“King Crimson isn’t among the precursors of metal…absurd”

The Deus ex Machina dei King Crimson Robert Fripp During a recent interview with Guitar World he expressed his displeasure at the lack of recognition of his band’s contribution to the disputes that occasionally arise over the beginnings and development of heavy metal.

The 79-year-old English musician expressed himself as follows: “I recently saw a video on YouTube about the ten precursors of heavy metal, and… “Schizoid Man” wasn’t among them. It’s absurd. Let me explain, Ozzy Osbourne not only recorded it on a solo album (“Under Cover” of 2005, ed.), but he has always been generous enough to recognize Crimson.”

The guitarist then explained his point of view on the metallic sound of
King Crimson
and its evolution. “The powerful, metallic element has always been present in Crimson. For me, it has increasingly become articulated in the simple question: what would Jimi Hendrix sound like playing a Béla Bartók string quartet?”.

Produce Like A Pro reported that the debut album of
King Crimson
from 1969,
“In the Court of the Crimson King”
(
read the review here
), contained
“21st Century Schizoid Man”
a proto-heavy metal song that conveyed a visceral power and aggressive instrumentation that would go on to influence countless metal bands. The song’s distorted guitar work and intense rhythmic patterns established a template that heavy metal would follow for decades.

Moreover. The Elite Extremophile noted that songs like
“The Devil’s Triangle”
taken from the album
“In the Wake of Poseidon”
from 1970 unleashed a snarling, metallic assault inspired by the song
“Mars, the Bringer of War”
of the British composer and conductor of the first half of the twentieth century
Gustav Holst
.