King Crimson is an institution from the 70s, one of the cornerstones of progressive rock and one of the few, if not the only band from that era that has managed to constantly reinvent itself. But you would expect an album recorded 34 years after the band's first album to sound old and tired. You'd be wrong.
Robert Fripp has always strived to surround himself with musicians that would push him outside of his comfort zone, and as a consequence The Power to Believe sounds unbelievably modern. While Adrian Belew (vocals and guitar) has been part of King Crimson since the early 80s, Trey Gunn (Warr Guitar) and Pat Mastelotto (drums) are young whippersnappers fresh from the prog-metal scene.
The songwriting is typically Crimsonian with odd time signature and cyclic melodic lines, but the arrangements sound like they've dragged themselves through 90s metal and haven't emerged unscathed. Level Five is the absolute masterpiece here, drenched in saturated guitar, acoustic and electronic drumming and strange harmonies. Songs like Facts of Life, Elektrik and The Power to Believe III are also dark and disturbing.
For me personally this album also carries a strange association with Clive Barker's Imajica which I was reading at the time. The book was gripping and the album would rotate in the stereo while I read. The two have become completely impossible to dissociate in my mind!
If this is the last album King Crimson ever releases (which, at this point in time, looks increasingly likely), the band will have remained at the top of its game until the very end.
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