King Crimson ( B16 )

Released in May 2000, the album reached No. 129 in the UK. All of the pieces were metallic and harsh in sound, similar to the work of contemporary alternative metal: they featured a distinct electronic texture, a heavy processed drum sound from Mastelotto, and a different take on the interlocked guitar sound that the band had used since the 1980s. With the exception of a parodic industrial blues (sung by Belew through a voice changer under the pseudonym of "Hooter J. Johnson"), the songs were unrelentingly complex and challenging to the listener, with plenty of rhythmic displacement to add to the harsh textures. The album contains the fourth instalment of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". It received a negative reception for lacking new ideas. The band recorded an album at the same time, under the name of ProjeKct X, called Heaven and Earth. Conceived and led by Mastelotto and Gunn, with Fripp and Belew playing subsidiary roles, it was a further development of the polyrhythmic/dance music approach adopted in the ProjeKcts.

Belew performing in 2006

King Crimson toured to support both albums, including double bill shows with Tool. The tour was documented in the triple live album Heavy Construkction, released in December 2000. This showed the band constantly switching between the structured album pieces and ferocious ProjeKct-style Soundscape-and-percussion improvisations. Bassist John Paul Jones supported the band on some live shows.

On November 9, 2001, King Crimson released a limited edition live extended play called Level Five,featuring three new pieces: Previously unrecorded new tracks "Dangerous Curves", "Level Five" title track and "Virtuous Circle", plus versions of "The Construkction of Light" and 1998 ProjeKct Two's "Deception of the Thrush" followed by the unlisted track "ProjeKct 12th and X" after one silent minute. 

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