The reason I love this album is mainly for its self-indulgent expression of music, comparable in sound and spirit to compositions by artists such as John Cage and Throbbing Gristle. At first I didn't like it at all, but then I realised I had the volume turned down too low and turned it up really high. It was then that the arrhythmicity (of both the rhythm sections) and the atonality of the compositions struck me and it is when I really begin to get into it. It appears on the first listen that none of the musicians are in synch with each other (some might argue it appears this way after several listens). However, there are sparks of pure genius floating about, like in the middle of Thrak and the two parts of Thrakattack. These are the diamonds in the rough, and these alone make listening to the album a worthwhile experience. Particular stand out features include Robert Fripp's guitar and noise, and the guitar interplay when Fripp is playing with soundscapes. The rhythm section is a bit low in the mix I thought.
This is not the best King Crimson album. There are many King Crimson fans who are bound to consider this a waste, but I view it as an extremely interesting experiment in music that King Crimson just had to perform. I think it is completely appropriate that King Crimson chose to do it at this time---after all, they've proved they can play. But let's face it, if this were King Crimson's first album when no one had heard of them, the chances are that it wouldn't be remotely getting the degree of attention it is getting now.