Despite breaking the naming convention, Robert Fripp, King Crimson founder and only constant contributor to the suite, insists that "Level Five" is part of the pentalogy.

The song is guided by the shifting guitar of Robert Fripp, but it is in the tense violin of David Cross and the chaotic percussion of Jamie Muir that Part I is defined.

[1] The track goes through numerous varied acts and passages, with somber moments and a calm violin solo falling alongside periods of heightened aggression where Fripp's guitar borders on heavy metal and Muir's clangs reach cacophony.

[2][3] Bird calls, metallic clangs, horns, breaking crockery and tin ripping are all featured in Muir's repertoire,[4][5] and, along with his percussive contributions, he coined the title "Larks' Tongues in Aspic".

[12] The main riff of part II, which emerged in 1972 during a live performance at Richmond, Kentucky,[7][13] is heavy and driving, drawing its host album to a dramatic climax.

[7] "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" was performed from 1972 to 1974, predominantly in a shortened seven-minute version that left out most of the violin solo and protracted ending passage.

[17] This part marks a drastic shift in style from the previous two entries, being created a decade later with two new people, Adrian Belew, and Tony Levin, involved.

On The Construkction of Light, "Larks' Tongues in Aspic - Part IV" is divided into three identically titled tracks[20] that segue into "Coda: I Have a Dream", which is followed by a minute of silence.

Though nothing in the album's packaging confirmed that the song was part of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", it shared elements of the series' rhythmic structure and form.

[31] AllMusic's Lindsay Planer called "Level Five" so intense "that it could easily be mistaken for the likes of Tool, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, or KMFDM".