KING CRIMSON — The Power To Believe (review)

KING CRIMSON — The Power To Believe album cover Album · 2003 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Warthur
The Power to Believe is King Crimson's final studio album so far, if you don't count A Scarcity of Miracles (which, though dubbed a King Crimson ProjeKct, is credited to Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins), and if it turns out to be their final studio album ever it won't be a half bad way to go out. (The current lineup, though they perform some new tunes, seem to be more than content operating as a live unit.)

Is it a towering classic reconfiguring the way we think of rock music in general and prog specifically like their debut, or Red, or Larks' Tongues In Aspic, or Discipline? No. But you don't expect a band that's been operating as long as Crimson has to reinvent the wheel every release. And when it comes to integrating more modern sounds into the Crimson template, and offering up a set of songs ranging from metal-bordering hard modern prog a la Tool or Porcupine Tree on the one hand to updated ambient-tinged takes on some of the more experimental material from the 1980s lineup, the album does a damn good job of it.

Should this be their studio swan-song, we can be pleased that it was this good; it'd have been a shame to go out on The ConstruKction of Light. Should the current incarnation of the band have plans for a studio followup, they'd be well advised to regard this as setting the bar. King Crimson has well and truly hit the phase of their career where they are contemplating their long-term legacy as well as enjoying their rich heritage (witness the return of some early 1970s material to the live repertoire which hasn't had an airing since the Earthbound tour at least!), and it would be a shame to smudge that legacy with a final album which didn't measure up to this one's high standards.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Tupan wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Ah, great album, and a real metal one IMO. Anyways, I want a studio album with the current line-up, even if it's inferior to TPTB!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Equilibrium Atmospheric Sludge Metal
BESRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tension Between Rot And Genesis Sludge Metal
ANTHESIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recycle Brain Crust Punk
C.P.G
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cartography Of The Mind Deathcore
TETHERED
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Besra – Unsullied (Music Video)
BESRA
Bosh66· 10 hours ago
Tethered - Breathe (Official Video)
TETHERED
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Walking The Blade (OFFICIAL VISUALIZER)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - The Negative (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Drowning feat. Taylor Barber (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed