| The Weight of Sound | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 January 2026 | |||
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| Length | 40:39 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer | Yudai Miyamoto | |||
| Crystal Lake chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Weight of Sound | ||||
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The Weight of Sound is the sixth studio album by Japanese metalcore band Crystal Lake. Self-produced by the band's lead guitarist Yudai Miyamoto, the album was released on 23 January 2026. It is their first album released by Century Media Records since leaving SharpTone Records in May 2024.
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The Weight of Sound is the band's first studio album in eight years, and serves as the follow-up to their fifth studio album Helix (2018), becoming the longest gap between studio albums to date. It is their first album without founding member rhythm guitarist Shinya Hori and longtime vocalist Ryo Kinoshita, who left the band in July 2020 and September 2022 respectively. In their place, Hisatsugu Taji and John Robert Centorrino of The Last Ten Seconds of Life joined the band. Longtime touring bassist Mitsuru and drummer Gaku Taura upgraded to official members of the band in July 2021, with the band reverting to a quintet for the first time in sixteen years since the release of their second studio album Into the Great Beyond (2010).
The album was preceded by four singles; the lead single "BlüdGod" was released upon their announcement of joining Century Media Records on 30 May 2024 including a feature from Left to Suffer frontman Taylor Barber, the second single "Crossing Nails" was released on 7 August 2025, the title track "The Weight of Sound" was released as the third single on 10 October 2025, and the fourth single "Neversleep", featuring Volumes singer Myke Terry, released on 5 December 2025.
The Weight of Sound heavily features guest vocalists on the album, being included on a total of five out of the eleven songs with guest spots from Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage, David Simonich of Signs of the Swarm, and Karl Schuback of Misery Signals. Despite running at only 40 minutes, The Weight of Sound is the band's longest album to date.