THRAK

A good mixture of the heavy, atmospheric, industrial and experimental which will distinguish KC in their newest incarnation. "Thrak" has a dark, bombastic sound which appropriately matches the title of several of the tracks ("Vroom" and "B'Boom"), which come across as big, mechanic sounding nightmare of technical and precise playing. It goes without saying that obstinate fans of the old KC sound will likely hate Fripp's newest direction, but the at the music the band is turning out now is as much, if not more dynamic and powerful than anything they did in the '70's. The songs have a good mix of textures, with fine guitar work all around and nice vocals from Belew. The rhythm section plays with a big shot of adrenaline, Mastelotto bringing much more heavy, thunderous hits to the kit than Bruford's more creative rhythmics. Additionally, "Thrak" has what might just be the most beautiful Crimson song ever recorded hidden amongst the savage guitar effects and bass shredding-- "Walking on Air", which is not to be missed.

To conclude, "Thrak" is very good and a worthy introduction to the band for those coming from the metal sphere, and an excellent start to the new Crimson; however, the style of song writing is much better perfected an performed on later albums.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 3