THE CONSTRUKCTION OF LIGHT

Throughout the years, King Crimson has always been tweaking their sound so greatly that one might believe that a different group. From the symphonic In the Court of the Crimson King to the glorified progressive pop of Beat, to the quasi-avant-metal of Thrak, Robert Fripp has always been able to shape the sound of the band in such a way that it completely leaves the old sound behind. This album, released 5 years after the double trio madness of Thrak, shows a King Crimson on the verge of some great ideas, but some poor execution hurts this album. Joining Fripp on this venture are long time collaborator and friend Adrian Belew on guitar and vocal, and Thrak newcomers Pat Mastelloto and Trey Gunn. Together, they take the Thrak sound and give it a grungier, heavier spin, taking the listener through avenues unheard of.

ProzaKc Blues opens the album, a driving guitar drenched intro accompanied by Adrian Belew's distorted, morphed, heavily deepened vocal. One can already tell from the start that something is different. The lyrics are disjointed and off the wall, not as concise and quirky as Belew's past efforts. The ConstrucKtion of Light is a two part song, the first part being a heavy and dreary piece of music, very dense and powerful, while the second part takes a more ethereal approach with angelic call and response vocals from Belew, saying words that would seem to have nothing to do with each other when put next to each other. Into the Frying Pan is one of the weaker tracks on the album, bland guitars, bland vocals, cheesy lyrics, it's all there.

FraKctured is a reworking of the song made so famous on Starless and Bible Black. The interplay between Belew and Fripp on this song is quite stunning, almost breathtaking. The complexities of the guitar riffs and the musicianship from each individual member is stunning. But really, is it really necessary to rework a masterpiece of a song already into something almost completely different? It may be a wonderful track, but it wasn't really necessary to record. The World's my Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum takes cues from Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream from Thrak, off the wall lyrics, dissonant guitars, and wonderfully zany lyrics... almost too zany if you ask me.

Larks Tongue in Aspic, pt. 4 is the showpiece of the album. An epic working of riffs surrounding the classic LTIA mode, and taking cues from the instrumental Red, this song really is another showpiece of musical talent and prowess from the guitar standpoint, with Belew and Fripp being perfect counterparts to one another. It segues into Coda: I Have a Dream, with some epic working from the guitar synth from Fripp. Belew's lyrics are hauntingly true, even though they were written in 2000, years before any of the events really occured. A truly eerie ending. Heaven and Earth in the conclusion to the album, the song attributed to ProjeKct X. Expect some very ethereal and spacy work with some interesting drumming in the middle.

Overall, this seems to be the bastard child of King Crimson's later works. Some believe that it doesn't belong, it's uninspired, contrived, no good, and just an overall disappointment. This is where I disagree with the norm. I believe this album has a lot of merit, it's just that some of the songs could have used a tweaking, a little more refinement and been questioned of their worth... but I can't complain too much. There is a lot worse out there, and this is not... I repeat not... one of those worse things. 3/5.