THE POWER TO BELIEVE

Latest Crimson album (so far), and a much more accessible (less brutal) one than 00's ConstruKction, Power To Believe is what I would call a positive (or at least hopeful) album. Unfortunately for me (and probably not just me) the line-up remained the same, even after five years between the two albums. Like Thrakk, it came preceded by a lighter work-in-progress with the Level Five maxi-EP (Vroom in Thrakk's case), which had given us some foretaste of things to come, so unlike ConstruKction, TPTB was no deception. Coming with the now-usual paintings gracing the KC Collector's Club and DGM releases, which are normally unrelated to the album's and track's content, showing a strong constrast between the album's positive feel.

Some have compared the four small title tracks to Poseidon's three Peace theme, and they might have a point, although this is about as far the Poseidon comparison would go. Right after the aCapella version comes the monster Level Five, taking us back Red, but a real new melody is Eyes Wide Open (one of the album's highlight) that Crimson had us not used to anymore. Elektrik and Facts Of Life are a bit of a return to the 80's Levin-era, but I find it more organic.. less 80's-ish. The second instalment of the title track is probably my fave of the four, the instrumental version with some rare Wam percussion instrument. The slowly crescendoing Dangerous Curve is one of those sonic novelties that are likely to shock some long-standing Crimson fan, but it is one of Metselotto's better performances on this album. In some ways, the middle and closing section remind me of the start of Genesis' Watcher Of The Skies.

Outside the almost-violent Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With, a weird yelling track where Belew obviously dares his strangest vocals, most of this album had glided fairly smoothly, and it's not the last two parts of the title track that will change the positive feel this album gives me, the third being another instrumental beauty, while Coda is a return to the a capella version opening the album accompanied with some aerial and ambient synths layers.

Although it would've been very difficult for Crimson to do a worse album than the previous TCOL (and even then it's far from catastrophic), TPTB is a healthy return to a more progressive (in the sense of going forward) music. Uuuuhh!!!..... Robert? If you want to do more of this type... please feel free.

"She carries me through days of apathy. She washes over me. She saved my life...in a manner of speaking...when she gave me back the power to believe." With this simple poem - sung acapella by Belew in a fritched voice - the best KC album since at least Beat (if not before) opens. Although less interesting lyrically than "ConstruKction of Light" (or even "Discipline," "Beat," or "Three of a Perfect Pair"), "The Power to Believe" marks another apex in the rollercoaster history of King Crimson.

Opening with that short poem, the album moves into "Level Five," an extended multi- section composition. It is no coincidence that "Level" begins with the same letter as "Larks," or that "Five" represents what would be the next "installment" of the Larks Tongues series. Leave it to Fripp to brilliantly waylay the possibility of an "oh no, here we go again" response had he titled this "Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part V." Yet there is no question that that is exactly what this is. But don't fret: it is leagues better than Parts III and IV. Indeed, it may be the most perfectly constructed, cohesive, tight and exciting KC composition since LT2.

"Level Five" segues nicely into "Eyes Wide Open," a simple but effective ballad in the style of the balladic material on "Three of a Perfect Pair." This leads into "Elektrik," which opens with a cute, quasi-brass opening. Then, using contrapuntal guitars as a "foundation," Fripp and Belew lead the band in a "guitars vs. rhythm section" composition in which Gunn and Mastalotto alternate two radically different rhythms while the axmen play a series of contrapuntal quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes. Although mildly overlong, it is oddly compelling.

"Facts of Life" opens with an intro of effects and "sudden percussion," moving into another fritched Belew vocal over some quasi-mixolydian guitarwork by Fripp. [N.B. Fripp has apparently "rediscovered" the mixolydian mode: he uses more of it on this album than he has in a long time.] A nice, straight-ahead (if oddly-timed) prog-rocker, this one also contains one of Fripp's trademark, massively distorted "chord" solos.

FOL segues nicely into "The Power To Believe II," the album's most minimalist, but no less interesting, instrumental. Opening with some effects, it moves into what sounds like an Arab call to prayer over a Middle Eastern rhythm (with Fripp in mixolydian mode again), then segues perfectly into a quasi-"Oriental" motif on melodic percussion. It then segues again, into a rhythmic, quasi-orchestral mode.

"Dangerous Curves" gives us a classic instrumental build-up (a la LT2) of Fripparanoia in 12/8 time, moving into an incessant, driving, almost Floydian section.

"Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" (like "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" on CoL) is a masterful, aggressive song, this time about...writing a song. Along with a truly wacky Fripp solo toward the end, the lyrics of the chorus have a very "Knots" (r.d. laing/Gentle Giant) style to them.

"The Power to Believe III" is a deliberately disjointed, "industrial" composition (a la "Industry" from TOAPP). "The Power to Believe IV: Coda" is an instrumental with a very Vangelis/Blade Runner effect, ending with the same vocal that opened the album.

Overall, the guitar work is excellent, Mastalotto has really found his footing and is truly "contributing" more to the overall sound, and Gunn (as on CoL) not only holds his own, but acts as the "linchpin" that holds much of the album together. The only reason I did not give this album five stars is because it does have missteps, and is simply not comparable to albums like Court, Larks Tongues, or Starless. And although I consider CoL as good as PTB compositionally (and far better lyrically), I gave this album four stars because it is so much better recorded that it makes a world of difference.

If you have ''The Power To Believe'', the music can take you anywhere. KING CRIMSON comes roaring back with a studio album that is so strong that it will retell why they are considered to be one of the most exclusive and abundant groups to create progressive art rock.

Robert Fripp (guitar, vocals), Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals) Trey Gunn (warr guitars) and Pat Mastelotto (traps and buttons) are a lineup that still commands respect from their peers while captivating music listeners worldwide.

"Eyes Wide Open" demonstrates their ability to mix up the aspects of pop and rock into their sound and step away from the intense musical compositions they are famous for, and then in the same instance switch right back to what they do best like the odd time signatures prevalent in tracks like "Elektrik." The title track is a four part suite starting with the 44 second "A Capella" building into a full mind expanding musical journey right through to the fourth and last track "Coda," which is a live cut. Although "Level Five" indicates a numerical sequence, I can tell you that there are many different levels of musical consciousness attained listening to the complex rhythms and the timing in songs such as this. I cannot imagine being a drummer in a band like this; I think I would be waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

This incredibly intricate and intelligent music says to you . listen to me over and over to understand me. I have no problem with that because I love it. Per usual the cover of the CD is as thought provoking as the music itself. This recording is another triumphant return to the top for KING CRIMSON.

The second longplayer of the 21st century kCrimson quartet didn't please me as much as their first kConstruciton. There are doubtlesly some great moments here like the violently starting "Level 5" and most notably the wonderful "Eyes Wide Open", a Belewesque tender piece with great melodic illusion in its beginning. The rest of the album was more or less irritating to my ears mostly due the electronicK aesthetics of the band's sound texture, and I think I lost my power to believe on this band among these notes. I was not even interested to rush to their first concert at Finland due the artistic focus of the group on this phase of creativity. I also got frustrated as Fripp recycled his wonderful "Outter Darkness" soundscape from his solo album here, maybe felt like sacrilege occurring here. Also the capella midsections resemble the "Peace" sequences of their second album "In Wake of Poseidon". Well, actually it isn't "theirs", but Fripp's - or something. Also I'm not fond of the style of the lyrics, as it seems that their writer has accomplished the highest level of wisdom and mercifully gives opportunities of redemption to their head-banging audiences. Recommended for fans of electronic aural terrorism.

Long live the king! I liked COL, unlike many people, and this just builds on that sound. It is ALOT less cluttered and "noisy" than COL, which makes it more accessible and listenible. In some respcets this ablum is better than anything since the 80s albums. Most of the songs are really good (which i can't say for THRAK or COL). Also, the band seems more "together". The lyrics are all solid (which many people questioned Belew's ability to sing and write words). Belew is deffinately the man for the job. He is still very skilled and, IMHO, will always be.

Now, for the review. The Power To Believe I is a great song. I absolutly love the poem. Though short, it is very powerful. Brillent!! Level Five is also very good. Love the guitar/drum work in this one. Very powerful as well. Eyes wide open is not too bad. Good vocals, and an overall eerie tone, make this one pretty enjoyable. Elektik remindes me of The ConstruKction of Light (the song), filled with alot of guitar interplay and, again, soild drum work. Facts Of Life is one of thier best songs, period. This song, more than any other, proves that Belew is still a great lyricist. Stunning chours, great music, and fantastic all around. TPTB II is an average track, although it contains good guitar work. Dangerous Cruves is another fine song. Everyone on this track is really soild. Happy with what you have to be happy with is another great song. Insane (odd) lyrics accompany this track. It adds humor to this album (which, although a positive messagek, i still find bleak). TPTB III is again more skilled work by Fripp, but is nothing fantastic. The same could be said with TPTB:Coda.

All in all, this is a great album. A deffinate must for all Crimson fans, and very much worthy of a listen by prog fans. Recommened!!!

King Crimson comes back in 2003 with a modern album. Not their finest, but an album of its time. The Machines are omnipresent, the themes are actual, and the music as aggressive as their best work. But it does not necessarily works well. Some songs are good, but nothing more. The musicianship is as usual up to the taks, but it seems the magic is lost. Fripp and co. tries too much to make a monster rises up again, but really, the great mutualism between the musicians seems lost. King Crimson has searched itself for some years now, but they still havent found the form they once had. Still, a Crimson album is better than the average album from the average band, so in 2003 it was a great album. But don't buy this one as an introduction to King Crimson, really. If you're a veteran listenener of Fripp and Crimso, than you COULD enjoy it quite a lot. 3/5

this album is one of the best KC albums ever, competing even with the best 70's albums. Every track moves into the other so perfectly and each song is like an adventure. Level Five qualifies as one of the best heavier songs KC has made, in fact id classify it as probably the most evil song i've ever heard. from the it goes to Eyes Wide Open which is such a different song than Level Five was. Then the ultra weird Elektrik, the electronic drums work very well here. I would also have to say Dangerous Curves is one of the best ones here. The rest of the album is really great and highly recommended to all.

After King Crimson released the ConstruKction of Light in 2000, many fans were sceptical on whether they could create a great studio record after the mess that the ConstruKction of Light was (it was a good album, but by no means great). This album, released in 2003, is the most recent King Crimson offering and it takes the listener to a completely different avenue from older King Crimson. Gone are the mellotron washed symphonic tunes, gone are the poppish sounds of the 80s, and in comes ambient and hard rock mixed into a recipe that can only spell success. Robert Fripp and his band of cohorts, Adrian Belew, Pat Mastelloto, and Trey Gunn create stellar environments using the mastery of their respective instruments, but never do they get over indulgent and meander on and on with useless filler. This mostly instrumental album shows that statement in full effect, and it is a wonderful ride from beginning to end.

The Power to Believe I: A Cappella is an ambient work, with a minimalistic synth voice coming through for the entire track. It goes right into one of the heavier tracks on the album, the stunning Level Five. The interplay between Fripp and Belew, who have two completely different styles and approaches to guitar, is utterly stunning, as they exchange powerful riffs that bring up memories of Easy Money on Larks' Tongue in Aspic. Eyes Wide Open is a more mellow tune, with some (as expected) great vocals from Adrian Belew. The melody and guitar line to the song are great and they go well together. Stand out performance from Trey Gunn on this track. Elektrik is the second instrumental on the album. It brings up memories of FraKctured on The ConstruKction of Light, with Fripp and Belew playing simultaneous riffing patterns that have an undeniably sharp sound to them. Pat Mastelloto's electronic percussion on this track really fits with the undeniably jaw-dropping playing from the two guitar maestros. Facts of Life is another vocal laden tune. The intro is a powerful drum spectacular, with Mastelloto essentially going off on a tangent during the 1:38 introduction. Belew's searing and sharp vocals are accompanied by a great heavy guitar line that can only fit in a King Crimson song.

The Power to Believe II is another instrumental on the album. It has an ambient feel, with very minimalistic playing. The band was going for an ethereal work and it comes off great, with a spectacular spacey feel. The brief snippets of vocal (from The Power to Believe I) also give it a more ambient feel. Dangerous Curves is another quasi-ambient work. Trey Gunn leads the way with a stunning walking bass line and is gently added with more depth and sound from the rest of the group. The build up on this song is stunning to say the least. Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With is the final song to feature a legitimate vocal track. The cynical hard rock tune about how to write a hard rock song features dissonant THRAK type chords and some more searing and jagged vocal from Belew. The Power to Believe III and IV close the album. Both continue the trend of minimalistic ambient instrumental works, with the vocal line from The Power to Believe I being put in at key tracks of the songs. They close the album brilliantly and give the jagged album a smooth ending.

Overall, this King Crimson album is easily the best album the group has recorded in the past 15 years. It takes all the conventional rules of music and throws them out the window, giving us a dissonant, and yet strangely melodic work that can only be truly taken in from beginning to end. If you're looking for In The Court of the Crimson King Part II, you're going to be strangely misguided by the album. But if you are looking for something truly original, then this is the album for you. 4.5/5.

The world is black, the world is creepy, the world is cold...and it's beautiful!!!

That's what I get when I listen to this album, to this...magnificent album! I knew it would be good, I have been reading the reviews of it for nearly a year and a half before I could get my hands on it...but this, this is not good...it's a MASTERPIECE! I couldn't believe my ears... this band, my favorite band, a band that is more than 35 years old, can make this stunning record in 2003!!! Wow, I was blown away... the Crimsons are still Kings!!! In this album we have a bit of everything. We have that semi conceptual feel the first four (69-71) albums had, the experimentation and tightness of the Wetton-Bruford era (73-74), the structural complexity of the ´80 (81-84), the heaviness of the ´90...and it's still one of the most innovative and modern sounding albums I have hear in this new millennium!

"The power to believe I:a capella" is the introduction to the album, with Belew singing thrue some sound vocal machine... it's calm and yet disturbing, and then...

"Level 5" Huhuhuhuh, Crimson always does the best instrumentals...and this is no exception... actually this song is a Lark's tongues in aspic, number 5... Yes, it is undercover but it is the fifth part! All four musicians are great, but my hat off to, as always master Fripp and Masteloto... who plays some of the best drumming from him, specially the programmed ones. If you had any second thought to get this because Bruford is no longer in it...don't have then, Masteloto is better than ever! And this coming from a big Bruford fan!

"Eyes wide open" is a calm song...but as always a bit disturbing, after all it's Crimson. This version is much better than the on from the "Happy with what you have to be happy with" EP. Belew sings very nicely and the lyrics are also quite good.

"Elektrik" is another instrumental which shows how groovy the band can be. It's dark and it has some excellent playing from Trey Gunn.

"Facts of life intro" is as the name says it, an intro...individually it's no big thing but it works great as an opening to the actual song. "Facts of life" is hard, with Belew singing some...crazy lyrics. The structure of the song has some hints to Level 5, which is understandable as the album is as I said before semi conceptual. Fripp is amazing here. Play it loud!

"The power to believe II" is the second part of TPTB series. It features a different musical background than the first one, making it extra creepy.

"Dangerous curves" is excellent... I love this track; the way it builds up in an almost "electronic-techno" kind of way is great. Here Crimson shows how advanced they still are from everyone else in music. The second best song after Level 5, at least in my eyes and ears.

"Happy with what you have to happy with", this version is shorter than the one from the EP...why I don't know, but it's not a big lost anyway. It's almost impossible not to sing along the chorus. "Happy with what you have to be happy with you have to be happy with what you have...to be happy...bla bla bla..."

"The power to believe III" is another variation from the series, here the vocals are different than the rest and the lyrics are not exactly the same, as some parts are sung and others not.

"The power to believe IV coda" the album ends like it started...darks, cold, creepy...and beautiful.

Get this...get it and be prepared to be blown away! Crimson is KING

An Absolute Masterpiece!

Let me make simple words about this album: amazing and kicking! It's true, I tell you. And I recommend you for not reading my words after this sentence because it's useless; just switch to any CD vendor site on the net and click this album. You won't regret, believe me! Now, if you still continue reading this line, I thank you very much even though I don't recommend you doing so because the following sentences are merely my expression about how this album stirs my emotion, pumping up my spirit to rock and of course ... to work effectively!

Having been vacuum for approximately three years, switching from grandiose double-trio concept to four-piece line-up, the band still could produce such a great album like "The Power To Believe" which has pushed forward their music boundary but still maintaining the core music of "Discipline" album (the first of the band's effort with new format when Fripp brought in Adrian Belew to join his force in King Crimson). And now, Belew is the second longest serving member after Fripp - the founder. The key of new King Crimson sound since "Discipline" was basically repeated chords / notes overlaid by another instrument work / sound effects (coming out from Fripp's guitar synthesizer or drums) to enrich the textures. At first listen I felt bored but it grew on me and I get used to this kind of style and it has become King Crimson trademark.

The album kick off elegantly with a cappella by Belew in a very short period but it's strategically important to set the tone of the overall album. For this, the a cappella serves its purpose wonderfully and I mean it: whenever I play this album I cannot start somewhere in the middle of the CD - I got to start from the short opening: "The Power To Believe I" even though it's less than 1 minute in duration. This is where I put my two thumbs UP for this album. It's truly a brilliant opener! When "Level Five" blows from my speaker set it really kills me right away because the sound is truly powerful with great sonic quality and wide soundspace dynamics. Anyone would appreciate that this track is a true masterpiece because the composition, the mixing and the production of sounds are top notch! The combined sound resulting from guitar, bass and drums are excellent. I guess Trey Gunn uses his rubber bass combined with Warr guitar right here. Pat Mastelotto also creates his dazzling drum work magnificently. Overall it's a great instrumental track.

Belew's lyrics now seem to be much well positioned at the third track ''Eyes Wide Open''' where the music is presented in relatively slow tempo with great harmonies. By definition this track is very much accessible with some segment reminds me to "One Time" of "Thrak" album. "Elektrik" is another instrumental work with repeated chords combining multi guitars (Fripp, Belew, Gunn) and dynamic drumming. Fripp provides synthesizer role with his guitar.

"Facts of Life" (incl. intro) brings the music into heavier style with metal influenced riffs. The track contains lyrics and powerful singing by Belew "No body knows what happen when we die...!!!" The structure of the music is varied combining medium tempo and complex music. It's a rocking track and it stirs the emotion when I listen to it. It's a very unique style by King Crimson. "The Power To Believe II" starts off in an ambient mood with multi instruments work emphasizing tight bass lines, guitar synthesizer and it suddenly brings the "gamelan" sounds. (Hey, come on Indonesian guys! If you are Indonesians whether or not you like prog music, you must own this album! You must be proud that King Crimson has created a composition where the pentatonic sounds of gamelan are brought in wonderfully here! Bravo King Crimson!). A cappella in the melody of first track inserts nicely in the middle of the gamelan textures followed with synthesizer (produced from Fripp's guitar) and brings the music symphonically. However, the overall picture of the music gives me a sense of avant garde than a symphonic one. It's truly a great track and it's probably the best track - not that the fact I'm Indonesian, but I truly love the nuance created by this song. It's so cool ......

"Dangerous Curve" starts in a very silent mode (almost unheard at all) and slowly the music moves in crescendo with repeated riffs of bass guitar, dazzling drums backed with synthesizer sounds. It reminds me to the "Lark's Tongue in Aspic" style. This song is best suited in the middle of the night. I fully enjoy how Pat plays his drum set which semms to serve as melody of the song while other instruments play repeated chords. The magic of this song: I don't get bored even though the rhythm section is repeated. It then flows almost seamlessly to "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" in rockin' style. It's relatively an accessible song, I would say.

Belew's a cappella is then repeated at "The Power To Believe III" which sounds like an avant-garde music with unpredictable drum work and soaring guitar sounds. The music then flows into more regular rhythm section and it's still demonstrating the dynamic drumming and excellent bass guitar. The album concludes with "The Power To Believe IV" which contains "Industry" (from "Three of A Perfect Pair" album) style interjected with Belew's a cappella as coda and ends the album beautifully. This is best suited for midnight enjoyment. Wonderful!

Overall, I'm glad that having been 35 years in prog music business, King Crimson can still create a beautifully crafted album. The album is strong in almost every aspect of great music: excellent melody, great harmonies, tight composition and excellent overall performance. The band members are talented musicians who know how to compose great music and at the same time stir the emotion of the listeners. Long live King Crimson! Overall rating is full five stars - and I cannot compromise on this as it's got to be five. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW, Indonesia.

Man, oh man, this is a tough album to rate. Being a fan of all of the many incarnations of Mr Fripps band, it was after the 80's I lost track of them. I found a used version of VRROOOM and was somewhat impressed. I was impressed mainly for the fact that again, like a chameleon, King Crimson changed their colors and went into a more metal vein. Still, I'm not much of a metal head, so once again I lost track of them. Being a member of a music club, I saw this album as a selection and immediately ordered it. What hit me was that they stuck to the metal sound but it had a more modern sound, akin to what most modern fusion/metal bands sound like today. The only songs that sound a tad different are the songs written by Belew which remind me of his work with the band in the 80's with again a more modern sound, dropping the Talking Head jerkiness. I dig the instrumental songs, (Level Five in particular) then Belew's songs, although I have to admit they are very catchy. So to round up a rating for the album, I can't recommend it enough for newer fans. They have much better albums in all their different modes, be it metal, (Thrak), herky-jerky art pop, (Discipline), symphonic (ITCOTCK), and jazz/metal, (Lark's Tongue, Red). But if you're a fan of the band, it's just about good and a half. 3.5 stars tops.

Going into this one, I was not really sure what to expect. I had only recently discovered the bulk of Crimson's catalogue, and was enthralled by everything up to "Red." "Discipline" was very good, but it was basically a different band. I had heard good things about "Thrak," but was unable to find a copy. Then I found "The Power to Believe," and decided to take a chance. Wow! It was as if they had gone back to "Red," without sacrificing any progress. These new guys also showed some serious chops.

"Level Five" is a bone cruncher. I rarely go in for anything extremely heavy, but when it is this masterfully executed, I get drawn right in. Every note, and drumbeat, is played with precision.

"Eyes Wide Open" is a dreamy diversion, and a pleasant rest from the opener.

"Elektrik" is a clever instrumental. It opens with a sad little keyboard, and then starts clicking along with quick drum tapping, and guitar picking. It flows into a spacey section, with the rhythm still clicking. All through it builds up and down, giving the sense of staircases. The bass thumps, and becomes the glue to hold it together.

"Facts of Life" is wonderfully heavy rocker that becomes an all out shred-fest (done in the very best Crimson style). Belew's vocals may be cynical, but the words ring true.

"Dangerous Curves" is an instrumental that seems to be a mesh of "Starless," and the style of "Discipline."

"Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With" could be my favorite track on the album. This is not because the songwriting is so superior, but because it is such a wonderful poke at modern metal.

It is all held together by the recurring "Power to Believe" theme. A longer, more spacey, version takes the album out.

Some of it does seem familiar, but yet it is fresh. For these guys to sound so vital this late in the game is nothing short of miraculous. I will admit that after hearing "Thrak," and "The Construkction of Light," it didn't seem quite as novel. That doesn't change the fact that this is a great album, and is (IMO) superior to the other two.

H.T. Riekels

My how KING CRIMSON have changed since their masterpiece "In The Court Of The Crimson King". No keyboards, organ, flute or mellotron, just three guys playing guitars, plus one drummer. Many were surprised to hear that KING CRIMSON were opening for TOOL, well if they heard this record they would realise that the two bands are quite compatible.

You only need to hear the song "Level Five" an absolutely crushing instrumental that's as ferocious as a level five hurricane to hear that KING CRIMSON can rock with the best of them. And another thing, the drumming of Pat Mastelotto completely blew me away, I had no idea he was this good. "Eyes Wide Open" changes gears to a smooth, breezy song with a good chorus. "Elektrik" is another amazing instrumental with throbbing bass and heavy drums with those awesome angular guitar melodies of Mr.Fripp.

"Facts Of Life" is another heavy, powerful tune, and i'm so impressed with the band interplay and the arrangements towards the end of the song. "The Power To Believe II" like the opener has processed vocals and also acoustic percussion. "Dangerous Curves" is an aggressive song that builds and builds, again amazing drumming. "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" is another good one, and i'm "happy with" the music on this one especially the Frippian guitar melodies. "The Power To Believe III" features again processed vocals and this time some experimental sampling, as well as odd time drumming and guitar. "The Power To Believe IV : Code" features the same vocals that opened the album. I'm so impressed with this release the way the guys play complex, intricate music so well together.

These guys are the best in my opinion, and this is a masterpiece. I believe !

I agree entirely with prog reviewer Gatot view of the album, this is in fact a masterpiece of modern progressive rock music - visionary, different, energetic and touching at the same time.

Sometimes it voyages into the world of delusional madness, mechanical complex and bizarre rhythms and psychic auspicious guitar solos, almost as robots had lead the way, like the multifaceted "Level Five", the exquisite "Electrik", or the energetic "Facts of Life". Other times it takes to the limits of subtlety, encountered in the beauty ballad "Eyes Wide Open" and especially in the intriguing, almost cosmic peace of "The power to Believe II", where the crafted collection of symphonic nuances, background sounds and delicate instrumental approach create a very evolving hypnotic sound where the album's main motif encounters its highest level. "Dangerous Curves" is another standout, more again perhaps not possible without the superb breathtaking atmosphere created by the complex rhythmic textures of Pat Mastelotto, in a thrillering crescendo ending in the complete psychic apotheosis. The album ends like it starts, very peacefully and after a symphonic introduction, in another vocal version of the album's main motif.

This is a delightful return of the acclaimed pioneers of progressive rock music. Curiously, 34 years later, Adrian Belew and King Crimson prove that they are more interested in enlarging rock's boundaries than making success with the almost without count used formulas. Perhaps that's why they never liked much to be catalogued, even as a progressive rock band, because they knew people in general would associate them to a particular kind of sound, instead of seeing them as what they really are. This is a respectful and admirable album.

Their best stuff since the 70's.

An impressive modern release, that is flowing, captivating, and very rewarding. Heads up to those who are fans that this is a very hard rocking piece of work, with few if any traces of symphonic flair to it.

King Crimson even experiments with post-rock, on Dangerous Curves, a track that builds throughout. As others have said, Level 5 can be seen as a continuation on the LTIA project. It's not as great as the first 2, but it's still very good material. Some of this is much more accessible to other music listeners than their earlier material, but the creativity is not lost.

This record shows to me that Fripp and Co. still have it, and I'd love for them to make one more record (if not two) because they still produce inspiring and unique material. I might have this overrated a tad because of my likeness to the band, but I believe fans of their mid-70's material would enjoy this.

Krimson is back!

And in such a high style too. This album sounds very modern, industrial and all around fitting for the times. Their second album of the new millennium, they already had the formula down for releasing their style of music into the mainstream (with "ConstruKction of Light"), and here on "The Power To Believe" all they did was tighten the nuts and bolts on their formula, and look at the results in produced! With two different styles of playing coming from Belew and Fripp, not to mention the youthful energy of Trey Gunn plucking away on the Warr guitar and Pat's technical yet heavy drumming, the album is an intense mish-mash of sounds right from the start.

After the short acapella start to the album, the heavy guitar grinding starts up almost instantly with "Level Five". The lead guitar trades are always intense and the riffs are beyond comparison in the age of emo-rock. "Eyes Wide Open" is almost the mirror image of "Level Five" in the fact that it is very mellow and moody with some awesome vocals from Mr. Belew. "Elektrik" is one of my favorite instrumentals from King Crimson, post-Discipline. Even though it is incredibly hard to track down the song, meaning that the tempos are everywhere and the rhythms fling around between instruments, it is highly energetic and worth everybody's time. This flows into the intro for "Facts Of Life", which kicks off the hard-rock tune that the "Court of the Crimson King" fans love to hate. I love the driving, intense riffs, but Belew's vocals seem awkwardly strained for some reason. The vocals are very unappealing to a casual listener. A mix of ambient experiments and techno beats glide through for a few minutes until the gem of the album pops up, and that song is "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With", which ironically enough is a song about writing a rock n' roll song. The riffs are in your face and the lyrics actually make sense. The drumming is an absolute force as well. The rest of the album is an instrumental gallery of musical atmospheres and landscapes, which are absolutely amazing. Words don't even describe the beauty of some of these tracks.

This album, "The Power To Believe", just shows the progressive rock community that King Crimson will never stop adapting and rocking out to their surroundings. Their late 2007-early 2008 release will be something to camp out for if it even barely resembles this genius effort of blending ambient/experimental sounds with "in your face" hard rock.

4.5 stars, no doubt!

INSPIRATION IS BACK!

I didn't know what to expect of this one after the VERY disapointing CONSTRUKTION OF LIGHT, but we got a good one with THE POWER TO BELIEVE. What i notice, the older R.Fripp gets, the heavier the music is! when asked what kind of music KING CRIMSON was playing nowadays, Fripp described it as ''Nuevo Metal '' Who would have guessed it 30 years ago listening to ITCOTKC or LIZARD KC would be playing 'metal 'now?

There is no LTIA part 902 on this album, so it's already a good sign! we have some very good music on this album and a few ''metal'' songs i could have lived without, but the good and sometimes the great easily overpowers the bad.

We have the same line-up than on the precedent album, my friend Belew is here, but at least he tries to sing properly on most of the tracks (no, not all of them, don't dream).

The best tracks are LEVEL 5 a powerful intrumental in the vein of LTIA part 2 or FRACTURE, strong guitar riffs, yet melodious.A definitive KING CRIMSON anthem. The other great highlight is another......instrumental; the ambient DANGEROUS CURVES which builds up very nicely with great MASTELLOTTO drums.

EYES WIDE OPEN (with nice Belew vocals) and THE POWER TO BELIEVE 2 are also highly enjoyable and reminiscent of the old past of glorious times. The only downfall is the horrible 'metal' FACTS OF LIFE, with (once again) atrocious vocals of Belew who sounds like he is ready to throw up. But that's the only bad thing i can think of this CD.

This is the last studio album of KING CRIMSON to this day and a good one at that! I read they are going to release a new one later this year or beginning 2008. Also, T. Levin seems to be back in place of Trey Gunn. But Belew is still around. So what to expect! With King Crimson, you never know for sure.

4 stars well deserved for this album!

KC’s 90s incarnation was brought by almost the same line-up they had in 80s, hence music was play in that vein as well. More modern, with MIDI guitar tech used, with some techno/rave/industrial patterns thrown in it, but the same way MATH Crimso we had in 80s. From all official studio efforts (“Thrak”, “The ConstruKction of Light”, “The Power to Believe”) the last one seems to be the most elaborated and well-balanced. Again made in the same manner as previous releases (THRAK-like structure with eponymous track serving as transition weapon, groovy instrumentals in TCOL vein), but better constructed, with more power thrown into it, with better songs after all! Can’t keep from mentioning “Dangerous Curves”, one of my favouritest KC instrumentals ever! I can recall the day I was buying it; hot 2003’s August, and a guy in glasses twice elder than me asking me if I know their early stuff…yes, I do!!! Hope we’ll receive some more new stuff from KC in future, and till that moment TPTB remains their most successful recent effort. Recommended!

It's hard to get more essential than this brilliant offering from KC-- "Power to Believe" has some of the band's most powerfully creative and intense music to date, with heavy, dark cascades of sound juxtaposed to delicate atmospherics and tinkling guitars. Fripp and co. make heavy use of Crimson hallmarks, such as the trademark guitar interplay, but back them with enough effects and classy playing to make them sound wholly fresh and innovative. More importantly however, is the simple fact that they are writing better songs than they have in 20 years, combining smart and satirical lyrics with razor-sharp playing. Belew and Fripp positively cook throughout, while Gunn's bass adds a very cool electronic roar to their dueling melodies. Drumming, the biggest criticism of this incarnation of KC, is still first rate, Mastelotto delivering a fine mix of precise intensity.

I recommend this as a first purchase to anyone eager to explore Crimson's music, and to any whom at any point found themselves liking this band's eclectic output-- it won't disappoint.

Songwriting: 5 Instrumental Performances: 5 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5

Yet another album in support of the "less-is-more" phenomenon, King Crimson shed the double power trio structure and are reduced to four guys who really seem to be on the same page. When they decide to do grungy prog, they are quite good at it. When they attempt more traditional songs, as well as minimalist new-age music, they have considerably less success. The Power to Believe features some of all three, and as you might expect, the results are somewhat uneven.

How about that grungy, industrial prog? Well, I don't know much about the genre, but I know I like this: heavy, full of texture, and packed with Fripp's uniquely bizarre guitar licks. Tracks such as Level Five, Elektrik, and Dangerous Curves sound similar to things Crimson was trying to do on Starless and Bible Black, except these are more focused, have better production, and are overall more gripping and bizarre. Level Five hits you right away with crunching guitar and distorted bass, full of excellent guitar interplay, time changes, and syncopated riffs throughout. Elektrik and Dangerous Curves conversely use the build style, starting slow, with some light percussion, eerie guitar, and nice ambient effects before hitting you with the grand finale. Uniquely Crimson--all of it!

The rest of the album really does not do much for me. The four parts of the title track are ambient and skippable. The songs with vocals are not particularly enjoyable, though certainly worth listening for the guitar jams (particularly Happy... and Facts of Life). The one exception is Eyes Wide Open, which is a pleasant, thoughtful, and restrained piece that serves as a great counterbalance to the album's heavy parts.

I enjoy the heavy songs on this album just as much as those from Larks' Tongues and Starless. The kicker for me is that Crimson have nicely separated the heavy parts from the ambient (and to my ears, pointless) sections, which makes it very easy to find right what I'm looking for in the album. Is King Crimson back? I happen to think they never left, and I have to give them credit for persevering and still coming up with some great music, when they could easily rest on their laurels and revel (and profit from) past greatness. The Crimson spirit endures, and perhaps that's most important.

After the misfire that was "The ConstruKction of Light", the mighty Crims return to form with what is probably their best studio effort after 1981's "Discipline". Tighter, more cohesive and more accomplished than the otherwise excellent "Thrak", it features longer tracks which alternate between the band's trademark jagged, metallic sound, and softer, more rarefied atmospheres, in the mould set by their groundbreaking "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" in 1973. As a matter of fact, even if only Fripp remains of that legendary line-up, "The Power to Believe" seems to take up from where LTiA, SaBB and "Red" had left off, dispensing with the new-wave and world-music influences that characterised the trio of albums released in the early Eighties.

A thread runs through the album in the shape of the four-part title track, starting with the a cappella intro sung by Belew in a soothing, mellifluous falsetto. A brief pause, the calm before the electric storm that is "Level Five" - a complex, crushingly heavy instrumental that numbers among the best ever KC compositions, and a real treat for guitar lovers everywhere, studded with Fripp's and Belew's angular, structured riffing. Then, as it often happens with KC albums, the mood shifts suddenly with the haunting, sophisticated ballad "Eyes Wide Open", which is somewhat reminiscent of some of the band's Eighties output, and proves to the world that Adrian Belew is indeed a vocalist to be reckoned with.

"Elektrik", probably the least cohesive instrumental on the album, a sprawling composition which hinges on the 'duel' between the two guitars and the rhythm section, is followed by the vocal tour de force that is "Facts of Life", underpinned by Fripp's massively distorted guitar lines. Belew's forceful, aggressive singing matches the music and the wacky lyrics; while the third 'conventional' song on the album, "Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With", a fine example of hard rock KC-style, boasts an almost infectious chorus based on the entertaining, tongue-twisting title.

Of the other instrumentals, "Dangerous Curves" builds up slowly and hypnotically in a way that is vaguely reminiscent of "The Devil's Triangle" on ITWOP, and leads to a powerful, "Bolero"-like crescendo. "The Power to Believe II" contains snippets of processed vocals which seem to float eerily amid the ambient-tinged, intensely atmospheric music, featuring the haunting sound of tubular bells; the remaining two parts share the same mood, which becomes increasingly spacey towards the end. The album comes then full circle, closing with the same soothing melody that had introduced it.

It may not come as a surprise that fans of the 'symphonic' stage of KC's career are not exactly enthusiastic about the evolution of the band. However, no one could ever deny the genuinely progressive nature of the Crims, a rare example of an outfit that, in the 35-odd years of their career, have never looked backwards, as well as being immensely influential for the development of many modern prog bands. Even if "The Power to Believe" may not be exactly easy on the ear, it is a more than rewarding, highly recommended listen for those prog fans who are up for a challenge.

Though many have tried (Djam Karet, Anekdoten, The Flower Kings, Bruford-Levin, Shinsekai all spring to mind; even Fripp himself had a go on EXPOSURE), no one does King Crimson pastiche as convincingly as King Crimson themselves.

I could take this one step further and argue (as one of DISCIPLINE's original reviewers did) that the musicians appearing on THE POWER TO BELIEVE don't even have the right to call themselves 'King Crimson'. Aping certain aspects of a classic band's style does not turn you into that band.

If I really wanted to sound negative about THE POWER, I could point out Crimso have now stopped playing 'progressive' music. What on earth got into Messrs. Fripp and Belew, and their present associates? Why do they regurgitate so many styles from the past? There are pieces here which recycle bits from 'Fracture' and 'Schizoid Man'. Others are strongly reminiscent of 'Discipline' (the album track), 'Mars', 'Satori in Tangiers' and even the Bruford-Levin track 'A Palace of Pearls'. The dominant mood is sombre, of course, as it has always been with KC, and it makes little difference that those threatening bits of icy mellotron with which the band once interlaced their compositions, have long been replaced with (equally threatening) guitar loops. Adrian Belew includes one beautifully melancholic ballad on which he tries to sound like John Lennon (as he also did on THRAK), and the accompaniment sounds more or less like the Australian band the Church; otherwise, Belew only uses his vocals on two typically angst-laden heavy rockers.

The wonder is King Crimson perform all this derivative material with such gusto! Tony Levin isn't missed; Pat Mastelotti executes Bruford-style drum rolls as masterly as Bruford ever did; and on 'Facts of Life' Fripp introduces one of those gorgeously hysterical solos, SCARY MONSTERS-style, which no-one else has ever managed to replicate. I must admit it: parts of THE POWER are exhilerating. You could never call this an original masterpiece, but if you're a Crimso fan, there'll probably be a few moments where you find yourself happily foot-tapping along.

In some aspects, this album brings us back some ages ago into the Crimsonesque repertoire. But not to the very early days of course (In The Court). Unfortunately.

Some noisy parts, as the King used to produced ("Level Five"), other parts almost mellowish like "Eyes Wide Open". Rather unexpected and I really wonder where the die-hard KC fan sits while listening to such a song. I'm am not one of these, and frankly I can't really get thrilled with such a number.

"Elektrik" is another typical Crimson number. Instrumental, difficult to enter into, hermetic: but this is the pure definition of their music, right? Hypnotic, repetitive: you name it. But at the end of the day, it clearly marks the return of the giant Crimson. One of the best number here even if hardly accessible. But if you have come in contact with this KC album, for sure you have been listening to several other ones, so there is absolutely no surprise for the usual fan. A good number indeed.

Both "Facts Of Life" tunes aren't great moment. Useless "Intro" and ambient core song. Rather different to the rest of the album, but again, these aren't really moving numbers. Average KC music.

With "Dangerous Curves, the listener is back into Crimson's world. Scary mood, hypnotic riff, great beat. I happened to see a concert of The Flower King recently in Verviers (Spirit of 66 of course). The guest drummer was Pat Mastelotto and I was really impressed with his drumming capabilities. They are really shining here.

Oh, yes. One word about the leitmotiv of the album: "The Power To Believe - I to IV". Well, actually nothing really outstanding. Could have missed them. Easily (with the exception of the third part probably). Like the heavy and truly awful "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With". Vocals are particularly hard to bear. But Belew has never been a great singer, right?

In all, this KC album shouldn't be a deception for old time fans but I seriously doubt that any newcomer would fall in love with it. My rating is not surprisingly some sort of a middle of the road one. Three stars, which means a good album but no more.

Some count this album as a glorious return to form, but I believe it to be just another proof that, while King Crimson may have difficulties with a few albums here and there, they have never truly lost their form.

Perpetual band King Crimson entered their fifth decade of music, the '00s, with The Power to Believe. Usually bands that made their mark in the 70s reunite thirty years later and release just another album in the hopes that it will bring back the glory of their youths. Not King Crimson. Unlike so many bands, this forty year old act has kept releasing albums inconsistently but nevertheless continuously. And each decade sounds different: The Power to Believe is a leap off the back of THRAK, returning to the idea of quality melodies and intriguing song structures. Learning from their weak ConstruKction of Light, the band toned down the excessive instrumental portions, shortened the songs that needed to be shortened, and in the whole released a new album that flows better than any since Red. While Frippertronics and complicated meshings of instruments might still be quite present, the soundscapes are once more terrific and the aggression once more has a place in the music.

The first title track opens the album with a soft a capella version of what will be the main theme eventually. Next, Level Five is a long and winding instrumental that features some neat guitar solos. The key here is that it runs for the perfect length of time, not noodling away the minutes. Eyes Wide Open jumps on the tail of that, providing us with a beautiful and moody piece. Belew's voice hasn't sounded this splendid since Discipline. The rhythm is unique here, and though it is accessible and catchy, it is definitely not just a pop tune. EleKtriK is another instrumental, this one even more complicated but less aggressive than Level Five. That is, until the end, when the band gangs up, the drums go wild, and a wall of guitars brings down the walls. Facts of Life begins with a quiet intro and some random drum soloing, then turning into another melodic and fascinating song in the vein of Eyes Wide Open.

The Power to Believe II is an experimental and meandering track in the vein of Providence, though not nearly as intriguing. Dangerous Curves, however, is a slowly building and repetitive soundscape that reminds me of The Talking Drum. The guitar picks out a rhythm and the music slowly grows louder, culminating in the heaviest and angriest riff the band ever wrote. A final chord of pure dissonance wraps it all up in a very satisfying fashion. Very much a metal-based track, not the symphonic prog band we saw back in the 70s. Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (a confusing track name to type) is a goofy, unique tune with some grouchy distorted vocals about writing a song. The chorus is frenetically fun, kind of obnoxious but if you can get over it, you have the band's most lighthearted and catchy tune since Cat Food back in 1970. The last two title tracks wrap up the album in fine if slightly unmemorable fashion.

This is a splendid release from a band that by all rights should be out of ideas but aren't. If you like King Crimson, especially Red, and wonder what all this fuss is about a new album, look it up. It isn't Red, it isn't Discipline, it isn't THRAK, but hey, it's a particularly good album. Very modern and fun.

King Crimson - 'The Power to Believe' 4 stars

A return to form.if there ever was one.

This is the best King Crimson album since 'Discipline'. The Adrian Belew nuances were ultimately gone, the lyrics became somewhat insightful and the guitar interplay was wonderful. 'Level Five' was one of the best King Crimson songs in a long time. It was heavy and brutal, feeling unstructured, but there certainly was a structure. Figuring King Crimson would never even create a light song again because of the last two efforts, 'Eyes Wide Open' can bring the tears up from classic Crimson fans. The renditions of the title track remind me of the Peace trilogy in 'The Wake of Poseidon'.

This is really a great record, has quite a bit of variation, between loud and soft passages, metal and soundscapes and most importantly, Belew is not annoying. I would recommend this to any fan of King Crimson and heavy prog listeners.

King Crimson incorporates a modern, heavy sound on this album, and I believe it justifies my claim that the band evolved with the sounds of the times, and incorporated them into fine progressive rock. This happens to be one of my favorite King Crimson records. It deserves to be heard, especially by those with a taste for heavier music.

"The Power to Believe, Pt. 1: A Cappella" As the title implies, this introduces the main vocal theme, using a Vocoder.

"Level Five" Similar to "Red," this piece has constructed guitar parts panned on both sides and excellent drumming. It is more experimental than said piece, but it is excellent work; neither does it make me cringe nor does it make me regret that I had purchased the album.

"Eyes Wide Open" My favorite song on the album, it's a perfect blend of Belew's excellent vocals and Fripp's exceptional guitar work. Speaking of his guitar work, his Frippertroinics briefly come in, giving the hearer a taste for more.

"Elektrik" This is one of my favorite King Crimson instrumentals. It has a great, thematic opening, interesting bass, but most of all, guitar that has separate notes panned from one side to the other alternately. It is an amazing piece, and I must be careful when playing it at night in car, since it makes me want to drive fast.

"Facts of Life (Intro)" This has a similar introduction to "The Revealing Science of God" by Yes, but is no preparation to what comes next.

"Facts of Life" The hardest song on the album thus far features distorted vocals and somewhat difficult to follow music at first, but the vocals become clean and deliver a clear message, even if the music is hard-panned. The instrumental section can be tougher to appreciate, but it fits in with cacophony of the music.

"The Power to Believe, Pt. 2" This section features less guitar and bass and more "world music," including a synthesizer and some exotic drums.

"Dangerous Curves" With strings and a steady rhythm at first, this piece evolves into something deeper and more voluminous. The final chord is both striking and definitive.

"Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With" This is the most fun song on the album, as it is a "metasong," which is to say, a song about a song. It has a heavy guitar riff and Belew's voice through a distortion box, as the song informs the listener in case he misses it. It reminds me of Alice in Chains.

"The Power to Believe, Pt. 3" This is an odd track, but reminds the listener of the theme. The guitars, bass, drums, and synthesizer are still very strong, and make this an exceptional track. The tempo is ever-changing. The guitar work is excellent here, and shows the band at their most experimental.

"The Power to Believe, Pt. 4: Code (Live)" The album flows so well from the final track back to the first, I have often missed the end when the album repeats itself (though it was not under stress).

Powerful.

Bill Bruford once said that if you wanted to see the future of music then you'd put on a King Crimson album. Time after time Crimson proves him right, and with The Power To Believe he's proven right again. Released in 2003, this is probably Crimso's heaviest release to date, utilizing near electronic elements with dark and sarcastic tones, loads of instrumentals and a few moments that some could call metal - it would be a few years later (skip ahead to 2008) that many bands would finally follow suit with this movement and decide that the best way of reaching the audience would be through the dark shadow of somewhat 'evil' music. But hey, as per usual, Crimson did it first.

While many prog greats of the '70s have abandoned the style completely, Crimson just finds another angle to work at it. This is evident right off the top after the intro song with the blistering Level Five, a true masterpiece of an instrumental that brings in a somewhat industrial beat to the charging guitars that doesn't let up over the course of the 7-minutes that the song goes on for. Other instrumentals on the album prove to be just as impressive, including the more beat heavy Elekrik which has Fripp reverted to an amost Discipline era guitar part while his band-mates churn out the heavy sections. Dangerous Curves gradually rises in volume until the strange synths take control of the song and lead it to its end.

Then there's the more 'song' based songs on the album. Apparently Crimson still knows how to be accessible without spoiling the rest of the album with pop-songs that have no context. On this album Belew still gets to use his very discernible voice on songs like the excellent Eyes Wide Open, a slow and brooding track that's still somehow sentimental, as well as the heavy and 'mean' Facts Of Life. The standout of these songs, though, has to be the album's single - Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With, heavy guitars once more darken the atmosphere as Belew sings his way through the song-writing process which turns out as rather comical, although you're afraid to laugh in the fear that Crimson may come to get you if you do.

Of course it just wouldn't be Crimson if there wasn't some theme tying the whole album together. If the dark tones and 'electronica' element weren't enough there's also a 4-part title track which sits between the songs on the album to link them together. While the individual tracks aren't quite as impressive as the main album they're still quite good. They're more atmospheric and less 'in-your-face' than the rest of the album, but at this point that's somewhat of a welcome reprieve from the bombast. Belew's reverbed voice is somewhat hypnotic through these tracks, and on Part II and Part III (the lengthier of the 4 parts) so are the instrumental sections - the airy synths and the still heavy, but more subdued drum parts.

All in all this is a very worthy addition to the Crimson catalog, right up with the rest of their classic albums. If anyone doubts that a near 40-year-old band can still be unique and innovative then here's your proof. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5 and is recommended to Crimson fans and interestees across the globe. Very much worth the buy.

Power to Believe takes some time getting into and it's not the kind of record you would play when entertaining guests around the house. So it's good :-)

I do not agree with some of the criticisms that Crimson is at a creative stand-still here and just doing the expected set of Crimsonisities. No, that's like saying that doing the unpredictable is becoming predictable. In fact, this might easily be one of their best albums, recalling the dreamy atmosphere of the beginnings ('Eyes wide open'), combined with the frenzy of the 'Red'-era, the melodic pop sensibility of the 80ties and spiced with a modern aggressive edge. Sure this mixture makes it immediately recognizable as a Crimson record, but it offers more thrills and tension then what many others are succeeding at.

Yes indeed, another essential Crimson this is. 4.5 stars.

King Crimson's most recent studio album, The Power To Believe, is probably the most interesting studio album since the 1974 breakup of the band. The album has a very modern sound, with a nice production and with a very typical King Crimson sound. With this I mean there are lots of chorused guitars, Robert Fripp's unique style of playing his guitar and many interesting and original pieces of music.

The album opens very nice with the first part of "The Power To Believe I", soothing a cappella that segues into the most powerful track on the album that is "Level Five". "Level Five" is probably the best track on the album, with its powerful riffs and unique mood. The album continues showing us the several sides of King Crimson. From the soft "Eyes Wide Open" we move to the great "Elektrik", which a great song. "Facts Of Life" is a song just as powerful as "Level Five", though I am not particularly fond of the vocals here. The second half of the album is apart from the heavy "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" more soundscape based. The almost seven minute long "Dangerous Curves" slowly works towards its epic climax, while "The Power To Believe II" is a softer song in an eastern style. The album closes with "The Power To Believe III" and " The Power To Believe IV". The songs on the second half all are pretty good, though not very memorable. The album does feel like one complete thing, which is good. The songs do fit in with each other very well, though there still is a lot of diversity.

The Power To Believe is a very good album, though it comes nowhere near the excellence of the King Crimson from the 70's. I will reward this album with three stars, as it is pretty good but nothing more than that.

Last to time KC album isn't a masterpiece. But it is very competent album of one of the greatest progressive band ever.

Previous album ("ConstruKtion Of Light") was very heavy, muddy and radical. Some hated it, I liked. At least it was new sound, chaotic,cold and dirty, in the gate of XXI century.

"The Power To Believe" is recorded by the same line-up, but missed that radical experimentation feel. But it doesn't means that the album is boring or not interesting. At least, Fripp and Co. tried to make next step: they returned back in KC golden age of 70-th, and used dreamy psychodelic progressive of their roots as basis for their new work. For sure, they were smart enough to give their music modern sound: no dated symphonic arrangements ( happily!),no even traces of free-jazz there ( pity!). Total sound are heavier, cold, but missed chaos of previous album. And , sorry, everything sound too calculated!

Three first songs are great, different, and you are waiting for the adventures. But later the album returns to muddy water of modernised sound and structire of KC from 70-th, so you have mature album with quality sound, but no more revolutions!

I believe, that the album will refresh interest to KC from old fans ( still from 70-th, who often were disappointed by KC works from 80-90-00),and will confirm their very serious status as iconic prog band of last 4 decades. But this album isn't a step ahead, more as quality report about the job has done.

"The Power to Believe" is the 13th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act King Crimson. The album was released through Sanctuary Records Group in March 2003. The lineup on this album features Adrian Belew on guitar, vocals and electronic percussion, Robert Fripp on guitar, Trey Gunn on Warr guitar and rubber bass and Pat Mastelotto on drums.

The music style on the album is dark and experimental progressive rock. For fans of King Crimson there are as such few surprises, but what made me happy about the music on "The Power to Believe", is the generally high quality level. Songs like "Level Five", "Eyes Wide Open" and "Elektrik" are excellent compositions. Lots of dark atmosphere in addition to the tight and as always innovative musicianship. The quality drops a bit after the really strong string of songs that open the album, but my attention never wanders and overall "The Power to Believe" comes off as a consistently high quality release.

If you ask me "The Power to Believe" is the best King Crimson album since "Discipline (1981)" and it´s highly recommendable to both fans and newcommers. If this turns out to be King Crimson´s last studio album it will make a great testimony. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

I suppose that if this album is to be King Crimson's swan song, it could be much worse. Remember, for eleven years that distiction appeared to go to the comparitively dreadful Three Of A Perfect Pair.

This album, to me, was a bit of a disappointment, since it followed the near perfection of The ContruKction of Light. But despite being a lesser album to that, this disk still has enough powerful music to be well worth the purchase price. First, the down sides: the title tracks (there are four parts), are mostly pointless exercises, showing off some vocal/synthesizer effects. Only part 2, with a nice spacy jam, is good enough to hold my attention. And the obligatory Belew ballad, Eyes Wide Open is just okay. It's not Crimson enough for me.

But the good parts are actually great parts. Level Five, Elektrik, Facts Of Life, Dangerous Curves and Happy With What You have To Be Happy With (although I prefer the version of this on the EP), are all powerful, rib smashing power Crimson tunes.

With Crimson the peaks were high and the troughs were low.

After the 30 year Humpyty Dumpty Rollercoster ride I've had with KC I don't know where the hell I stand with this band.

'Power to Believe' is just about as metal as KC ever got.

After the poncey effected vocals on track one there's some serious vibes going down on track 2 named 'Level 5' which kicks ass big time and rocks like a daddy. Clearly the best track on the album.

But then of a sudden Mr Belew's girly vocals are at the forefront. What the...? Who the...? Why the...?

I think King Crimson's big problem at this point was everything to do with Fripp - as soon as he had a stable band they repeated themselves in the form of 'Court of...Poseidon' and 'Thrak...Power'. 'Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With' basically sums up this whole album - you'll either love it or hate it. Is this 'Nine Inch Nails' or KC? Baaahhhh!

The whole album sounds very disjointed and uneven but quite powerful at the same time - is it metal, prog, pop or what? I'm left scratching my head like Stan Laurel watching the piano fall down the stairs. Am I happy? Am I sad? Am I pleased? God knows

It was great to know that King Crimson had found a way to return to the path that they paved on THRAK while still managing to make things sound fresh and exciting!

Unlike The ConstruKction Of Light which featured a very dark and technical approach to the band's sound, The Power To Believe actually manages to concentrate itself on the individual compositions and bring out their standout qualities. The sound might still be technical, but now this approach generates sounds and patterns that are quite memorable and make for great bookmarks on our journey through this recording.

The individual moments like Level Five, Elektrik and Facts Of Life put almost all of the material off The ConstruKction Of Light to shame. There's just no comparison between the two albums for me since this release clearly shows an improvement of the themes without pushing them too far into the extreme. But there are a few somewhat questionable instances here as well. For instance, I really see no point in the four The Power To Believe pieces that for most part are pleasant, but lack the intensity and instant recognizability that most of the stand-alone compositions here possess.

Fans of the softer side of the band, like myself, will definitely enjoy Eyes Wide Open since it sounds like a logical continuation of the style that was set on Walking On Air and One Time off THRAK. Another nice surprise comes towards the end with the weirdly titled tune Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With which happens to make a lot of sense to a metalhead like myself. I also like that Dangerous Curves sounds almost like a tune written by Steve Wilson, simply a great treat for all the Porcupine Tree fans out there!

With such a strong release like The Power To Believe I'm really surprised that King Crimson have not yet followed it up with another studio album. But I'm not going to count out the mighty Crim just yet. Still, even if this release would happen to be their final I doubt that any other band can compare with King Crimson's track record in terms of releasing quality material over the course of so many decades!

***** star songs: Level Five (7:17) Eyes Wide Open (4:08) Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (3:17)

**** star songs: The Power To Believe I: A Cappella (0:44) Elektrik (8:00) Facts Of Life: Intro (1:38) Facts Of Life (5:05) The Power To Believe II (7:43) Dangerous Curves (6:42) The Power To Believe IV: Coda (2:29)

*** star songs: The Power To Believe III (4:09)

The Power to Believe is a very hard rock and metal inspired King Crimson that most people don't really enjoy. I definitely don't enjoy this album much either. The sound here ranges from goofy, to MTV alternative metal, to just boring slow-riffed hard rock. One thing that seems to stand out about this album is that nearly every song seems to have the same alt-metal riff, sometimes with small variations. "Eyes Wide Open" and "Dangerous Curves" are what I consider to be the best tracks on the album, mostly being calmer electronic-based tracks.

If you're looking for great modern King Crimson music, skip this and go to ProjeKct X or Space Groove.

King Crimson - The Power to Believe (2003)

I haven't been to much into the modern versions of Robert Fripp's King Crimson, but once in a while I'm willing to try something new. Thrakk left me a bit shattered, some tracks were pretty good and other tracks seemed to be a bit pointless to me. The 2003 effort 'The Power to Believe' shows a more consistand, yet equally challanging King Crimson.

The sound of the band in this stage is pretty spectacular. The drums of Pat Mastelotto are very modern to say the least. With his many electronic drums effects he sometimes sounds like a very harsh & daring programmed drumcomputer. This isn't my kind of style at all, but somehow the Crimsons make it work very well with their abstract compositions. The bass and warr guitar by Trey Gunn also sound very modern and appropriate for this kind of style. The warr guitar gives the music an aggresive touch, whilst the rubber bass sound helps to evoke the electronic sound the band has acquired itself. Adrian Belew his voice seems to have grown a bit and he even sounds agressive on 'Happy With..'. His electronic voice effects are important for the atmospheres and science-fiction sound of the album. Robert Fripp's guitars sound thick and distorted most of the time, whilst having subtle spacey solo's for the easy-listening moments (like the accesible wave-song Eyes Wide Open). I take for granted that the symphonic/spacey synths are also played on the guitar-synth by Fripp. His symphonic land-scapes are daring and never too resembling to other synth- moments of other bands.

So, to sum it up. This album shows King Crimson playing a bland of styles. Some moments have a lot in common with Red-era Crimson, like the industrial/disharmonic metal track 'Level Five'. Other tracks are a bit spacey/symphonic like the title-track parts. The band also tries to implement modern styles. 'Happy With..' sounds like a Crimson version of the style of (don't panic!) hiphop-metal act Limp Bizkit. 'Dangerous Curves' has a modern electronic dance rhythm, albeit very progressive and harmonically challanging. I actually love this instrumental, mainly the long guitar-synth chord progressions with the excited rhythms on bass an guitar beneath it. Other compositions have that sophisticated King Crimson sound in which the strange percussive sounds are quite important. 'Elektrik' is a good example of this with original compositions with twin-guitar disharmonic guitar solo's.

Conclusion. This is not the kind of album that will make King Crimson be the commonly accepted leader of the progressive genre again, but from an artistic point of view it actually does it quite a bit. Such an modern view on progressive rock in which the band embraces te coming of modern electronic music and it's abstract drum'nbass sound. Though influenced by modern music with it's possiblities, the band doesn't give up the slightest bit of masterfull musicianship. A big four stars for this one. Recommended to fans of the harder forms of progressive rock.

What if the album an artist was meant to create happened almost 35 years into its existence? I almost feel that way with POWER TO BELIEVE, one of King Crimson's most recent studio outputs. It's astounding to hear a band that had slugged it out for that long and many fans claiming their highlight creative period ceased long ago, yet put out probably their peak album. Even if COURT is more historically important, I feel that POWER TO BELIEVE is the King Crimson apex, which speaks volumes for what that group has contributed to music.

It's as if King Crimson had been listening to the bands that they influenced (Tool, Porcupine Tree, etc.) and used their songwriting approaches to freshen up their own material. A good chunk of the album is metallic and abrasive. We get ''Facts of Life'' (Captain Beefheart vocals over industrial rock), the ''darker-side-of-Porcupine-Tree'' song in ''Eyes Wide Open'' and the thick bottom-heavy ''Happy to Be With What You Have to Be Happy With'' taking the cake on the vocal songs (excluding the title motif), all of superb quality that KC can give its audience. Much of the instrumental work is loud and guitar-centric whether it's more metal (''Level Five''), deals with the spider-web guitars of LARKS TONGUES/DISCIPLINE (''Elektrik'') or involves the classic draw of buildup/suspense (''Dangerous Curves''). If you can deal with the sheer force of the album, POWER TO BELIEVE is a pure joy.

Best yet, the title project feels more of a successor to ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' than the actual sequels created over the years; the ''Power to Believe'' parts revive old aspects of KC without sounding tributary. We get the melodic percussion workout in the second part, only extended and far more exciting. And the coda is merely a mellotron wash, but done in such a fantastic way that it avoids being clichéd prog. That's very difficult to pull off when you've heard every prog band and their brother use the thing.

This is the King Crimson album that fully balances their artistic vision and pure enjoyability. I cannot think of another King Crimson album that does this mix and does it well. Maybe KC hasn't hit its peak yet, but I'd imagine POWER TO BELIEVE is insanely close to it.

This was supposed to be my "Heavy,Tech-EXtreme/Whatever Prog" weekend. So I listened to some PA's recommendations on these genres. I found a lot of "softness", opposite to my expectations and hopes. So I ended up, re-listening to this progressive Industrial, "Heavy" contender, KING CRIMSON's "The Power To Believe", and yes this what I needed. A perfectly tight music unit in a hyper-creative environment, exploring the extremes of the 'Metal" side of the King. It's impossible to pin the KC discography to a single genre, that's why they are in this one, but this guys have had the knack for this "Metal" hunger, since day one, but only on some parts of their total efforts. Here, this industrial/metal side prevails, as in the "The Constuction of Light" or "Heaven and Earth" albums. BUT in this project, all the "Chaos" is far more focused and richer in diversity. The progression of songs enhance the attributes of one another. The energy of performance, grows as the music developes accordingly. The unmistakable KC language adds up some new "jewels" to the crown. Pat's creativity threads all the music together, as a single concept. So, he keeps pushing the band to higher levels with a percussive catalogue, which works wonders for this kind of projekt. Add up to all that, the superb slow music composition "The Power to Believe II", which is itself worth the whole four stars, and a perfect lesson in "ballad" song-writing. I measure Crimson with Crimson, so in their discography, this is an easy ****4 PA stars album. And I believe! (again).

This King Crimson album gave me the power to believe that there was more to offer from these quintessential prog legends. The album is very different than other Crim releases but that makes it all the more endearing. It opens with a cappella and moves to some odd xylophone and percussion reminiscent to the opening of 'Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part One'. There are Arabian flavours in the music and it is very off kilter on 'Level Five'. It is Part 5 in essence of the continuing Larks' saga, but way better than Parts III and IV.

This segues seamlessly into 'Eyes Wide Open', with Adrian Belew sounding clear and pleasant on vocals. The melody is catchy, Fripp's riff is complex, the harmonies are perfect, and it veers the album in a new direction; this is one of the Crim's more consistent albums and is accessible for the majority. 'Elektrik', follows with an intro of pseudo brass, and then Fripp's guitars burst with chiming polyphonics. There is a passage of competing rhythms as the guitarists execute unusual figures with eighth and sixteenth bars. These instrumentals are stunning, very irregular patterns over crunching off beat rhythms. The symphonic strings are drowned out by a cavalcade of guitars and drums that pound like sledgehammers. This is one of the greatest King Crimson instrumentals.

'Facts of Life' is one of my favourites on this release, with a separate intro sounding like the coming of a storm, then it is blitzkrieged by a tempestuous percussion outburst by Pat Mastelotto. There are returns to the trademark polyphonic or mixolydian style that have made the band unique, and the guitars ascend during the chorus in contrast to the monotone melody. I love the raspy vocals akin to the style of '21st Century Schizoid Man' in some respects; "six million ants crawling on a plate" and "it doesn't mean you should just because you can". The lead solo has the guitar fuzzed up to maximum distortion and it grinds along with powerful strokes over the quirky tempo. This is one of the best King Crimson songs, a wonderful dark blockbuster with an infectious melody and intricate playing.

The next track segues immediately to 'The Power To Believe II', that is a sparse instrumental with Arabian influences, Oriental and Eastern sounds. Trey Gunn on rubber bass is an incredible force here joined by the masterful drumming of Pat Mastelotto. The music is liquid like dripping over those course Arabian vocal intonations. The bassline over the Oriental guitars is effective.

'Dangerous Curves' is played in 12/8 signature, and is simply astonishing musicianship. It is more keyboard driven than others here, and has a chilling edge. It builds up then releases with some creepy sonic atmospherics.

'Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With' reminds me of the terrific 'The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum', with the humorous word play and uptempo melodic rhythms. The lyrics are sung through a distorted box, as the lyrics state; "Then I'm gonna have to write a chorus, We're gonna need to have a chorus, And this seems to be as good as any other place to sing it till I'm blue in the face".

'The Power to Believe III' is more processed vocals, and a soundtrack fractured into industrial noises, clanging and banging. Fripp's guitar work is out of the box, he is really vibrant throughout this recording, the band seem inspired and it is a pleasure to listen to when they are in this mood. The monochromatic basslines and sporadic drumming are complimented by the screaming axe of Fripp.

It is followed by 'The Power to Believe IV: Coda' which is an instrumental bookending the opening of the album with the same style, and it reminds me of the sweeping synth style of Vangelis, with elongated synth pads and high string sounds, decidedly spacey and celestial.

Overall, this is a powerhouse album from King Crimson and surprised me somewhat as I had been a bit disillusioned by the efforts of the last three albums such as "The ConstruKction of Light" that were not easy to digest. King Crimson are always a challenge but if it is not compelling and entrancing my ears soon give up. On "The Power to Believe" everything strikes the right chord and it has a style all of its own, unique to the band and a musical journey that will give you the power to believe.

The Power to Believe is King Crimson's final studio album so far, if you don't count A Scarcity of Miracles (which, though dubbed a King Crimson ProjeKct, is credited to Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins), and if it turns out to be their final studio album ever it won't be a half bad way to go out. (The current lineup, though they perform some new tunes, seem to be more than content operating as a live unit.)

Is it a towering classic reconfiguring the way we think of rock music in general and prog specifically like their debut, or Red, or Larks' Tongues In Aspic, or Discipline? No. But you don't expect a band that's been operating as long as Crimson has to reinvent the wheel every release. And when it comes to integrating more modern sounds into the Crimson template, and offering up a set of songs ranging from metal-bordering hard modern prog a la Tool or Porcupine Tree on the one hand to updated ambient-tinged takes on some of the more experimental material from the 1980s lineup, the album does a damn good job of it.

Should this be their studio swan-song, we can be pleased that it was this good; it'd have been a shame to go out on The ConstruKction of Light. Should the current incarnation of the band have plans for a studio followup, they'd be well advised to regard this as setting the bar. King Crimson has well and truly hit the phase of their career where they are contemplating their long-term legacy as well as enjoying their rich heritage (witness the return of some early 1970s material to the live repertoire which hasn't had an airing since the Earthbound tour at least!), and it would be a shame to smudge that legacy with a final album which didn't measure up to this one's high standards.