THRAK

King Crimson's major album of the 1990s finds the band playing in a double trio lineup - think the 80s King Crimson with an extra rhythm section bolted on. Musically speaking, I'm heavily reminded of a mixture of the most aggressive and alienating parts of the mid-1970s Crimson and the 80s incarnation of the band, with perhaps a little of the textures and production aesthetics of industrial rock grafted on.

It took me a while to get into THRAK, in part because it felt like the double trio were a little too keen to trade on past glories - there's even lyrical references to The Sheltering Sky, for crying out loud. However, the 40th Anniversary updated mix really helps tease out the merits of the double trio. Listen with high-end speakers or really decent headphones, otherwise you just won't get the best out of the album.