Starless and Bible Black
In 1971, Fripp ousted Sinfield and took over "de facto" leadership of King Crimson (although he has always formally rejected the label, preferring to describe his role as "quality control" or "a kind of glue"). From this point onwards, Fripp would be the only constant member of the band, which in turn would be defined primarily by his compositional and conceptual ideas (which drew on avant-garde jazz and improvisation mixed with a variety of hard rock and European influences, in particular the music of Béla Bartók). With avant-garde percussionist Jamie Muir, violinist David Cross, singing bass player John Wetton and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford now in the ranks, King Crimson produced three more albums of innovative and increasingly experimental rock, shedding members as they progressed: beginning with "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", progressing with "Starless and Bible Black" and culminating in the benchmark avant-power trio album "Red". Fripp formally disbanded the group in 1974, in what eventually turned out to be merely the first in a regular series of long hiatuses and further transformations.