Metal Box

Okay, halfway through the first track, I'm already tired of this album. Not looking good. Into the second song... this album had to have been chosen out of a hat of random albums. This has no redeeming qualities as of yet. 4th song... what even is this mess? ... Just make it end. Dudes, I promise you can make a song shorter than 5 minutes. Seriously, you can even make a song under 3 minutes. Your songs would benefit from being cut down. A lot. Like by over half. Maybe just cut half of the songs on this album too. By half, I mean all of them. Just delete the album entirely. I made it to No Birds and have to throw in the towel. There is nothing good or redeeming about this album. If these recordings were destroyed, nothing of worth would be lost.

Did I hate this? Oh yeah, you bet. But was I also fascinated by it? Indeed. And isn't that was avant-garde post-punk is all about?

After listening to parts of the first 6 tracks I have concluded that the atrocious vocals make the record completely unlistenable. The instrumental parts aren't great either - partially OK but too repetitive to sustain interest throughout an entire track. I also gave the previous PIL album 1 star, and hope this was the last one.

"Metal Box" is the second studio album by English post-punk band Public Imaged Ltd. The music is considered experimental rock, dub, avant-garde and a landmark of post-punk. The album was a departure from their first album being more avant-garde with vocalist John Lydon's cryptic, free-form lyrics, bassist Jah Wobble's dub-inspired rhythms and guitarist Keith Levine's abrasive guitar sound. It was recordered at various locations throughout the UK with multiple drummers. The album title was from the initial packaging which was a metallic canister containing three 12" 45-rpm records. Commercially, it reached #18 on the UK charts. A drum beat begins "Albatross." Here's your abrasive guitar- very high pitched, prancing along and at times off-key sounding. The song was recorded live with Lydon admitting he just free-formed the lyrics. Somehow, this works. A slow bass, an echoing guitar and a hypnotic dance beat introduce us to "Swan Lake (Death Disco)." Lydon screaming/singing as he tells about the death of his Mother from cancer. Levine said he was trying to play the Tchaikovsky ballet score "Swan Lake" and created an extremely unique melody. It's chaotic. A fantastic song and for me, the first song I think of when I hear post-punk. "Poptones" has an odd drum beat. The abrasive metallic guitar and prodding bass in the background. Lydon talking the real story of a girl kidnapped, put in a van and led the police to the van after describing the music which the van still had the cassette of in it. Levine's guitar melody was created as he was inadvertently playing Yes' "Starship Trooper." The band goes totally electronic in "Careering." A propet synth was used and we get laser sounds, sounds from outer space and other sounds. The song is about a Nothern Irish gunman "careering" as a professional business man in London. Lydon wrote this specifically about a person he did not like. That's probably quite a lot of people. This is a great album. The guitar gives a haunting, eerie, angular and abrasive vibe. The drums, beats and bass are odd and unique. Lydon seems to be improvising throughtout and he admitted as such. I like the one comment I saw describing it as subterranean. There's a lot of experimental songs and parts of songs especially with the synths. I honestly don't know if I heard anything before or after it quite like it. I'm sure there's something. Definitely not for everyone but if you like experimental, this is probably for you.

Absolute classic. Get the highest quality headphones you can lay your hands on & listen to some of the best bass playing you'll ever hear.

I want to like this more than I do. It’s heavily indebted to a music I love, like Can and others in the Krautrock scene. As I listen, though, I’m reminded of conversation I once had with a co-worker regarding my ambivalence towards Radiohead, despite their appreciation of Can. My coworker said to me, “It’s surprising that you’re not a big Radiohead fan, because they’re really influenced by Can”. My response, exaggerated in order to make a humorous point, was, “I appreciate the influence Can had on them, and I don’t think Radiohead is bad, but saying that I should love Radiohead because they’re influenced by Can is a bit like saying I should love Whitesnake because they’re influenced by Led Zeppelin”. We both laughed. That’s more or less how i feel about Public Image Limited, I appreciate where they’re coming from, but it doesn’t really hit the mark for me.

***On Spotify the album is called Second Edition*** There's something very off-putting about this album, and I couldn't wait for it to end. The songs are too long and the vocals are really terrible new wave style. On the other hand the Bass and Drums really stand out and I feel like they greatly inspired Modest Mouse in their rhythm section. If that rhythm group had a better frontman I think I would have really liked this, but sadly it really dragged things down. Almost gave a 2 for the positives I could find, but drops back to a 1 because this album is looooooooong and it's just brutal to sit through.

When he sang "You are unbearable" on the first song, I felt that. 1/5

I guess the people who hate this are just away to listen to their pop tones. Yes, the songs are long. Long songs are cool. I ask you, how else can you get swept up into the intense groove of it all if the song's finished after 3 minutes??! I also don't understand people complaining about the vocals, like you wouldn't expect that dry sheet going in? However, any humour present in the Rotten-era persona has been extracted, made colder, like the cold metal exterior. 1979 was so mental. Punk luminaries such as The Damned and The Clash made great albums this year, but they were still recognisably punk, together with other influences. This, this is...what? Utterly unrecognisable from the sound they were making a year earlier, and utterly unlike pretty much anything else. Speaking of Poptones, that's just incredible. The bass, the rhythm. The insistent dread. Intentionally unsettling, and genius.

Fair play for abandoning the Sex Pistols' sound and exploring new and interesting sonic textures, but this seems like a case of PiL crawling in a slow, ungainly manner so other post-punks could run. There's music that’s discordant in an edgy, strangely hypnotic way (which this is some of the time), and then there are downright tuneless, repetitive dirges (which this album veers into a bit too often).

John Lydon had abandoned punk when he left The Sex Pistols and had already pioneered post-punk with PiL's debut album 'First Issue'. Here, the band fully embraces the avant-garde. This is particualarly evident in Lydon's bizarre (and slightly off-putting) vocal style. The original packaging, while being novel, actually created (intentionally?) a frustrating experience where listeners struggled to get the records out of the tin case. German band Can is a major influence here though not 'Metal Box' isn't as good as Can's best work. The hero of this album is bassist Jah Wobble. Bassists don't usually get that much praise, but his dub rhythms come out in full force on this album. If anything keeps the listener engaged, it's Wobble. This album also introduces PiL's fantastic drummer, Martin Atkins, though only on one track as he joined in the middle of recording. Overall, this record will annoy a lot of people. It's not something you'd play at a party or a relaxing Sunday afternoon. But it's an interesting one and there is some brilliance among the weirdness of it. A landmark post-punk album.

Absolute rubbish! John Lydon’s vocals are excruciatingly bad. The backing music might actually be good for all I know, but John’s incessant caterwauling drowns it all out. Never heard a worse album in my life, and I’ve listened to Duck Stab.

Obviously great, and a fun companion piece to all the whinging people do about basically any remotely challenging album in the reviews.

I hadn't heard this album before. I only knew a couple songs from PiL's more commercial 80s days. Holy crap was I missing out. As soon as "Albatross" started playing, my immediate reaction was, "Oh, so that's where Siouxsie and the Banshees got their guitar sound from. And also where Ian Curtis of Joy Division got his singing style from, and where Joy Division/New Order got their electronic sound from." The Sex Pistols changed music in a huge way with their 1976 Manchester show. Without that show, we might not have had the Banshees, Joy Division, the Smiths, The Cure, and so many other giants of post punk (and goth), let alone all the bands those groups inspired themselves. Likewise for The Clash's (PiL guitarist Keith Levene's former band) influence on music. After SP disbanded, Johnny Lydon went on to form PiL. This is very different from the Sex Pistols or The Clash. In a great way. It's much more experimental, less one note than the punk that SP put out—don't get me wrong, I like SP, but if you've heard one of their songs you've pretty much heard them all. The guitar on this album is crazy. The bass lines are nuts. The lyrics and the dark pre-goth, pre-industrial atmosphere on songs like "Careering" and "Bad Baby" sound way ahead of their head time (I realize both the Banshees and Joy Division had already released albums when this came out, but it's difficult to disentangle who inspired who at this point). The digital-sounding effects on "Socialist" are mind blowing. This album is basically everything I love about post punk. So so good. 5/5

Well this was truly a difficult one to review. An incredibly eclectic mix of sometimes impenetrable music with a distinctive bass guitar running over every track. Some people hate Lydon's vocal style, but that wasn't a problem for me, partly because I knew what to expect. He drones where he needs to and is off-key in the "right way" throughout, so fine so far. My main problem here is that I knew I had dipped into PIL before many times and always come away bitten. I love their hits, with "This is Not a Love Song" being one of the first songs I ever heard that made me realise music didn't just have to be people singing in harmony about elves and shit. This was similar, with the opener, "Albatross", being almost an endurance test. However, I also found a lot to enjoy here, difficult to listen to at times, but also fascinating to see where so many bands got their ideas from. Did later bands do it better? Probably, but then this is some of the rawest, most experimental, and ground-breaking music from the late 1970s. I think I would naturally give this a 2-3 star rating, but it's definitely on my list to listen to again and I'm going to give it a tactical 4 stars, just to nudge the average up a tiny bit from all the 1s given by people who can't appreciate anything out of their comfort zone.

Shout out to bassist Jah Wobble, the only need the radar star of this album. I like the album quite a bit, especially the aforementioned bass as well as the drums. I feel the proto punk sound in my bones. The most unfortunate part is that I’ll likely not listen to this album again because I could only find it on YouTube.

Day 100 Once again I had to pause the challenge as this is really a difficult record. Strangely enough, it is the kind of album that could blow my mind, the sort of thing that sounds as damaged that it would be easy for me to relate to it, but apparently I am not at that stage of my life anymore. I get the experimental approach and everything, but I also feel that I have heard it all, probably in later and less influential albums that in turn might have been influenced by this band. Having said that, there is a lot of musicianship, ideas, and variety here to keep the open-minded listener engaged. Rating: All the points have distortion and feedback. 

I simultaneously did not know what to expect and knew exactly what to expect. And I was simultaneously right. And I was disappointed by both.

I have always liked PIL but only knew a few songs. Listening to this album was great. Johnny's voice is marmite, but musically this album surprised me. Yes there is punk but not quite the Sex Pistols, there is Prog Rock but not quite Can, and there is hard edge funk bass but not quite TC Matic. Interesting rather than enjoyable, but worth a place on the list.

Metal Box is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, originally released in 1979. I'm an American so I feel as though post punk music would truly hit different for me if I was British. A lot of these bands' lyrical content revolve around British life and the tongue-in-cheek stuff doesn't land for me most of the time. Anyways, I just learned that this band was Johnny "Rotten" Lydon's post Sex Pistols project. Had no idea. I previously got PiL's first record on this list, so getting Metal Box today made me decide to revisit it. Metal Box is pretty damn different than First Issue. It's a lot more ambient, you could tell the influence of New Wave was on the horizon. It's also more "deconstructed" in a way. The guitar on Metal Box acts as more of a background texture instrument, whereas on First Issue the guitar is more upfront, distorted, and driving. The songs are bass and drums heavy. And oh man the bass on here. Really reminds me of dub greats like Lee Perry. I did have some problems with this record, though. Lydon's vocals can get annoying at times. They're also way back in the mix so I can't really make out some of the lyrics. Some of the songs meander as well and devolve into jamming for half the track. Maybe all of that is the point, though. Am I not genius enough to "get it" completely?

Here’s one that I’m happy to leave far behind in the rear view mirror. Not my thing. Tedious. It went on far too long.

I should like this, but I don’t. The overly ambitious concept and bloated track lengths make it quite a chore to get through. I appreciate the genre and the band’s contribution to the scene at the time, but I think there are much better albums in this vein that I prefer listening to instead.

You can call it experimental and influential and groundbreaking all you want but for me this was a pretty boring hour of my Saturday. 3/10

I wanted to like it. I didn't.

No Johnny, No. The last song made this escape a 1 star.

Best Song: Socialist. At least it grooves. Worst Song: Bad Baby. Just an absolutely fucking dreadful vocal performance. Overall: Mostly junk. Marginally more listenable than the other Public Image Ltd. album on this list, but only because of a few nice (but not extraordinary) riffs. It is a mess of barely conceived ideas haphazardly slapped together. The musicians seem uninterested in playing well or together, and everything just kind of dithers about until it ends. I hate the hubris of these dorks who dispassionately fuck around on their instruments for an hour and call it a day. Aimless. I just don't get it. Which drugs are necessary to enjoy this junk?

I think this is rubbish. Weak out of tune vocals over boring, repetitive instrumentation. I am genuinely baffled by how highly regarded this album seems to be.

had the unique privilege of being able to break out my literally Metal Box with this lp and listen through. the way the album is structured makes each side of the 3 discs only 1 or 2 tracks long, which made me appreciate this so much more than streaming it start to finish. I get why this would not be enjoyable to a listener, but this has the sauce thats makes we want to hit play as soon as it ends. musically, it’s so akin to the dub they’re clearly super influenced by - hypnotic, atmospheric, kind of menacing - but lyrically it’s agonised and devastated. I never put two and two together, but john lydon had spent the end of his teen years going through a hellish gauntlet on an international stage. my thoughts on the sex pistols are a whole other thing, and I’ll leave it at they were mostly fabrication but energetically spectacular. their youthful fury and contrarianism gives way to pil’s jaded nihilism and purgatory. it’s hilarious how much ppl on here hate this album lmaooooo

This one will forever be one of my absolute favourites. It may not be for anyone, but I could wallow in this if it was 5 times longer.

Can be a difficult listen at times, but always loved the way the guitar and especially bass sound - very unique - Jah Wobbles dub sound and Lydon's force of personality makes this stand out amongt the post-punk pile for me.

Pleasantly surprised. Truly captured the post-punk vibe and made a blueprint for all the bands that followed. I had to go to YouTube music to find this in streaming format and im not sure why it is not available ( record company dispute?) but it is an important album and a great listen.

There is really nothing like this album. If you want to talk about something you should hear before you die, it’s this wildly unique blast of sounds. Every time I listen to this one I hear something new or I hear a snippet of another band this influenced. Albatross and Poptones are my favorites, both are so stark futuristic and nihilistic, but almost all the song are great (the exception being the somewhat annoying The Suit). The close out Radio 4 was my new favorite this time around, reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti’s work on Twin Peaks. One of the more astonishing things about this album is that John Lydon basically tore down everything you knew about him from the Sex Pistols, he is almost unrecognizable from his punk guise. The guitar work is also fascinating, it drives the dystopian soundscape that permeates through the whole album. This one is important.

I mentioned when reviewing their first album that I bought their "Greatest Hits (So Far)" in uni, and it being pre-internet, pretty much had no choice but to play it enough that it clicked for me. Can't help but wonder what my music taste would be like if I'd grown up post-internet. Would I have got into every conceivable genre almost straight away, as it's all right there for the listening? Or would I just deep dive into the first thing I found comfortable and never branched out, because there was no pressure to do so? 🤔 Anyway, this sounds more like my idea of what Public Image Ltd. are. I guess I can sympathize with people finding this terrible because it is deliberately challenging. If you don't get swept up by the bass lines you're gonna struggle. Fave tracks - the three track run of "Swan Lake" -> "Poptones" -> "Careering" is totally cherry!

Really strange sound but not bad.

Public Image Ltd. (or PiL with this release) have been a major figure in Post-Punk although their commercial success wasn't as strong as Joy Division or Television. Like the Velvet Underground & Nico and Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones, the design of the packaging was something really special. Unlike the ones I've mentioned this wasn't designed by Andy Warhol and not even released as a standard 33rpm 12' LP. Instead the songs were printed on 3 12' 45rpm LPs. Freaky, I know. Sadly this design was UK only. Other issues in other countries were simply called 'Second Edition'. (Booooring!) The album slickly combines Post-Punk, Punk, Experimental Rock as well as some Noise Rock, Disco and Dub. This combination might sound and feel weird but that is exactly what they were going for as it was pushing the sound of Punk even further. The album starts with the 10 minute monster 'Albatross' with its repetetive riff and the abstract and ominous lyrics and distant vocal style that together make this an atmospheric and anxious listen. A perfect opener for such an experimental and dark album. In the end of that song the vocalist switches the style he used as the lead vocalist in the Sex Pistols, contradicting the dark and echoey vocal style from before. It is, in my opinion, the best song on this album and there is a case to be made that this is pretty close to the greatness of 'Marquee Moon'. That vocal style gets used again for 'Memories'. I have to say that I am not the biggest fan of that vocal style, mainly because it feels so alike to the Sex Pistols and I feel that vocal style works only with Punk Rock and not so much with their Post-Punk style. Still, the song is fantastic instrumentally especially the high pitched guitar. 'Swan Lake' pushes the energy even further. I prefer a lot over 'Memories' because this is much more focused on the rythmn section and the bass sticking out even more. A perfect example of Dance-Punk and Mutant Disco (yes this genre actually exists). The second LP opens with 'Poptones'. A very hypnotic song that even features a tiny little bit of Post-Rock. It is noisy and builds up a suspenful tension with the listener over the 7 minutes of playtime. It's really good especially because the build tension gets really anxious half-way through, a point where you'd expect it to loose the listeners interest but no it keeps it perfectly. I'm just not the biggest fan of all the things "around" of it although the chorus is pretty funny. 'Careering' has a lot of groove and the added synthesizer, the abstract drums and the final build-up make this a great tune. Especially the misanthropic vocals really add a layer of emotional depth to this very suspenful track. 'No Birds' is much less "noisy" than the other songs. The melody is also much more conventional? It's not really but compared to the rest... This feels very emotionally empty but in a good way. I don't mean that there is not emotion in there, more like the that someone's lost all their emotion and that it's empty now... No birds that fly around. And that is undermined by another very dark sounding song. With 'Graveyard' the noise returns already with the guitar that stings you with its first notes. The abrasiveness and the groovy instrumental nature of this really make this stand out to me. The last disc opens with 'The Suit', a much slower song that because of that looses my interest very fast. It's not bad at all and I love the bass but there isn't anything other to catch on for me. But I do have to appreciate the dark lyrics that with a bit more enthusiasm would make this song much more interesting. I also like the "thrown-in" avant-garde piano that plays for just a couple of notes and then disappears. Funny thing. 'Bad Baby' is better by a bit. The weird vocals that sound like they were sung drugged up as well as lots of ominous sounds both do a slighty better job in achieving what the album intends with its chaotic songs although it isn't anything too special compared to the rest of the album. The albums finale is a 12 minute song split into three parts. The streaming releases do split the song into each part but 'Socialist / Chant / Radio 4' was intended as one piece. 'Socialist' starts fast-paced with synthesizers that make the sound you would expect in a sience-fiction spacecraft. The drums are also really interesting as the sometimes feel "edited"? As if someone put them into a synthesizer itself and then sometimes changed the sound a little bit. It kinda freaks me out. 'Chant' is the one with vocals but to be honest, they get annoying very fast. I would've prefered it to be instrumental with that awesome guitar and just the ad-libs sometimes in the background. But the build-up to the repeating "Chant, Chant, Chant" is worth it. 'Radio 4' is a mix between their typical style (mainly bass and noise at the end) but added classical instruments and a kind of ambient sound. It sounds like the outro to a majestic movie and in a way this album is. There is a lot to get out of the album and it obviously was very influential but I think I have to give this album some time until I can really appreciate it but for now: Great but not perfect. favourites: Albatross, Swan Lake, Graveyard, Poptones least favourites: The Suit, Bad Baby, Socialist / Chant / Radio 4 Rating: decent 8 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Not much better than their other album I listened to, I guess it’s more miserable. It’s still just meh.

It had everything to be a good Post Punk album, but the vocalist gives me the impression that he is eternally falling down a staircase while singing! Although the instrumentals are very good, it was painful to listen to until the end. I'll leave 2 stars.

A tough listen

All you hear are poorly produced drums and everything else is squeezed into like one channel and sounds horrible.

Could this be the worst vocal performance of all time? Shit vocals are part of the punk aesthetic... but this is not punk, so what's the excuse? Saved by the last few instrumentals.... and the bass all the way through.

I try to approach every post-punk album on this list (today marks number 75!!!) with a fresh mind. I consciously try to drop off all my baggage from the last 74 albums at the door and start a new relationship with a new album. For the first, like, 45 seconds I was really into this! Good bass lines and interesting synth compositions. And then the singing starts and it is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE... I enjoyed the last track or two because they were entirely instrumental. Shut up this man.

Great instrumentals combined with some of the worst vocals you can imagine. I know post punk isn't know for great vocalists but come on

Meh

"Good art makes you feel something" Well I feel personally attacked by the lack of intent to entertain. This should be under the throbbing idontknow

I adore long songs, but not this crap - this album could’ve been an email

John Lydon should be put in solitary confinement for the rest of his life for this.

I didn't care for it, but I'm sure it was influential for other shitty music

A hard to get to package, with a headstrong determination to continue their trajectory towards further hazy musicality, Metal Box (Second Edition for those who could not hack the tin without ruining the records) is the quintessential post-punk album. Public Image, Ltd. continued their bewildering yet invigorating journey away from the haphazard punk rock that defined John Lydon's irascible alter-ego, and his whole career, and delved deeper into impenetrable sounds unfathomable before and thus unsurpassed since. Whether or not it is the last great album of the 1970s is a debate for another time but what Metal Box/Second Edition captured was the decay that was plaguing Britain during a time of upheaval and soon-to-be selfish ideologies that would come to characterize their Conservative Party and this album was one of the many warning signs. Inevitably, the road taken here wound up being the farthest this iteration of Public Image, Ltd. would go as they'd disintegrate and take on the shapes that would be the opposite of what they had set out trying to be. But Metal Box/Second Edition remains in all its dented, nicked, rusted, inaccessible yet richly awarding glory, still scoring the atmosphere that sows seeds of discontent.

Great album

Honestly a 4.5 rounded up for how out there and brilliant parts of it are, offset by it sagging a bit by the end John Lydon being a MAGA geek. Nonetheless, if listened to through the eyes of 14 year old Adam... it's incredible and Keith Levene made me pick up a guitar in new ways... 5 it is :)

A whirling, spiked flail of an album. Music to be crushed in an iron maiden to.

Deranged, confrontational, awesome. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)

Johnny has 2 legendary albums? Good for him.

zeer goed album van een groep uitmuntende muzikanten... ook de stem van Lydon is hier soms meer instrument dan echte zang... OK, sommige nummers mochten misschien wat korter zijn, maar da's muggezifterij

Reconstruction time again

WOW. It was hard to find this album, but YouTube came in clutch. I absolutely love it. An hour of rage, driving bass, and hard hitting percussion. Took years off my life in a good way.

This is more like hip-hop than punk, with the music providing a blank canvas for Lydon to ad-lib over. It's progressive, occasionally sublime, and sometimes completely discordant. But it's always really good; I especially love those creeping bass lines.

I unashamedly love this. It's genius. Though I totally get why it's rated so low on here, I don't think it's for everyone. I can see John Lydon's vocals as a sticking point but I've always thought he was unique to the point of greatness. For the people who do connect with this for one reason or another, it's just brilliant. I can't even describe why I like it, there's just something about it that seems so far ahead of its time and wonderfully arranged and produced. As others have said the bass is fantastic throughout. I wouldn't ever throw this record on to just have it play in the background, I'd want to play this when I'm in a certain headspace and sit and listen to it. It would be a really good record for driving. Like maybe hour 2 or hour 4 of a 6+ hour drive. Anyway, this is an unexpected 5/5 for me.

Loved it

Yes

I have to say at the time I wasn't a fan of PIL but listening to this now 35 years later it's really good. Drawing on a lot of stuff that had already been going on- experimental, Throbbing Gristle and other early Industrial music it's actually quite enjoyable. Lydon is a genius that much is true now. At the time he wasn't appreciated for what he was doing.

Yes this is long, abrasive and weird, but post punk is the reason we even had music at the end of the dreadful 80's at all... I quite hated "First Issue" but this is something else! it should be 4 stars but that baseline is insane.

Groovy, repetitive and hypnotizing. The bass playing is phenomenal throughout the whole thing -- Jah Wobble is king. I adore Keith Levene's metallic, shrieking guitars that threaten to cut you in half. Lydon's ragged and sickly vocals fit this record perfectly. A true wonder on all fronts.

How to write a review of Metal Box? Try to defend it from it’s detractors, make a comparison to other Avant-Garde music, place it into historical context, make jokes? I don’t think any of that matters. If the music isn’t for you, it isn’t for you. I can’t stand Michael Jackson’s big albums, but they’re all very highly rated on here. In the reviews of those, I didn’t disparage, I made what I thought were salient points about the quality of the music as I experience it. Metal Box is supposed to be difficult, and yet despite it’s uncompromising nature and bleak sound, it is often hauntingly beautiful in it’s own way. It is the sound of anxiety and of anger, the Id lashing out at a world that isn’t listening. Lydon’s lyrics are brief snapshots of the inner working of his mind, with everything from observations about people he knows (Albatross) to musings about news stories he’s read (Poptones) to reminders about his schedule (The Suit.) Nothing but snapshots of thoughts, scattershot, meaningless, random, ephemeral yet eternal. Where else are you going to get a listening experience like that than with the Avant-Garde?

The power of repetition. Five stars, obviously.

Grinding, paranoid, relentless, utterly beautiful. Many imitators, but the sound was born here! I could listen on repeat for hours.

Metallic guitar sounds and cold, mechanical bass-lines permeate this record. The vocals drone on with intensity and relentlessness that bring you into the dark sonic world that has been constructed. It is disorienting and unsettling but at the same time hypnotic and groovy thanks to the incredible bass slinking all across the record. Definitely will be too abrasive for many, but for me, the atmosphere this record brings is undeniable. It's not something you'd throw on all the time, but when you do, it WILL drag you into its distorted world, whether you like it or not.

Чувствую себя прямо экспертом, когда дело касается PIL и этого альбома в частности (Rip it up and start again-core!) Это великий альбом, и вероятно самый важный альбом в пост-панк поджанре. Это альбом, который представляет собой всю суть пост-панка не просто как коллекции музыкальных клише, но в самой своей идее. Пост-музыка! Лучшая песня - Albatross.

This shit is ground breaking and interesting. I didn’t love every track, but overall it’s so good it can only get 5 stars. I would totally buy this on vinyl.

Beautiful atonal caterwauling atop avant dub post punk. Fearless.

Ngl, this is dope. I mean, I love noise rock and unhinged goth shit, so take that into consideration obviously, but yeah. I'm actually a little surprised I had never listened to this before, it's definitely way up my alley. The vocalist is definitely going to be an acquired taste (or not lol), but the bass playing and drumming here is absolutely sick, and the guitar player is unhinged and wild (so also pretty sick). Add in the occasional weird synthy tones and there you go. I'm giving this an instant based/5, but again... Fan of The Fall here. Not for everyone lol

Post-punk masterpiece. The jangly, funky tunes are of course excellent, but when the looseness and seeming disregard for tonality become transcendent, particularly on “Poptones”, is when the album really shows it’s colours. Great effort by all the players, Jah Wobble’s bass standing out especially. Punk’s not dead!

Listened to this before and I didn't like/get it. I love it now. The bass lines are catchy, punchy, and the squad loves to go in different sonic directions. Fun n great

I like some avant garde in my post punk

john lydon consistently surprises me with how many great tracks I've never heard of from him, not that I knew that many to begin with. But shit this was great, dragged here and there but I had lots of fun so 5 stars

Almost wilfully difficult. Half expected John L to start shouting "Exterminate!" during Chant. But I really enjoyed it. Quite a departure from the Pistols. Socialist is the standout track for me.

surprisingly enjoyable, i wasnt looking forward to it from what i'd heard about this album, but it was a very interesting sound

Interesting album. I like to see the development of genres and you can clearly hear the punk/dub blend.

JAH WOBBLE IS ON HERE. I quite like some parts of the stripped back songs like the guitars and the synths, the vocals are a bit hit and miss, but do work well in some areas. The atmosphere which is made in some songs is really haunting, in a good way. It captures that same sense of dread which joy division also had, however this is also very, very different in many ways. I really like the first song, which to me seems to be the most ''post-punk'' or ''anti-punk'' song ever, with minimalism and art-ish absurd lyrics and it kind of uses its length almost as an art form in itself. Favourite songs: albatross, memories, careering, graveyard, socialist, radio 4 Overall around 7/10

FUCK YEAH 4.5

Bizarrely enjoyed it? If I started thinking too hard I was just like 'what's happening???' but despite confusion at why and how anyone wrote this, I had fun listening. Maybe this is something to be felt. And laughed at a little. The artist pic on spotify backs up this last argument haha

Challenging, fierce, unsettling, singular, slabs of atonal noise, hints of disco, splashes of dub, rooted in krautrock, with Lydon's sneering howl the icing on the cake 4 stars

This was an interesting record. It really branches out from what I expect from a punk or post punk record. I'd go 5 but at some point this made me feel jittery. Not even sure what song it started on.

Like the first PiL, I’m not exactly sure why I like it so much, but I really do. First time hearing this album, maybe with some more time it might even get to a 5 but it’s a strong 4 right now.

I love post-punk and this is a great foundational album. Love how much they let the grooves just go here, and the funky bass. That packaging is iconic too.

An odd anomaly that feels lifeless and unfocused but somehow it grips me and I want to play it all on repeat. 4 Stars

It always throws me to remember that Sex Pistols is a drop in the bucket of Johnny Rotten’s career. Not the sort of guy you’d expect to have a deep well of inspiration to draw from, but he does. This is a great one. It’s so wonky and deranged. Maybe tails off a bit in the back half, after a few real strong ones off the top. Still, like it a lot.

Surprised how much I enjoyed this one. Will have to add it to a regular rotation

decent post-punk sound, very unique. Would like to listen more, but not on my streaming so hard to listen to.

Cool sound, reminded me of going to the symphony and having your thoughts trail around elsewhere and then being brought back to the music as it dramatically changes

Sounds kinda new-wave/goth. A little weird and discordant, but in a way that was interesting rather than off putting.

7/10 loved the riffs and how they incorporated parts of the ballet music into Swan Lake

Drags on a bit but some of my favorite bass playing I've ever heard

I get it… former punk rock gods realize they actually are musicians. Love it!

I don't love everything about this album, but it sounds like very little else from that time. Lots to commend it, especially the strange mash-up of Krautrock and dub. A line in the sand. I don't think it's an exaggeration to suggest that Metal Box can upend - even if temporarily - your notion of what popular music can be.

Legendary post punk k album that soon sounds fresh. Their career highlight by far

Important early alternative....

I generally liked this more than I expected. I liked most of these tracks but sometimes they went in way too long and other times John Lydon’s voice is too grating for me. Other times it totally worked for me. Like a mix of the Fall, the Birthday Party and Joy Division.

Starts off so abrasive and disjointed, but after a couple songs you sink into it and this is actually a damn quality album. Really keen to have another few listens, I feel it will only get better. The only PiL album I'd listened to in full before this was "Happy?", which I found to be fairly mid, so this was a really nice surprise. 4.5/5

Idk why I had such a negative opinion of these guys going in. This album was solid. Vocals like a less ridiculous talking heads with the punky/pre new wave instrumentals make for a good, almost trippy, yet stoic mix.