Crimson Devils

King Crimson opened 1970 scarcely in existence as a band, having lost two key members (Ian McDonald and Michael Giles), with a third (Greg Lake) about to leave. Their second album – largely composed of Robert Fripp's songwriting and material salvaged from their stage repertory ("Pictures of a City" and "The Devil's Triangle") – is actually better produced and better sounding than their first. Surprisingly, Fripp's guitar is not the dominant instrument here: The Mellotron, taken over by Fripp after McDonald's departure – and played even better than before – still remains the band's signature.

First official release of early 70s Scottish underground heavy rock recordings from this group who were stomping around the UK with the likes of Black Sabbath, Hackensack, Pink Fairies, Juicy Lucy and others from the time, but never released a proper album. Their name, Iron Claw, was taken from the first line in King Crimson's song "21st Century Schizoid Man". In the beginning, Iron Claw probably became the world's first Black Sabbath tribute band, as they incorporated the entire first Black Sabbath LP and single into their set! …