THRAK

Released exactly 25 years ago today, THRAK is King Crimson's 11th studio album, 11 years after its predecessor, Three of a Perfect Pair. This record aims to mix the agressive sound of the 1972-74 formation of the band with the intricate textures of their '80s line-up. In this sense, once I read a good definition of THRAK in the shoutbox of Last.fm: "sounds kind of like Red filtered through the sensibilities of the Discipline era band". The main innovation of this new incarnation of the band is the "double-trio" format, with two guitarists (Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew), two bassists (Tony Levin and Trey Gunn) and two drummers (Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto), which generates interesting sonic results on tracks like "VROOOM", "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" and the title track; in certain moments it is as if two bands are playing at the same time. By the way, I must agree with Bill Bruford: "The sound of the sextet was a fabulously dense din, best heard, to my mind, on headphones so that some aural space can allow the detail to be revealed" ("The Autobiography", p. 146). THRAK is a slightly uneven record. On the one hand, there are four short filler tracks ("Inner Garden I", "Inner Garden II", "Radio I" and "Radio II") and a double drum solo ("B'Boom") that is kind of interesting, but that would suit better on a live album. On the other hand, there are great instrumental tracks (particularly "VROOOM" and "VROOOM VROOOM"), two stunning ballads (the Beatlesque "Walking on Air" - which quotes "The Sheltering Sky" in one of its verses - and "One Time") and the best song of the album, both for its addictive riff and chorus and for its self-reflective - or would it be self-deprecating? - lyrics ("Dinosaur"). It is also worth mentioning the lively intersection of funk and metal in "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" and the dense instrumental ending of "People". THRAK may not be on the pantheon of King Crimson's best albums, but it must be recognized that it is superior to the vast majority of records made by "dinosaurs", that is, three-decades-old (or more) bands. Its producer, David Bottrill, who helped shape the album's heavy sound (which sometimes flirts with progressive metal, a subgenre partially influenced by... '70s King Crimson!), would later work with famous bands like Tool, Dream Theather and Muse.