THRAK

Coming about six months after VROOOM was the double trio's first full length album, THRAK. THRAK features rerecordings of most of the songs on VROOOM, starting with that EP's title track. It's still a dark, heavy monster that expertly balances delicate clean passages against its stormier moments. "VROOOM"'s second part has been split off into its own song here, "Coda: Marine 475", and it almost sounds like some sort of demented Abbey Road outtake. The subtle hints of psychedelia mesh quite well with King Crimson's prog metal base.

A wobbly, swirling riff kicks off "Dinosaur", and Belew's vocal delivery is strongly reminiscent of David Bowie. More hints of late '60s pop are evident in the melody and chord progressions, and it's a truly unique blend, especially in 1995. The double rhythm section adds an incredible dynamism.

"Walking on Air" has a dreamier feel to it, again expertly blending a vaguely late '60s aesthetic with King Crimson's ever-present experimentalism. This is another strong entry in King Crimson's history of slow songs (though its ending is a hair more dragged out than it needs to be). It's jazzy and warm with a vaguely tropical feel to the rhythm. This piece is followed by the instrumental "B'Boom", which puts the drummers in the foreground over an ominous soundscape. The track features some exciting rhythmic work in its second half, but there's not really enough here to justify this being a four-minute song. It could've been a fun two-minute interlude.

Another instrumental, THRAK's title track, comes next. The guitars interlock with jagged riffs, and the percussion sounds nearly robotic at points (but in a good, sci-fi sort of way). Parts of this song remind me of moments on Red.

"Inner Garden I" is a short, creepy piece that cultivates a sense of foreboding. The transition, then, to the very funky "People" is jarring. It's fun and jumpy with skittering guitar, slap bass, and light percussion. The chorus is catchy and propulsive, but some of the soloing comes off as awkward. Its second half is more atmospheric and lingers longer than it needs to, but the two halves still fit together naturally.

"Radio I" is a 45-second interlude of synth effects that serves no purpose. "One Time", though, has an inviting bassline and a laid-back feel. However, it doesn't amount to much, and it's around here that it starts to feel like King Crimson may have (to a degree) succumbed to the common 1990s curse of including songs that normally wouldn't have made an album in years prior, just because a CD can hold 80 minutes of music. (For the record, THRAK is only about 10 minutes longer than the band's previous longest release, but it's a far better outcome than the obscene bloat partaken in by acts like Rush and Pink Floyd.) "Radio II" is equally as pointless as the first, and "Inner Garden II" doesn't differ in any meaningful way from the first part. It's fine in isolation, but I don't see the point of including the two parts like this.

There's a surprising amount of blues influence to the main riff of "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream", and some of that late '60s pop sensibility witnessed earlier on the album shows up again, too. The track oozes easy confidence, and the band's ability to plunge into orchestrated chaos is impressive.

THRAK ends on the two-part, nine-minute instrumental "VROOOM VROOOM". The main body of it makes numerous allusions to past King Crimson songs, most notably "Red". The riffs buzz aggressively, and both drummers do a great job at keeping things plowing forward. There's a hard gap between "VROOOM VROOOM" and "VROOOM VROOOM: Coda" which kills the momentum. The coda fades in slowly and has a lurching main riff, but once it gets going, it's able to make up for that disruptive moment of silence.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/15/deep-dive-king-crimson/