THE POWER TO BELIEVE

King Crimson proves that even after decades since their inception they are still capable of creating music that can be called 'progressive'. The Power To Believe eschews standard formulas for prog, forging a unique sound with ambient synths, dissonant heavy distorted guitars, and a mix of live and electronic drumkits. Along with heavy riffs and quirky polyrhythms, this may be one of King Crimson's most unique releases.

Although not a concept album, The Power To Beleive contains four self titled songs that wrap up the album nicely, each being more atmospheric type tracks, from quiet vocoder to avant- garde heavy metal bursts. In between those songs are excellent tracks with still-intelligent composition. Standouts include the killer instrumental "Level Five" which has brilliant heavy guitar riffs and lots of electronic percussion blending in a polyrhythmic assault. Also great is "The Power To Believe Pt. 2" with a strange somewhat middle-eastern sound among a haunting atmosphere. Also good are the more standard tracks with vocals, "Facts of Life" and "Happy With What You Have to be Happy With", both focusing more standard heavy guitar riffs, though the latter has a rather interesting vocal refrain. Of course, this is such a great album that each track stands out more or less, with an exception of the intro to "Facts of Life".

Sometimes the compositions tend to extend longer than they should, like in "Elektrik" and "Dangerous Curves", but overall it's a great album by a constantly progressive band.