“It never gets easier as you get bigger – it actually only gets harder” – interview with John Robert Centorrino of Crystal Lake

There are some bands that just get you right from the first note, either if you see them live or if they’re playing through a CD. This was the case for me with Crystal Lake, a japanese band that has been making literal waves in the metal world. So it’s been my pleasure to chat with lead singer John Robert Centorrino about music, life and touring.

Hey John, how are you doing at the moment?

John Robert Centorrino: What’s good. I’m chillin. I got the next few months off. Currently drinking a Manhattan special watching cartoons with my daughter, lady, and my father. My Dad just got here from New York City so we’re doing family stuff.

What’s the biggest thing you unlearned during your career—something you believed about music or being in a band that you now know was wrong?

John Robert Centorrino: So much. That idea, of unlearning and re-learning is a daily obstacle as a musician. You are always pushing yourself and trying to be better than yesterday. I guess I unlearned, waiting to be comfortable through the hardwork. I unlearned that it never gets easier as you get bigger – it actually only gets harder. It just looks better LOL. Like for an example – you may see us in a nice hotel room but it really sucked getting there believe me haha.

The Weight of Sound — that title suggests both burden and purpose. Is the weight something you carry willingly, or is there resentment in it? Can it be both simultaneously?

John Robert Centorrino: It’s definitely simultaneous. We do this 10+ months out of the year. Way more than a lot of other touring bands our size. Even your favorite food will get under your skin after 250 plates of if haha. This whole “band” idea is built on the shine of the lights. Not the shadows the lights can cast – and we live in the shadows ya know. I love being in a band. I love touring. I love my family. I love my home life. This song speaks on them both as I fight to balance them.

You wrote the title track about being away from loved ones who need you, and the doubt that comes from all sides. Has success made that weight heavier or lighter? Does validation from the industry or fans actually alleviate the personal cost?

John Robert Centorrino: Heavier. A lot more is expected of us all now. It’s all on our full team to build us up to the next level. The validation for me is absolutely alleviating but mostly I just notice the hate hahah. I think the guys do less comment combing. I just purely can’t help it LOL

The guest list—Jesse Leach, David Simonich, Taylor Barber, Myke Terry, Karl Schubach—spans different corners of heavy music. How do you choose collaborators? Is it about complementary sounds, personal relationships, or capturing a specific emotional moment?

John Robert Centorrino: Well actually 99% of these people are close personal friends of mine and subsequently now that of the bands. So it was an honor for us all to have them on the new album. We tried to choose every singer based on the part they would feature in. 

YD mentioned being inspired by “the people and the environment around me” and that playing music with “comrades-in-arms” is what it means to be a band. In an era where artists can create entire albums alone in bedrooms, why does that communal aspect still matter so much to Crystal Lake?

John Robert Centorrino: I’m not really sure how to answer this. I think it means a lot to them because their culture is very separated from ours. However ours is very apart of theirs. So like, there are 1,000,’s of sick JP (Japanese) metalcore bands that you’ve never heard of right, but you know Crystal Lake. So this is a very special thing for a Japanese metalcore band to be looked at in such a way by the rest of the world. They’ve known each other for 100 years too. So you build a brotherhood building this business running around the world together. It means a lot to them to be together. 

Crystal Lake has always been a bridge between Japanese and Western metalcore scenes. Do you still feel that duality, or have you reached a point where the music transcends geographic categorization entirely?

John Robert Centorrino: I think we’re on the brink of that world wide scope but yes, I definitely believe we continue to bridge the gap. Especially for Japan. The bigger Crystal Lake gets the more hope it’ll always give to younger Japanese bands. I’ve also never heard of another Japanese band fronted by a Brooklyn guy either, so on the flip side, it gives hope to kids from the brick to dream of bigger things past the fire escape.

You’ve influenced countless bands in Japan and beyond. When you see younger artists clearly inspired by Crystal Lake, does it feel like validation, responsibility, or something else entirely?

John Robert Centorrino: I think both. The responsibility is the validation or vice versa. You know what I’m trying to say? Like, you validate us after our songs validate you, therefore we are like responsible in a weird way. Which makes it like this beautiful burden that we carry together.

There’s a romantic narrative around touring—the road, the brotherhood, the adventure. But the reality you’re describing is isolation and absence. Does the romance eventually die, or does it coexist with the difficulty?

John Robert Centorrino: It really depends. It’s probably a little bit different for everybody. Personally I think the bigger your band becomes the more isolating and difficult it becomes. Some people rock love and party their whole careers and more power to them but for me personally I have kind of suffered through this beautiful endeavor. I think the other members can relate as well. I’ve loved this as much as hated. It’s hurt me almost as much as it’s done good… but i wouldn’t have it any other way. This life is all we know. This is how I feed my daughter and her mother. This life is a blessing for us compared to what others have to deal with, so I’m happy to suffer through it with my guys.