on stage and in the music. Even now, we don’t fully understand it ourselves, so we’re still learning.

Crystal Lake has experienced a lot over the years. Even compared to what we’ve done in this band or in other projects, the circumstances were different, and so were the things we did. We’re expressing our growth from zero. As a musician, I feel like being in this band really helps us grow.

What we’re putting the most importance in—as I mentioned earlier—is that we love music and we’re trying to express that body and soul. Being able to move people is so important.

We’re not looking to just stand there and play, you know? I’m sure our performances aren’t perfect, but heavy music and hardcore comes from that core, that raw and organic energy is what really makes the music.

We’re always talking about hardcore not just as music, but as something that comes from the core. It’s the foundation of what we do.

Do you guys feel the same, is this what makes Crystal Lake different from other bands?

[All members in agreement]

John: Yes!

Mitsuru: That’s completely it.

We’ve talked about how Crystal Lake hasn’t changed musically, but with new official members, do you feel there’s been any new influence?

John: That’s a question I’d rather have someone from outside the band answer. I don’t really know myself, you know? I don’t want to say what I’m bringing into the band, because it’s really up to other people’s ears to decide.

I think we’re doing mostly the same stuff, maybe just a little more of one thing or another. But when the new album comes out, you’ll have to tell us what you think. What do you think the new Crystal Lake sounds like?

That’s a completely fair way to look at it. Slightly similar question, but do you feel like you’re able to be authentic when bringing in your own parts to the music?

John: Yeah, I feel like me in Crystal Lake. I don’t feel like the old singer or a different singer. I feel like myself. If you followed my music or the bands I’ve been in, you’ll definitely hear those traits, for sure.

During the vocal audition process, we listened to your Crystal Lake cover songs, and we really felt that your vocals were a great fit for the band!

John: Thank you! I really liked the band and their music even before I joined.

That’s great to hear! You’ve recently done collaboration songs such as “Chase the sky”, and “BlüdGod”. Can we expect more collaboration on the way?

YD: Ah, not much. Well, because we are focused on writing a full-length.

Oh wow! You mean a new album?

YD: Yeah, we’re mixing and mastering at the moment. We had to pause a bit because of a long tour, but we’ll get back to it soon.

While we don’t have any collaborations planned immediately, hopefully we can work with a DJ or someone else in the future.

That makes sense, because we were just about to ask if all these tours have been the reason you haven’t released much lately?

John: Yes!

YD: Yeah.

[Everybody laughs]

We’ve been waiting for an album for a long time!

John: We’re busy yelling at you guys instead of yelling at the studio.

YD: Yeah, it’s because we needed to do tours. We’re still a relatively new band [due to the lineup change], so performing live is really important for us.

The Weight Of Sound

CRYSTAL LAKE

CDJapan

Bandcamp

iTunes

Oh, can you explain what you mean by that?

YD: It’s not exactly the same as the “old” Crystal Lake, so we had to start building again. We needed to gain a lot of experience from playing music and doing shows. Of course, rehearsals and touring always help us grow.

Do you mean that Crystal Lake’s image has been rebranded, or is this more about a natural evolution of the band?

John: I am in no way trying to be the old singer. I want to be me, 100%. I don’t want you to come see me and think, “Oh, I didn’t even realize [it’s a new singer]”. I want you to notice that it’s someone else, completely. Yeah, I wear my own shoes. I don’t wear somebody else’s.

That’s a good metaphor. Does the touring include promoting you as the new vocalist?

John: I think it’s for everything. It’s for people to know who I am, for people to know who we are as a group, and for all of us to be on the same level as musicians and performers.

The band’s performance is very extreme, so it’s not easy for new members to just jump in and be at the same level. There’s a lot of preparation and building up before you can really move forward. The shows are Crystal Lake’s way of rebuilding everything from the ground up, you know what I mean?

Similar to the message of the single “Denial // Rebirth”, which marked your debut with Crystal Lake?

John: Yes, exactly!

YD: Yeah, totally. It’s a brand new chapter for us, so of course we’re facing a lot of challenges. People are comparing us to the old Crystal Lake, and so on. But we don’t worry about that, because we have our own vision for the future, and we’ve created brand new forms to realize it.

We’re looking forward to this new era.

John: Yeah, the album is recorded, and we’re working on all the fine-tuning. Sometimes in the video game industry, things get rushed, and then you end up thinking, “Oh, that wasn’t that great”. We don’t want that to happen.

What I mean is, we’ll delay it as much as we need until it’s absolutely perfect for release. But it’s coming out really soon [laughs].

[Laughs] We’re crossing our fingers!

John: No more delays, it’s coming out!

YD: We recently signed with a brand new label, Century Media Records, so we’re going step by step, talking about our future, how to promote the band, how to build Crystal Lake, and how to take Crystal Lake to the next level.

To the mass market?

YD: Yes, exactly, that’s what we’re working towards.

Crystal Lake of course sings in English, but you also have songs in Japanese. Will we keep seeing the inclusion of Japanese in the later songs?

John: In “Denial // Rebirth”, by the end, it’s in Japanese, so yes, we’ll sprinkle it in there every once in a while.

We did make it a point to make sure you could hear the Japanese accent in many parts of the album. We realized that the Japanese accent is a big part of the band’s sound. So when replacing the vocalist [with me, John] who doesn’t have the accent, we knew we had to include it somehow. We made it a point to still sound Japanese even on the albums.

Regardless of whether we’ll uses the Japanese language directly, you will hear Japanese influence and identity in the music.

That’s interesting. I also noticed you can faintly hear Japanese in the intro of “BlüdGod”.

John: Yes!

Mitsuru: Yeah, did you catch what it said?

We could hear that it was Japanese, but it was difficult to make out what the lyrics were.

Mitsuru, TJ: Oh, that’s cool.

What was the idea behind that part?

YD: Sometimes I include Japanese words in a song, but it’s not because they’re necessary. The sound or meaning is what’s important. Honestly speaking, I’ve hidden the actual words.

[Laughs] So it was intentional to make it difficult to make out?

YD: It was more like a sound effect for a futuristic song. Some people might recognize that it’s Japanese, and some might not, which makes it interesting.

My roots are very hardcore, and all music I write is in English. The English sound comes naturally to me. It’s pretty hard to express everything in Japanese because the accent is different. The sounds are almost completely different. Yeah, but I prefer the English sound.

Mitsuru, as the bassist of Crystal Lake, what do you consider the most important aspect of music?

Mitsuru: I think in metal and hardcore, the bassist is the one who really drives the dynamics. A lot of the time, the audience doesn’t even notice the bass, but if it’s gone, something just feels wrong.

I want it to feel like if I weren’t on stage, something would be missing. Even if you played my parts from a computer or something, it still wouldn’t be enough.

That’s what I bring to the band. Crystal Lake’s music needs bass to really move the crowd, and that’s why I’m here.

Looking ahead, what milestones do you want to reach?

John: So many, I don’t even know where to start. It’s a tough question because… this is all a work in progress, you know? There are so many things that could be better or worked on.

I think the milestone is just to keep working harder and push to the next level. It never stops. Being in a band doesn’t get easier as you grow.

Things might look nicer [as time goes on from the outside], but the work actually gets harder. It’s really about finishing one set of hard work and moving on to the next. It doesn’t stop.

So I guess the milestone is simply to keep working harder.

TJ: I’m aiming for a Grammy award.

Wow, that would be cool.

TJ: Yes!

Any final message to the overseas fans?

Gaku: [In perfectly pronounced Swedish] Thank you very much (“Tack så mycket”)!

[Taken aback and impressed] Oh wow!

[Everybody laughs]

John: Don’t let your family and friends discourage you from your dreams. Do what you want and don’t give up. They’re gonna tell you to stop because they don’t believe in themselves. That’s why you have to believe in yourself.

That’s very inspiring, thank you very much for your time!

It’s always a pleasure speaking with the humble members of Crystal Lake, and especially impressive to see the contrast when they’re beasts on stage. So again, if you haven’t already yet, get your tickets to their Europe and UK 2026 shows here and experience it for yourself!

The Weight Of Sound

CDJapan

Bandcamp

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Stream

CD

Track 12-14 are limited to the Japanese release.

1. Everblack (feat. David Simonich)
   エヴァーブラック feat. デイヴィッド・サイモニッチ
2. BlüdGod (feat. Taylor Barber)
   ブラッドゴッド feat. テイラー・バーバー
3. Neversleep (feat. Myke Terry)
   ネヴァースリープ feat. マイク・テリー
4. King Down
   キング・ダウン
5. The Undertow (feat. Karl Schubach)
   ジ・アンダートウ feat. カール・シューバック
6. The Weight of Sound
   ザ・ウェイト・オブ・サウンド
7. Crossing Nails
   クロッシング・ネイルズ
8. Dystopia (feat. Jesse Leach)
   ディストピア feat. ジェシー・リーチ
9. Sinner
   シナー
10. Don’t Breathe
    ドント・ブリーズ
11. Coma Wave
    コーマ・ウェイヴ
12. Summer Breeze Open Air 2025
    Summer Breeze Open Air 2025 <日本盤のみ、ボーナス・トラック>
13. Mephisto (Live)
    メフィスト (ライヴ) <日本盤のみ、ボーナス・トラック>
14. Disobey (Live)
    ディスオベイ (ライヴ) <日本盤のみ、ボーナス・トラック>