Metal Box

Trash.

It's ok. Not my favorite punk album, but it's ok.

Early post punk is so meh

The good: Jah Wobble’s bass lines. To a lesser extent, Keith Levene’s jagged guitar lines and the drumming from a host of anonymous ever-changing drummers (they seem to be in danger of going through drummers faster even than Spinal Tap). The bad: Johnny Rotten’s “vocals”. Makes for a tough listen. The ugly: the packaging. It is at once both the coolest album package ever, and the most frustrating to use album package ever. Having bought this in the 80s, I can attest. Tin hard to open. Records hard to remove from tin. No sleeves, just thin round dividers between albums. No labeling (side/songs) on vinyl. Three records w/1-2 songs each side, so lotsa flipping. Plays at 45 rpm, necessitating adjusting one’s phonograph speed. The whole package makes it such that this is as physically challenging to play as it is aurally challenging to hear. So were they being cool, or were they being dicks? I think you know the answer.

Initially I was really into it but as it progressed I found it was just okay. Some songs would have benefited from some heavy editing. In the end it was interesting to hear a band I’d never heard of but I won’t be back.

Well, there was certainly an attempt at doing something different. Listen to Wire's "Pink Flag" instead of this. I promise you'll have a better time.

Sorti à la fin de l'année 1979 chez Virgin Records, Metal Box n'est pas simplement une anomalie discographique ou un coup d'éclat plastique imaginé pour faire chier les disquaires de quartier. C'est un putain de classique bruitiste qui a posé les fondations du post-punk expérimental, c'est un vortex abrasif où la rage nihiliste rencontre l'espace infini du dub jamaïcain, c'est un chef-d'œuvre qui mérite un cinq sur cinq. Pour comprendre la déflagration provoquée par cet album, il faut tout d'abord se remettre dans le contexte délétère de l'Angleterre de la fin des années soixante-dix. L'hiver du mécontentement vient de balayer le pays, Margaret Thatcher pose ses valises au 10 Downing Street et le mouvement punk, jadis si prompt à cracher sur l'ordre établi, est déjà en train de crever de sa propre caricature, transformé en produit de consommation courante pour ados en quête d'épingles de sûreté. John Lydon, fraîchement évadé du cirque médiatique des Sex Pistols et du cynisme de Malcolm McLaren, fonde Public Image Ltd. avec le guitariste Keith Levene et son pote d'enfance Jah Wobble à la basse. Si le premier album du groupe avait déjà posé quelques jalons abrasifs, Metal Box pousse le bouchon tellement loin dans l'expérimentation sonore qu'il pulvérise littéralement les repères esthétiques de l'époque. Ce qui frappe dès les premières secondes de ce monument, c'est l'omniprésence écrasante et titanesque de la basse de Jah Wobble. Le bonhomme n'est pas un virtuose académique au sens classique du terme, mais il possède une compréhension viscérale, presque mystique, des fréquences graves et de la culture sound system. Sa basse ne se contente pas de suivre une ligne mélodique timorée ; elle cogne directement dans le plexus, fait vibrer les cloisons et installe une pulsation sourde, élastique, totalement hypnotique, directement héritée du dub le plus enfumé de Kingston. C'est cette armature pachydermique qui donne à l'ensemble du disque sa lourdeur physique et son assise reptilienne. En refusant les structures couplet-refrain habituelles, Wobble installe des boucles répétitives qui tournent à l'obsession, créant un groove froid et mécanique sur lequel le reste du groupe peut balancer ses pires cauchemars électriques sans jamais craindre l'effondrement de l'édifice. Face à ce mur sismique de basses fréquences, Keith Levene déploie un jeu de guitare totalement révolutionnaire qui va traumatiser plusieurs générations de musiciens. Armé de sa guitare en aluminium Travis Bean et de synthétiseurs vintage manipulés sans aucune déférence technique, Levene ne plaque aucun accord réconfortant, ne balance aucun solo héroïque de guitar hero baveux. Il lacère le spectre sonore avec des harmoniques stridentes, des arpèges métalliques anguleux et des nappes de verre brisé qui résonnent comme de la tôle froissée dans un hangar désaffecté de l'East End londonien. Son utilisation de la dissonance et de la réverbération crée un sentiment d'angoisse permanent, transformant chaque montée en tension en une véritable épreuve sensorielle. Le contraste saisissant entre la rondeur caverneuse des basses de Wobble et l'acidité tranchante des riffs de Levene constitue l'ADN sonore fondamental de cette œuvre, un équilibre instable et pourtant prodigieux qui redéfinit totalement la notion d'espace acoustique dans la musique amplifiée. Au milieu de ce champ de ruines industriel et de ces textures décharnées, la voix de John Lydon s'élève, plus spectrale et possédée que jamais. Débarrassé des vociférations adolescentes de l'ère Rotten, il utilise désormais son timbre comme un instrument à part entière, oscillant sans prévenir entre la psalmodie chamanique, le gémissement d'agonie, le rire sardonique et la déclamation théâtrale la plus désespérée. Ses textes, cryptiques, hantés par le deuil, la claustrophobie urbaine, la paranoïa clinique et le dégoût profond des institutions, résonnent avec une urgence terrifiante. Lydon n'essaie plus de séduire ou de choquer pour la galerie ; il vomit ses tripes, extériorise une souffrance brute et dresse le portrait sans fard d'une psyché en morceaux dans une société en décomposition avancée. Sa performance vocale, parfois doublée ou noyée dans des échos caverneux, confère à l'album une dimension tragique et hallucinée qui glace le sang tout en maintenant une fascination absolue à chaque instant. Le choix initial de presser la musique sur trois disques vinyles 12 pouces tournant à 45 tours par minute, insérés sans aucune pochette papier dans une boîte métallique brute frappée du logo PiL, ne relevait pas du simple caprice artistique prétentieux. C'était une décision acoustique et conceptuelle d'une logique implacable. En gravant les sillons larges à cette vitesse de rotation, le groupe garantissait une dynamique sonore et un rendu des infra-basses impossibles à obtenir sur un pressage 33 tours classique de l'époque. Même l'objet physique imposait une relation physique et brutale avec la musique : les disques étaient difficiles à extraire, le métal s'oxydait, le contenant pesait une tonne et refusait de s'aligner sagement sur les étagères des collectionneurs maniaques. Tout dans cette démarche affirmait une volonté farouche de dynamiter l'industrie du disque de l'intérieur, en transformant le produit commercial en un artefact sculptural, hostile et résolument anti-pop. L'héritage laissé par Metal Box est tout simplement colossal, s'étendant bien au-delà des frontières temporelles et stylistiques de l'année 1979. Sans cette rupture radicale opérée par Lydon, Levene et Wobble, l'évolution du rock indépendant au cours des quatre décennies suivantes aurait pris une tout autre tournure. On retrouve les échos de ce son abrasif et de ces rythmiques désossées dans l'émergence du rock industriel, chez des pionniers comme Nine Inch Nails ou Ministry, tout comme dans le post-punk revivaliste des années 2000, du côté de LCD Soundsystem, Liars ou The Rapture. Plus largement, l'audace de faire dialoguer le rock le plus rugueux avec les expérimentations de studio du dub jamaïcain et l'abstraction de la musique électronique naissante a ouvert un boulevard à des générations entières de bidouilleurs sonores, de Massive Attack aux producteurs les plus aventureux de la scène techno et dubstep underground de Bristol et de Londres. En réécoutant ce disque aujourd'hui, on reste pantois devant son insolente modernité et sa puissance d'évocation intacte. Metal Box ne vieillit pas parce qu'il n'a jamais cherché à appartenir à son époque ni à flatter les attentes du public ; il s'est immédiatement érigé comme une forteresse sonore autonome, fière, hostile et majestueuse. C'est une œuvre d'art totale, sans compromis commercial ni concession facile, pensée et exécutée avec les tripes par une poignée d'écorchés vifs au sommet de leur créativité destructrice. Un pavé d'acier jeté à travers la vitrine du conformisme musical, qui continue d'éclabousser de son génie venimeux quiconque a le courage de poser la cellule de lecture sur ses sillons sombres. Un sans-faute historique, viscéral et définitif.

Meh

Pretty cool post-punk, dubby, driving, adventurous. Lyndon might be the weak point, but he still has some great lines. The sound of 2000s indie. 4 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes, 104/389 (26%) Will I get: Maybe a better copy

yikes a whole hour of this?

This was actually fitting to have almost next to m b v, in that they're both just discordant wailing over passable instrumentals.

I still have the copy of second edition that I found in a used record bin for four dollars some time in the late '90's. It's a record that I've always liked, but previously thought of as being a bit uneven in quality. This time listening through the record I found myself really enjoying the entire record. Some of the slower trudging moments had been less interesting before, but everything works this time. Apparently a lot of this was improvised at the odd times that the band could get studio time and that really comes across on the record, giving it a sense of experimental immediacy. It brings together Wobble's basslines, which are apparently deeply influenced by lovers rock, the atonal and trebly guitar sounds of Levene, and an additional budding interest in electronic music. Lydon's vocals are fantastic although are miles away from anything close to conventional singing or what he did with the Pistols. All of that adds up to a really unique post punk sound that I really love and this album creates a really fascinating strange and paranoiac world. I actually like some of the later PiL records in the 80's but this version of PiL is definitely a band and not just a John Lydon solo vehicle. The instruments are really given the space to shine and I love all of the instrumentals. It's entirely understandable why this deeply odd record is really hated by some folks here, but I'm really glad that I revisited it.

What is it about this album that sounds so pretentious? This album feels like a friendless grad student at a party who has cornered you to mansplane font types while drinking beer that not even he enjoys. But I can’t put my finger on why! All that being said, it’s a lot better than the last Public Image Ltd. album I listened to (First Issue).

This is PIL's second album released in 1979 and it's great! I definitely recommend listening to this even if this isn't your genre. Unfortunately, John Lydon's prior band (Sex Pistols) causes PIL to be overlooked and underrated. This is not punk. It's experimental, improvisational post-punk, dub reggae, improvisation jam with a dance beat. It consists of John Lydon's recognizable voice (but not always high and screaming) with Keith Laverne's very influential post-punk angular guitar and Jah Wobble's fat dub bass. Most of the are chill bass and guitar driven. A few have keyboards. And definitely improvisational! The only I didn't like was Chant because is was so repetitive.

I liked the bass lines and drum parts on some of these tracks but overall found the record to drag on a bit and get boring at times. Instrumentally solid, but lacked in keeping me engaged.

Impenetrable for the plebs.

390/1089 johnny rotten i am NOT in the mood okay this abum could’ve been worse. not really my thing but it was alright and if i think more objectively i can see some appeal Though Radio 4 (completely vocal-less was my fave for sure) 47/100

This is the first album of this project that I could not finish; got halfway through the second song & couldn't do it

Strongly dislike Lydon and I found First edition almost unlistenable. Expectations for this were therefore quite low. Was therefore pleasantly surprised that was significantly better than First listen - Lydon is still present and irritating as ever but hes generally lower in the mix and easier to block out his free form bullshit. Stand out song by far is Socialist (which instrumental) and has a fab driving bass beat (go mr wobble). Appreciate the influence it had but Lydon is still a cunt in my books so its a 2 (sorry mr wobble).

Metal Box The usual feelings around Lydon remain - insufferable personality capable of some truly excellent and unusual music. Whereas the first album combined punkish squalls and song structures with some atmospheric dubbiness, this one ditches punkish immediacy almost completely, leaving bass, piercing guitars and sparse melodies with the freeform, cryptic/senseless lyrics. As a whole listening experience it feels quite disorientating in a great way, with more obvious Bowie, Can and Krautrock atmospheric influences, with the bass of course taking centre stage and its relentless dubby snakingness really is superb. Despite the cold, spartan feel to it and the tonal similarity across the whole album there are some excellent songs. I’ve always liked Albatross’ deliberate and eerie feel, it feels austere and ghostly as it develops over 10 excellent minutes. The following four tracks, Memories, Swan Lake, Poptones and Careering are also superb. I love the reverby squeekiness on Memories, the little guitar motifs on Poptones and Careering has a dramatic Low quality to it. No Birds, Graveyard, The Suit and Bad Baby are also great, but a real highlight is the ‘suite’ of Socialist, Chant and Radio 3. I love the weird squelchy synths on Socialist before the buzzing, saw like guitars of Chant and then the rather stately and oddly beautiful Radio 4. It’s not immediate and there is Lydon to contend with, but I love this album, its an easy 5 stars, 🕳️🕳️🕳️🕳️🕳️ Playlist submission: Careering

The album title is apt, Keith Levene’s metallic guitar against Jah Wobble’s bass grooves and Lydon’s caterwauling. ‘Poptones’ is the standout - rising and falling dub bass, apathetic guitar, stuttering drums and Lydon with a Rotten snarl. At times the album has a demo quality, with bad edits and splices. The second half dips, before ‘Socialist’, ‘Chant’ and the superbly moody ‘Radio 4’. Why it works, I have little explanation. It's better than the debut, it's more risky and pushing more boundaries. Just shy of top marks.

Can only be on the list for the revolutionary packaging

Well, Jah Wobble is a truly great stage name for a bassist. The ingredients seem cool on paper, but nothing stands out.

As the years advance, I seem to get more dull every single day. Whether it's the smog in the atmosphere, plastics coursing through my capillaries, or simply the realities of aging, I really don't have much in the creative tank. Part of this "dumbening" process could also be the reason that I found this release to be so incredibly annoying and repetitive. I can tell there is something going on here. It's not devoid of life, but jesus christ I am only one man. The repetition has to be a statement in itself, but I simply don't understand the language in which that message is being transmitted. This was thoroughly unpleasant, which I believe is part of the point, but I hang my head in shame in saying I simply don't get this one. Please exhale air out of your nose and point at me as I bring shame to the pseudo-intellectual crowd that I am typically so entrenched in. What are these esoteric punks on about? 1.5-2 GENRE: Perplexing

Couldn't wait for this album to be over with, only redeeming track was "Socialist" which was an instrumental. 1 star

Can't stand Johnny Rotten's vocals. The band, however, is doing some pretty interesting stuff throughout. There's even places where it sounds like Red-era King Crimson. 0 stars for the vocals, 3 stars for the band. 2 stars overall.

Kind of dreary, but okay. Lydon tries to be more mainstream than the Pistols without conceding to things like melody or structure. Honestly John's indecipherable vocals are the least essential thing about this. As dance club dub stuff it works fine, but we have to wait till Bill Laswell shows up a few years later to get your actual memorable songs. Levene's guitar is good though.

I like that song Rise by PIL so I was interested in this one. But this is a bad album. Lifeless, insufferable, unimaginative, pointless. Really bad.

Ugly

Bass and drums are great. The bass is the best part, really. Vocals are shockingly horrible. Banshees and yodeling have sounded better. Guitar is very hit and miss.

Way more new wave than Sex Pistols. Always think of this British show in early 80s that mtv used to play. I didn’t get it in my early teens. I’d like to revisit it but can’t think of the name of it.

Fun avante-garde post punk. Reeks of Joy Division - that's no bad thing! 4 - a good album even among this list

Very bad

DNF - I just don’t need this in my life, ergo, it’s a 1

Bwah, te zagerig voor mij

Heel chaotisch

good album good songs

Definitely a grower

Felt like a chore. :/

Maybe this was influential to the 80s and that new wave sound but not for me

This is shit, all over the place with terrible vocals. Only positive note was some of the bass. 😜😛😒

Rotten and crew surprised me with this one. I wasn't expecting much here. It's like they finally got some sleep. Tightened up the sound, let those instrumentals breathe. I still wouldn't queue it up again anytime soon though. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions - Albatross - Swan Lake - Poptones

This is interesting, in theory, I should absolutely love this album, it is very influential when we talk about post-punk. And don't get me wrong, this is a good, enjoyable piece of art. I think it will take some time to soak in, one things I don't like is vocal performance, but considering all of that this is still probably easy 3 stars.

Post-punk and experimental rock built from cavernous basslines, jagged guitars, dub-inspired rhythms, and detached vocals feels like exploring the concrete corridors of an abandoned industrial complex where every room echoes differently. The album constantly experiments with space, texture, and repetition, making it resist easy enjoyment. Its cold atmosphere and unconventional structures create a uniquely abrasive world.

complete and utter dogshit, couldnt even finish the first song

Tengo muchas cosas para decir. Cada vez que pensé en este álbum hoy se me fueron las ganas de escuchar música. Intentaron hacer canciones que sean inescuchables y lo lograron. Ninguna de las canciones de este disco está en el top 10 canciones más escuchadas de la banda, entonces llega la pregunta ¿por qué carajos está en esta lista? No sé, espero nunca saberlo, porque no hay ninguna chance que alguien haya escuchado eso entero y lo haya disfrutado, prefiero cualquier género de mierda, al menos son graciosos.

I was pogo dancing in my car.

Nevermind the bullocks, this is pretty good.

I get it but I don't.

Albatross 3.5 Memories 3.4 Swan Lake 3.5 Poptones 3.6 Careering 3.3 No Birds 3.4 Graveyard 3.3 The Suit 3 Bad Baby 3.4 Socialist/Chant/Radio 4 3.6 Score: 3.4

Me gusto, nose si lo psicodelico es muy lo mio,y la voz en muchos temas no me gustaban, pero me gusto la busqueda, y todo junto medio que lo disfrute, sentia que era una re peli.

For love of god, put this man out of his misery (and more importantly mine). Make it stop

My heart plummeted like a stone when I saw the opening track was 10mins long, and it didn’t get any better from there. The mix is weird, with the vocals (such as they are) almost being drowned out - which may be a blessing. But really, this was just noise.

That was absolutely abysmal. I might hate it more than that Liars album. The lyrics to Albatross including the phrase "You are unbearable" was far too on the nose. 1/5

Un clásico innovaodr, que abrió el camino del post-punk y otras cosas pero que no me gusta mucho.

not to my taste but I'd like to point out the overall consistency (leave it up to you to figure out in what sense lol)

Enjoyment: 1/10 Replayability: 1/10 Cohesion: 3/10 Flow/Pacing: 2/10 Artistic Merit: 2/10 Weighted Average: 1.55/10 Review: I am truly at a loss of words for this. If I barely appreciate punk as is, then post-punk is completely aloof to me. I do not understand how this album could appeal to anyone. Liked Song(s): (None) Disliked Song(s): Albatross, Swan Lake, Careering, Graveyard, The Suit, Bad Baby, Chant Recommend? No Heard Before? No

2/10

A little too weird lol

Alt rock that does not sound of its era but also does not do much for me.

Take a few guys who are the less famous or drop out members of other famous bands...do some drugs, have the crappiest mix ever and call it experimental and post punk.

álbum insuportavel

I liked this more than I thought I would have.

John Lydon sucks, man

It's not the most interesting album I've ever heard.

This was pretty good. I was surprised it was Johnny Rotten that did this. Didn't really sound like him or his style at all on some tracks. Pretty crazy evolution of musical tastes. 7/27/26

Was dreading finishing the album after only being halfway through the first song and hating it. Then the rest of the album turned around with the great bass and drum grooves that overshadowed the unpleasant vocals.

Quite boring tbh, I can hear how PIL have influenced/informed bands that followed them but unfortunately for PIL all of those other bands seem to be a bit better than them. Also when listening to this I just imagine your average run of the mill PIL/Johnny Rotten listener and shudder. 2.0/5.0 Best Song: No Birds

I am not a fan of PIL, and i have never really understood the vibe, at its best its boring and at its worst its quite annoying

Haha, leuk hoor. Dit album stond oorspronkelijk op drie 45-toeren-vinylplaten die samen in een rond koekblik zaten. In die zin zeer verstandig omdat de luisteraar dan per plaatkant kon beslissen of hij nog verder wilde luisteren of dat hij het voor gezien hield. En dat moet levens gered hebben, want als er één album is waarvan ik zeg 'dit is gemaakt om mensen ertoe aan te zetten om zichzelf van kant te maken', dan is dit het wel. Saai gejengel op een bedje van takkedrums, met afschuwelijk geblaat bij wijze van zang. Driewerf gadverdamme. Dit soort bagger zal ik niet missen als we straks klaar zijn.

Bij No Birds is het duidelijk dat er geen vogeltje zingt. Bij Bad Baby horen we inderdaad de krijsende baby goed terug in de zangstijl. Dit soort nummers zijn niet te compenseren. 1 ster

Ik vind eigenlijk de opname van 1 album van PiL al iets teveel van het goede, laat staan 2. Volgens wiki wordt dit album beschouwd als een "landmark release in post-punk history". Oftewel, een grondlegger. Tja, dat levert niet altijd de meest luisterenswaardige albums op, maar we gaan het meemaken. Johnny Rotten klinkt gelijk alsof hij aan het ijlen is op het nummer Albatross, wat me aandoet als een soort Joy Division sound-a-like. Net als op het debuutalbum is de ritme-sectie op zich prima in orde. Johnny Rotten is zijn talentloze zelf. Je snapt niet waar die man de uitverkiezingen in de snoblijst aan verdiend heeft. Vervolgens volgen de nummers elkaar op en klinken eigenlijk redelijk hetzelfde. Hetzelfde ritme, dezelfde ijlende krijszang van Johnny Rotten. En toch vind ik het wel iets hebben, want het ritme is lekker, bezwerend, ik knik ongemerkt en ongewild toch iets mee met mijn hoofd. Ik moet bekennen dat ik dit toch wel tof vind om te luisteren. Als het wat korter was geweest, dan had ik het misschien zelfs een 4 kunnen geven. Plus het feit dat ik het wsch nooit uit mezelf nog eens op zou zetten, maakt dat ik een 3 geef. Maar hey, het had ook een 1 kunnen zijn, dus Sjonnie mag niet klagen.

It’s rare for a record to succeed in being both completely uninteresting and simultaneously painful to listen to, but this manages to be both. Despite my understanding of John Lyndon being consistently a monumental blemish upon society I went into this with an open mind. Unfortunately, my ears were also open. Ouch:

I already wrote a review of this album, it was pretty lengthy, which made me annoyed but whatever. This will expand on it after talking to people about the album. This album feels like a convoluted mess, but maybe intentionally... that's the point of it. The first part of this is inexcusable. the drummer(s) shouldn't of been on the record. Their energy and general playing just doesn't compliment the album at all, and at times they drag to the point where it is notable on several tracks on the album. This being herald as one of the best albums with that scrappy of playing profounds me, like THIS quality is what peeps like the rolling stones thinks is acceptable????? Finding out that the singer of this is... the guy from the Sex Pistols shocked me. Why is the singing just THAT much worse then the singing in that band. It might be for artistic reasons due to the experiential nature of the project, but still... god this just doesn't please my ears. Guitar is just either bland or just really out of place in the songs? The only saving redemption this album has is the bassist. Jah Wobble I thank you for sacrificing yourself for this project. Hopefully you were like in the studio "well this sounds like shit but at least i can make this bearable". the tone, the note choices and just the whole vibe of the playing really made me not HATE HATE this album. it made the tracks where the bass playing was absent just that much worse. i might flip a coin for my score... it's really bordering the worst albums that i've heard on this list.

Actually, listening to the first few tracks fresh was an experience that wasn't that bad. However, as the album went on and it became more nonsensical, my interest in that sound eroded. Now I can only hear an incoherent mess that they call "improvising", with any semblance of sense coming from the bass guitarist. I'm sure this was a welcome break from their more commercial projects for these artists (the Sex Pistols for John Lydon and the Clash for Julian Levene), but it was not a welcome break for my ears.

Gave me a headache

Depressing noise, maybe I just don't understand. When reading a summary about the album, Apple music said this was basically a masterpiece. Mostly I think it's shite.

It's an interesting footnote in the history of music that John Lydon went on from the Sex Pistols to make such a different style of music, but not a particularly enjoyable one to listen to.

I was considering giving this a 2 for the creative effort and curiosity factor, despite not doing much for me musically. That was before the metallic drone in Bad Baby made me think my A/C compressor was dying in the middle of a heat wave.

This is by definition ass. Singer ass, drummer ass, guitarist ass, bassist eh kind of ass, every song loud chaotic ass. Ass/10

If this were any other Sex Pistol, I might give it another star, but Johnny Rotten gets no more than one.

I'd like someone to explain to me what they like about this and why it should be included in this list.

1.25 - Not the worst thing on this list, but I'm not listening to that again.

Ultimately pretty painful to listen to. RYM: N Saved a song: N

Vocals let it down for me. Some nice basslines though.

Disco for people who hate going out? It sounds very abrasive at first but I found it quite hypnotic over time. There's very little mid frequency - very low bass, very high guitars - and thankfully Mr. Rotten doesn't dominate but adds to the atmosphere. Can hear parts of this all over 2000s releases by the likes of The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem. Fav tracks: Swan Lake, Radio 4

Simultaneously full of themselves and lazy.

Holy shit this was bad. I cannot stand the "singers" voice and the music is almost worse. Just all around a terrible listening experience.

I wanted to give this some credit for the bass playing, but listening to Johnny Rotten try to be a serious artist or whatever is a massive chore.

different. punk? english.

This is a tough one to evaluate for me. On one hand, I liked it. On the other, I can't imagine the circumstances when I'd intentionally listen again. There's some weird shit in here, but not weird shit that's bad. I really appreciate the grooves and dub feel. I had to read the band's Wikipedia article in order to find out this is Johnny Rotten, a former Clash member, and Jah Wobble. This doesn't make the album any more or less enjoyable, but it gives it context to better understand what's happening here. As this album goes on, I'm really starting to get into this. I can't describe what I like, but it's now in my personal collection.

Like something between sex pistols and joy division, very angsty

all the songs are too long and just not sonically interesting. i appreciate the attempt to throw out very experimental ideas and try to make it work, but it doesn’t work at all for me. boring and annoying to listen to.

Not a fan

Yeah, that's gonna be a 1 from me, dawg.

Ok psychedelia

Public Image works best in small doses. That's why this maximalist examination of their sound - the mechanical drums, spindly guitar passages courtesy of the late great Keith Levene, and some absolutely stellar bass playing by Jah Wobble - is a fairly challenging lesson. Everything works well in isolation. When put together and topped off by Lydon's shrill, keening tenor, the whole album sounds like the band is clashing against each other for the full hour. You could almost dance to the songs here given their length and underlying groove, but the top part - that is, Lydon and Levene - make it exceptionally difficult. Even the physical release of this album, released on a triple LP with about 10 minutes of music on each side and stored in an abrasive metal container that slowly wore away at the records, was intended to make this music as challenging as possible for you, the listener. That's why the shortest songs work the best magic on this album: they don't overstay their welcome and the discordant sound is much easier to stomach. I'm not averse to harsh, abrasive music, but Metal Box veers into annoying territory more often than not, especially as John Lydon - whose voice I can only compare to an evil grandmother's - is more subdued and lets the rhythmic, interlocking instrumentals shine. This was a harder listen than I was anticipating even though I liked about half of the songs here. The influence on the post-punk that followed is palpable: for starters, Killing Joke owe a fair bit to this album. To my ears, Public Image Ltd. does have a good album in their catalogue, but it's not this one. I much prefer The Flowers of Romance for its succinctness and punchier sound. Key Tracks: Albatross, Memories, Careering, Socialist

More shite!

I like my dissonant noodling, but this is a bit to repetetive

i always kinda wondered why PiL's early legacy seems relatively untainted by the plummeting perception of john lydon and the sex pistols and perhaps the boring answer is just The Music Being Really Good lmao. i spent the vast majority of my time as an online music nerd not rly getting post punk and even performing a kind of disdain for it, but ive rly come around to some of it in the past couple years...particularly the children of joy division who do the hypnotic grooves where u can just lay down and pick out each instrument while listening. its a very similar appeal to krautrock, which was clearly a huge influence on this record. each track casts its own kind of spell that leaves a Physical imprint on me, i felt frequently like the way by body was reacting to the music was more important than my conscious perception of it. its a pretty demanding listen, but soothing on my autism in a way that made me kinda sad when it was over. perhaps johnny and """jah wobble""" were good for smth after all

First listen I hated this. But I was listening on a set of tinny bone conducting headphones outside in the wind. So I gave it another chance on a decent set of noise cancelling headphones. And it WAS an improvement with a richer sound and great bass. But the fundemental problem is the same. The tracks are far too long. And all over the place. I think the reason John Lydon's voice worked in the Sex Pistols was because everything was 3 minutes. On this they wring the life out of every track and Lydon's voice itself become less impactful and more grating. It's such a shame, because I have loved a lot of the later stuff PiL did. SO don't give up, John and the boys, you CAN do it! This isn't it though.

Классно, что это реально продавалось в металическом боксе. Прочитала, что изначально была идея напечатать тираж на наждачной бумаге, чтобы альбом портил соседние пластинки, но от этой идеи отказались. Прикольно, что после эту идею все-таки воплотили Factory. Но музыка просто норм. Другие песни нравятся больше. Тут ощущение, что это все одна медленная версия песни группы rapture. И это плюс.

как-то средне - 3

Perusing through the reviews from this community on this album, I’ve determined there are two types of listeners: one that approaches a new album with expectations for what it should sound like, and one that approaches a new album eager to hear what it does sound like. An album like this will disappoint the first listener, because it doesn’t sound like anything else and isn’t pleasant to listen to, and the second listener will likely appreciate hearing something novel that expands the listener’s musical horizons. Those complaining that “the songs are too long” seem to not realize that they were likely not asked by the band how long the songs should be. This is not easily digestible pop ear candy (Poptones, if you will allow). This music takes some work to digest, but it’s worth it for the pretty incredible bass lines and atmospheric sounds throughout the record. Poptones in particular is an incredible song in my opinion, but every song is killer here.

Demasiao pa mi body

Disliked it at first, but have since gone warm to it. 3/5

Well that certainly was very long and very repetitive.

this was fine but bloated

The kind of album that I know is influential, but just feels like a slog to get through

There is a bit of The Slits on Metal Box if you really listen closely. This is the kind of art rock I like. It's abstract and the sounds are cool. I think a bit of editing for time could have made this a masterpiece but it's a bit long. Or perhaps they could have leaned even more into the vibe and created something truly daring.

5. Could’ve just as easily been a 1. I wasn’t enjoying this album, especially not Poptones (more like Pooptones cuz it was shitty), but at some point it clicked and I found myself quite enjoying it. The original packaging is a cool, unique idea. Johnny Lydon is a cunt, no doubt, but this is still an impressive work.

While listening to this album I kept going back and forth between this is one of the best bass lines in have ever heard and why is this song so long and terrible. With some editing or cutting the length of some of the songs I think this would have been better.

Not terrible, definitely a more interesting band than the Sex Pistols. Some echos of Joy Division. Favorite song is "Memories"

Overall: 2/10 Giving this a 2/10 cause it takes a special talent to make something this dogshit. Favourite Song: Memories (the only song I actually enjoyed)

Wow, for an album that was hardly produced and hardly prepared for, that is stellar. If only they put more time into it or cut a few of the songs though

The singer makes this practically unlistenable. It was a slog.

Better than Coldplay

The music was okay but the singing was off-key. I can hear other genres in this, such as 80s goth and darkwave so they were definitely influential.

This style is starting to grow on me. Probably won’t always seek it out but this one hit. I’m putting three on it but could easily advance after a few more listens.

New one for me which was surprisingly quite enjoyable and fun to listen to.

This really shows how much of the Sex Pistols was really Malcolm McLaren. Without him John Lydon is just an insufferable asshole with studio time.

pretty weird, not as good as their other one from what I remember Will I listen to again: 30%

Clearly massively influential and I can hear the genesis of so many bands that I really enjoy in this. But as an album it lacks charm or excitement really. Perhaps if I were 10–15 years older I'd have gotten in to this when it was released and I'd love it. As it is I'd like to find something to like in it a bit more 3 stars for the influence, but it's only just getting the three.

Metal Box, or Second Issue, is such a wild project much like design used to initially distribute this wild and exceptionally weird sophomore album from Public Image Ltd (PiL). Much like the packaging, this album is wonky and weird even for today's standards on Post-Punk. Even with the strangeness of the music I feel there is a lot to be desired from Metal Box that I could easily achieve by relistening to First Issue again. It is dark, mind scratching 1 hour long experiment into the most uncharted territory Post-Punk had ever seen since the genre started exploding in 1977. While I may be mixed on the whole production standpoint of this project, when I say this album is worth it to hear for the bass playing I really mean that. This album was BUMPING and made a lot of the very strange tracks somewhat groovy and unusually danceable. Metal Box is a very important release as it showed some of the finest creativity and artistry working together to create something that still feels very unique and one of a kind to this very day. I have a lot of respect for this project even if my feelings are quite lukewarm.

I wouldn't call it good music.

The Good: There’s a box… and we like boxes The Bad: It’s of metal when we prefer cardboard. The Ugly: My Public Image… Why is this album on this list? It has totally fucked with my rating for that decade as I can’t give this album a 3* just to break even. Johnny Rotten should have stuck with the Sex Pistols… oh wait, they couldn’t, because they were all strung out or already dead… Here’s to today’s album being a better listen! 2*

Moody stuff

Really liked this, glad it came up. Loads of interesting ideas, works quite well as a collage. Definitely stuff I could play on radio if the mood was right.

Forgettable

I hated this. I listened to the whole thing, but I have to say that I would definitely leave the room if I heard it playing again.

Not for me

Sounds like a vehicle John Lydon’s unhinged voices. Music doesn’t have to be easy listening, but joy, interest, memory, something… When I want this I’ll put on Joy Division instead, or just stick with the Sex Pistols.

if I cannot log the album, not gonna try and chase it.... I didn't like PIL anyway,,,

this like the most tense anxiety enducing albums i've ever listened to. i do find the vocals a bit grating, but i do enjoy the janky ass production. theres some really funky shit on here. this like my favorite type of punk, the really odd and surreal shit. not my favorite album on this im glad i got to experience it tho

Sounds like a bad take from a rehearsal room with a guy making up the words as he goes along. Quite painful actually.

If I had to design a universally bothersome experience, I would start by playing this album in a waiting room and embellish from there.

not my thing

Rise by PiL is an amazing, classic song. Solid music, great lyrics, fascinating instrumentation including early guitar work by Steve Vai, and the trademark Johnny Rotten snarl. Rise is not on this album. Basically every song on this sucks, using the term song loosely. And it's super long. Rounding down for length.

JFC, what a slog.

I missed PiL in their heyday, and when I finally got around to listening to Metal Box ~20 years ago, my reaction basically amounted to ???. While I appreciate the radical left turn John Lydon took post-Sex Pistols, I didn't (and don't) enjoy it. Jah Wobble's bass is the star here, and while there are moments I can get into, my original verdict stands: pass.

Well... It has Jah Wobble, and I thought his other album on this list was excellent... And there were a few parts that reminded me of Joy Division and Talking Heads... And it's not the agonizing country that the algorithm has been relentlessly foisting upon us lately... BUT... I can't say this was an especially enjoyable experience from start to finish... I think maybe it's the combination of its length and lack of structure that makes it feel more like a chore to complete than something you'd want to voluntarily return to for pleasure... Ultimately, it feels more like ad-libbed experimentation than a complete product... Final verdict: points for some interesting ideas, but huge deductions for lazy underdevelopment...

Man these guys are long winded. This severely needed to be edited and polished to give this a passing grade

Pretty good, you know

Not sure what the fuck this was supposed to be. Maybe they accidentally sent their rehearsal tapes to the pressing plant.

2.4

Singing quality is poor - mostly talk-singing. The music itself is a bit chaotic.

Unconstrained John Lyndon, pushes the boundaries but not for me

Not something that I can imagine repeatedly listening to, but definitely interesting. Heavy - HEAVY dub bass throughout.

i'm neither experimental nor avantgarde

Very chaotic

Previously unknown. Just did not land for me.

I'm certain there is something worthwile here, but I can't find it.

sounds like a couple wankers who wish they were the Clash

Shit like the makes me question this journey

Just really bad

its absolute trash, the first track is awful and its like 10 minutes long... with the second song i already have enough...

2 a wee bit boring

I unfortunately thought this was quite good but the seething brings it down to a 3 in the end

Started off real obnoxious but I liked the second half. I think I like the fuck off energy of the Sex Pistols a little bit more.

interestingly terrible for me. I want to give it a 1 but it gets a 2 for at least being interesting I guess.

my hatred for john lydon may border on irrational. if anyone else was at the front of this project i'd adore it but i couldn't get through it. 3 stars because everyone else on this seems to be killing it.

Obv experimental, but kinda unlistenable. Not quite well constructed enough to apologize for its roughness

2 I get that this was hugely influential and I could see the ways that so many bands i like were inspired, but I just would rather be listening to any of those bands. This sucks. And any good will that it would get from me for the influence is canceled out by John lydon being a complete bellend

Not my kind of music

No sé loco. No sé.

I love that PIL was saying something not only with this album or that album, this song or that song, but with their entire career. Led by the frontman of a band created in a lab, Public Image Ltd was repeatedly questioning the relationship between performers and those performed upon, posers and consumers, and pushing down all the props on the stage. (Last couple albums, maybe not as much, but I blame the 80s for that.) This album is really, really good, and it’s like nothing else in their catalog. It flips the musical script in so many ways. It’s post-punk but also post-post-punk and probably anti-punk. It sounds like an ancestor of trip hop, with its hypnotic, atmospheric grooves. It’s intriguing and innovative, and it sounds great. It was originally a double album but clocking in at just one hour, it’s quite manageable. Only the last track tested my patience. Otherwise, I’m all in… and have been for a long time.

This album takes every post punk element and moves from the angsty garage into a wigwam. Lydon comes across more like a shaman than a lead singer, guiding you through hypnotic sound poems of rebellious lament, cynicism, and critique. And Jah Wobble does anything but wobble with the most compelling baselines you'll hear in years. I get that this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this album isn't for everyone. PIL is putting a definitive stamp on the genre with a significantly different approach. If it clicks for you, everything else will fall into place.

Good bass the vocal work is rough

I’ve never heard of this… I wonder why (One hour later) Oh. I know why now. I was college roommates with Johnny Rotten. Not *the* Johnny Rotten, but his name *was* John Lyden and we did call him that. He was a much better singer.

Not terrible but it feels like I am paying for someone's fooling around in the studio.

This was decidedly not for me. The singer's voice and repetitive lyrics were off putting to say the least. That said, the instrumental tracks were pretty good. I don't think I'd listen to this again or seek out their other albums. Glad to have heard this to no it's not my thing though.

- ts is the stuff you would hear at the radio and not know ngl - dont know man theyre hollering in my ears - its not hitting man im not high enough - psychedelics music only

- opening impressions… I thought the album cover would be some Aphex twin stuff, however to my surprise its bass induced alt rock??? Sounds amazing so far and super excited to get more into it. - so upon deeper research, this album has been almost like transformed into a new one under the same name of the artist. " Second Edition" by Public image Ltd. with a whole new cover too. idk why they would do this because I much prefer the original album, however we will just deal with it I guess. - a famous redditer once said, "And isn't that was avant-garde post-punk is all about?" and to that I say hell yeah. - Never heard anything like this before. I think that's why I love it. PropTones is hitting rn. - really cool album however relisten quality low bc its hard to get into... Also most songs are ez skips. - Radio 4 is like a resolution to the madness. Its a peaceful conclusion to the album.

straight poop

Quite possibly the worst thing I've ever listened to. And I've listened to Throbbing Gristle. Further proof that John Lydon is a hack.

Ни о чем . 5/10

I love this! Post punk reveals the aesthetes that emerged from the punk scene who paved the way for New Wave. There is a true appreciation for beauty buried inside all of the cold repetition. Death Disco still gets me going!

It's like a bad talking heads. Not terrible, but certainly not anything fantastic

Fine but forgettable

This music sucks. I tried.

It got to the point of being so trash that it almost tricked me into thinking ts was lowkey fire. Will never take a 2nd listen it was all a bunch of garbage.

4/10 Pretty mellow. Spotify is missing a couple songs from the album, which is weird. Overall okay.

3⭐️/5 [05.28.2026] 06.08.2026

Demonic disco!

Good

It’s post punk and classic but not for me

I'm tired boss...

"We're anti-establishment! So, what does the music establishment usually like?" "I know, there's harmony, rhythm, phrasing, melodies, and timing. Those all tend to make for catchy songs." "Great, let's do away with all that. Down with the machine!!!"

You don't come here for the words. It's all about the music. Levene and Wobble made something new.

Record store employee music. If Joy Division is just too polished for you, give this a listen! I knew nothing about the band before listening. My impression after a few tracks, decent rhythm section with some of the worst vocals and guitar ever recorded. Got better towards the end. I saw another review that said it was almost unlistenable but also fascinating, that pretty much sums it up for me. I did find a track to add to my 1001 playlist, the one instrumental without any guitar, "Socialist"

Couldn’t do it. Like if the Talking Heads and Television were way worse.

Not my favorite. Very strange.

Primera y última vez que pienso escuchar este álbum en mi vida. Le habría dado un mejor puntaje si no fuese porque las canciones que no me gustaron fueron un aburrimiento total (eso que soy una persona que disfruta de canciones largas, pero llega un punto donde se vuelve un exceso si ni siquiera hay un intento de hacer que sea divertido escucharlas). ↑: Memories, Graveyard, Radio 4. ↓: Poptones, The Suit, Chant.

Is it wrong that I am enjoy this album more because of how interesting its packaging is? Innovative and weird are the two adjectives I would use to describe this album. That's readily apparent by just looking at the unusual metal canister in which the album was initially released, or from hearing that they originally wanted the record sleeve to be made from sandpaper. The tracks are long and meandering in a very intriguing way, and it is definitely a unique sonic experience. Favorite track: "Albatross"

I know Jesse won’t like this album, but it’s a classic, best PIL album, backing band are excellent and Johns haunting voice, I saw PIL in Feb 2026 in Cambridge, great show, I had metal box at one time too on vinyl, but sold it for £80…..

I hate post punk so much make it stop. Starting off terribly, the screeching guitar and god awful vocals mesh horribly with the bass and drum groove. I don't understand how someone can actually like this it's like the band is trying to make you want to kill yourself. There is zero variety here it's just the same putrid drone for TEN MINUTES?? The next track is a little better, because the band sounds completely different with now better guitar tones and singing styles. I actually like that one a little. It stays pretty good for a couple songs, with the bass massively carrying them to make up for the terrible vocals. Then the singer is finally silenced as the two groovy instrumentals screech for a few minutes, which aren't too bad. Now we're back to another creepy drone song, which just leaves me bored and upset. No Birds was pretty good, Chant was terrible, but the closing track was actually pretty beautiful. The bass playing was definitely the best part of the listen, making every track decent enough to give this album a 2.

Albatross - 4 Memories - 4 Swan lake - 4 Poptones - 2 Careering - 2 Socialist - 2 Graveyard - 3 The suit - 2 Bad baby -3 No birds - 3 Chant - 2 Radio 4 - 3

Avant garde punk? Why, Johnny, why?

Slashing biting guitars from Keith Levene, dark dub bass from Jah wobble, trancy krautrock drumming, and snarling vocals from John Lydon - foundational formula for dancey post punk - jammy and loose songs with a bit a disco remix approach of stretching out the dance bit, but with a squall of guitar riffs and noise. Reverby and kind of muddy production makes it sound like a rave happening a mile away under a highway. A total racket. Great fun.

I can see this being a stronger album than 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦. 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘹 sounds more focused and more confident in what it’s trying to do, especially with the heavy basslines and hypnotic repetition. Atmospherically, it’s much more effective, and it’s easy to hear why the album became so influential for post-punk. My main issue is still John Lydon. His vocals constantly make the album harder to connect with for me, to the point where it becomes difficult to really enjoy. There’s clearly a strong idea behind the whole thing, but I end up appreciating it more in theory than in practice.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m all for experimental post punk. But this album was unbearable to listen to…the directionless guitar riffs (if you can really call it that on this record) and nasally throat screaming vocals made this listen a slog to get through. I will admit that the excellent bass and drums were the only redeemable parts of this piece. I’ll return to this record if I want to end up like Van Gogh by cutting off my ears to end the suffering of listening to this garbage.

Another dud. I didn't enjoy this.

Meh too industrial for me..

Better than Tical, and Albatross is a great track. Otherwise, PiL not my faves. 3 "barely tolerable" stars.

2026.05.20-21

Combining a lot of things i dislike here: 1) John Lydon 2) Poor vocals 3) Post punk where melody is abandoned 4) A sneering attitude

Some of the guitar work was good, but overall this was not great. vocals are bad.

I'm really not sure who this album is for. I have always given things that were atonal or avant-garde a shot, and have played and enjoyed things that most people don't like. But this was too far out there for me to enjoy. I told my son that it sounded like all the musicians recorded their parts with earplugs in and then just said, "yep, we're done." I saw that this group has another album on this list and I'm a little nervous, but that's not a problem for today-me.

A stunning post punk masterpiece. Bass heavy and pioneering

Eins hressandi og Sex Pistols voru þá sýnir þetta hversu lélegir tónlistarmenn þeir voru. Það var hluti af sjarmanum hjá Sex Pistols en þarna virkar það ekki því þeir eru að reyna að vera alvarleg hljómsveit án þess að geta það.

Fav- pop tones 2/5

3.5/10

Not found on Amazon or apple.

It sounds different, at times bordering on annoying. I liked it.

What is this? Distance and weird lyrics. Groovy bass lines and odd tuned whining guitar. I'm being reminded of the doors, the clash and nails on a chalkboard. Ok this kept getting worse.

For better and worse, this album really captures the feeling of noodling on a guitar in your bedroom. It feels like writing a song. Unfortunately it also feels like they never finished writing those songs and just kept droning on the same idea for way too long. There's absolutely somebody out there for whom this is The Jam but that somebody is not me.

it just kinda goes on and on huh settled on a two largely because I like the bass in this. other bands will eventually make better music that kind of sounds like this* so it's not entirely without merit but johnny rotten sucks and I don't think this ends up on the list without the sex pistols connection sorry I listened to it again and it's a one actually * it all sucks until they realize the missing ingredient is goth rock

Lydon’s best work apart from Country Life butter

Gave up after about five “songs”. Nonsense.

Load of shit.

Emetic

A real rollercoaster, some of it sounded intentionally awful but I really liked some of it so I guess 3 is fair

The auditory equivalent of wandering a modern art gallery. I have no doubt that some people might rave about each song, letting me know all the detail I have missed or that I am insufficiently cultured to appreciate, but this just felt like a bad night listening to John Peel on Radio 1.

Oh good, more obscure 80s britpop! -No One Ever "Sowing the seeds of discontent//I know you very well, you are unbearable" -Albatross

I have listened to a few public image albums like Happy, Album and 9. This is definitely from the early avantgarde part of their career, and I do appreciate the avoidance of radio friendliness in many of the songs, I also enjoy it where a song has a repeating percussion/bassline sequence while Johnny Rotten blares out some kinda ridiculous lyrics. It should sound pretentious but it actually works. I still prefer their more commercial records though but they do occasionally go back to their early sound, especially on recent albums like This is PIL and What the World Needs Now.

When it's good it's very good, but it's too often too long and repetitive. Bad off tune vocals, which I understand was part of Lydon's shtick, but great drums.

This is post-punk in its purest form to me - anxious, mechanical, repetitive, and groovy as all fuck. After an admittedly dull start on Albatross, I was pretty much grooving for the entire rest of the album.

This was very annoying. A bunch of guys just fucking around on various instruments while not really knowing how to structure nor finish a song. Several songs where they just kept playing the same thing over and over, making it longer than it had to be. Then, the two songs that were under 4 mins (Graveyard and Socialist) were actually trending in a positive direction but they abruptly ended. I didn’t even want to mention the drunk British man moaning in half the songs but he probably took it from a 2 to a 1.

The one nice thing about Second Issue is that it's much more rhythm-focused than the first (at least in the front half). Let it be an introduction to Dub if it must, but nobody should have to endure John Lydon to enjoy meaty, hypnotic bass grooves and drums!! Standouts: Albatross • Swan Lake • Poptones

Kills me to say this but this is awful. I REALLY liked their first album and I felt that it was being abrasive for a reason and that they had something to tell us. This caught my attention immediately with some incredible riffs but I felt that it eventually turned into noise for the sake of noise. Couldn't finish.

Really interesting instrumentation and some pretty nice grooves, but then the vocalist starts up and the whole thing goes to shit.

outoa kerrontaa välillä

Wtf does avant garde post punk even mean thats a double oxymoron and it sounds horrible

Als hätten John Lennon und Yoko Ono ein gemeinsames Album herausgebracht, das nur aus jedem zweiten Song besteht.

Favorite songs: Memories, Radio 4

Well for starters, Albatross definitely didn’t have to go first. It was kind of daunting right out of the gate for a first timer. Most of the rest was pretty groovy though! Idk man. Swan Lake is cool, Radio 4 is cool, Chant and some of the other stuff kind of drove me bananas. Not quite my favorite! I might go back to PIL at some point but maybe not this record.

The bass sounds absolutely perfect on here is you're even remotely a post-punk fan, those jagged shards of guitar all over the place do a good job of creating a foreboding atmosphere, the only problem is that Lydon's vocals are better suited for the Sex Pistols than they are for something like this. Listening to this, I can totally hear how many of my favorite bands echo it (especially Pylon, whose basslines I was hearing all through this), but it falls just short of greatness on its own. On the other hand, it really didn't feel like it was an entire hour, which is always nice!

1. albatrozz - 2 2. memoriez - 1 3. zuuan - 2 4. pop - 1 5. career - 1 6. birdz - 1 7. grave - 2 8. zuit - 0 9. zocializt - 0 10. radio - 1

Memories Swan Lake Poptones Careering The Suit

Joy Division. Too long. The Suit

I liked this more than I was expecting! I think the guitars were a bit trebbley for me and they were the only thing that was so it really stuck out. Amazed what Mr Rotten's vocals can actually do - he's better than I thought!

Prison food. 2/5

I don’t understand much in music, you know. I’ve heard post-punk music earlier and I generally know what avant-garde stands for in art, but I had absolutely no idea what I was going to listen to today. And all that 1s in reviews wasn’t very promising. But the idea that kinda made me want to start this album a day challenge in the first place is that we shouldn’t be afraid to expose ourselves to the uncomfortable art. It was said about cinema, but it obviously does work with any other medium as well. And generally I think it’s important to be open to new experiences. And, oh, boy, that was quite an experience. Firstly, everyone who was saying that these tracks could be shorter, you’re fools and know about music even less than I do. Next, I don’t know how these guys did it, but I was shivering and almost cried while listening to Radio 4, I need it to be longer. And finally, I understand why this album is hardly likeable, it’s intense and it isn’t trying to be nice to the listener. But it’s so undeniably artistic. Maybe it speaks to me because I’m from Eastern Europe and this sound resonates with my environment. Maybe if you’d want to give this album another chance, try listening to it on a gloomy day, in some industrial setting, like seaport or some factory. Maybe you’ll feel it then.

⭐ Bas och trummor utmärker sig för att inte vara dåligt, men det som är bra slutar där. Monoton repetitiv sång som är krävande att lyssna på, känns snällt att kalla det för sång från Lydon, inga direkta melodier, spår som känns som en evighet, fast de egentligen inte är så långa. Vill bara att albumet ska ta slut så jag kan räkna med det som en lyssning i projektet men det är otroligt nog 1h långt. Blev trött när jag såg att bandet har ett till album på listan. Det blir en 1a.

Not available

Awful

Meh. Not in the mood for this.

Ikke lige mig. Nogle af numrene var et vibe, men albummet fangede mig ikke lige. Synes også at det var en lidt hård start med et 10 minutters nummer

Yeahhhh…. I absolutely appreciate what the Pistols did in rock history. PiL? Not so much.

Album #144 Public Image Ltd.: Metal Box After changing the state of popular music with the Sex Pistols, John Lydon decided to join a band that could actually play music. Though the Sex Pistols promised to turn music on its head and provide unregulated, vulgar, and edgy music, in hindsight, everything they did was quite tame. Metal Box, however, shows Lydon at his true boundary pushing peak, which is why it’s no surprise that this album was not even remotely as successful as the Sex Pistols were. Metal Box is a grim album, with not much to grasp onto. It’s sort of like Joy Division, but with even less melody and even less production. The closest album it reminds me of is The Idiot by Iggy Pop; they both just sound like they need a shower. Though this album has a lot more artistic merit than the Sex Pistols, I’d be lying if I said I prefer listening to it. After Careering, the tracks don’t really do much for me, that is, until the instrumental medley at the end, which is great. Overall, I can definitely see people not liking this at all, but since I’m quite partial to post-punk and coldwave, I actually quite enjoyed it. Best Tracks: Swan Lake, Poptones, Memories Worst Track: Bad Baby Score out of 10: 7.5

Nok det bedste sex pistols adjacent album jeg har hørt, meget bedre lyd end på deres første album

Virkelig fed kaospunk, holder så meget bedre end Sex Pistols gør.

Started off well, but felt a bit boring towards the end.

Horrid droning swill.

I actually didn’t mind this one as much but still not my favorite. Need to catch tf up

Enjoyed more than last public image album but like still not much. Just not musical enough

Damn that was boring

I feel like the concepts were very cool and the sounds had some influential elements but overall this was brutal together as a whole and rough as a migraine haver

Not bad, not bad. The interesting noises and instrumentals (especially that beautiful bass) scratched my brain in all the right ways and elevated the record for me. Can't say there was ever a dull moment (though the guitars did start taking on a sharp droning quality after a while). It started to get tiring during the second half and I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals. However, I can definitely respect it's innovation and it landed pretty well overall. I think more than anything, I liked how it challenged me and my current music taste.

cant be that good considering that its not on spotify and the other album of theirs on this list that is on spotify is straight butt

Truly hated it and was so mystified and intrigued and hooked, wild listen worth the long play time

500th album! Both PIL albums within one week! I like this one a little more than their debut. More post punk, less Sex Pistols. Favorite track: Memories 3.5/5

Huh. It's certainly odd. I like the wobbly bass lines, and some of the drums are cool. It does sound like every member of the band wrote their own songs in the same tempo and played them simultaneously. I don't abhor this, but I can't say I like it, or really want to listen again. Interesting how John Lydon (née Rotten) sings on this—he sounds rather Buzzcocks-y at times (though without their pop songwriting chops). I can see the appeal if I lived in a certain time period and if I were a certain kind of person—but avant-garde music needs to straddle that line between challenging and enjoyable, and I think this is pretty squarely in the "challenging" camp.

I have literally no idea what to expect from these guys. I thought it was either gonna be Hip Hop or Electronica based on the band name, but according to the tags it's neither? This is like my 7th album of today, I'm literally speedrunning trying to catch up, so I am a little burnt out, but maybe the euphoria of this being the last one I'm hearing today will boast my enjoyment? we'll see. I'm gonna be real, I'm gonna give this a 4 only because I recognize it has basically all the elements to be something I could really like if I wasn't so burnt out on music rn. The Post Punk vibe, the odd lyrics Maybe I'll regret giving it a 4 and it really is closer to a 3, but idk lol. Fuck, I looked at the reviews on this site and now I'm second guessing myself? I guess I'll give it a 3? idk I need a music break, I'm gonna watch Jujustu Kaisen now

I enjoy arty atonal shit but an hour of very similar sounding arty atonal shit is a bit much

Off the wall a bit, but man the base is incredible. Think I like post-punk

No está mal, pero me dio un poco igual. Tiene buenas canciones y los ritmos están padres, pero terminó cansándome un poco.

Actually horrible lmao what the fuck

whats even going on in this music? 2/5

A mixed bag. Let’s start with the one positive. The bass/drum work is excellent on occasion. The rhythms are catchy and energetic. Now the negatives… Some of the songs are far too long and they don’t need to be. It makes the album feel like a vanity project The vocals are awful throughout. Histrionic and meretricious. Either a slow wailing style or a comedy punk style. Neither is bearable for long. One of the most unoriginal albums on this list so far. Lydon listened to some Joy Division and thought he could do the same. He couldn’t. His presence brings the album down a whole lot. Not the worst album on this list. There was potential here, but the band made several bad decisions and blew it. A wasted opportunity. What a shame.

About 5 songs in, its all a bit samey. The bass guitar is the stand out

Too subdued for me. When I experience a John Lydon project I expect wild eyed avant garde, wild eyed punk or wild eyed trying to sell me butter.

Easily twice as long as it needed to be. Also, just boring to me overall.

Olyssningsbar dynga

i have no idea what hes talking about but i kinda feel it

Again I've never been a fan of punk rock. I have heard some later Public Image songs I liked but there are none on this record

My favorite parts were the parts when just the instruments were doing their thang and that guy wasn’t fucking ‘singing’.

Not my thing.

Very good.

2+ Stars (6/15)

Not sure what the hell this is but it sure ain’t music I’ll tell you that for free

I’ve tried to give this a fair shake, but this is terrible. Everything goes on for far too long, and even if this was halved in length it would still be terrible - there is no development in song structure, not even a simple verse-chorus, it’s just the same four bars repeated with slight instrumental variety, whilst John Lydon whines away somewhere in the background. The sound mix is awful, and the discordance / atonal / microtonal stuff is just painful. Absolute cockwash.

3.75

Enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. Especially considering my distaste for John Lyndon. The first track was a bit of a chore, a bit more energy and a more trancey motorik groove could have fixed that. The rest of the tracks were a lot more enjoyable. If they had of nailed that krauty vibe a little better it would be a 4 or 5/5

Once I adjusted my EQ to cut out all treble it was bangin'

Weird singing over strange music. Hard pass. Best song: Graveyard

The previous Public Image album was a bit of slog with it's monotony and sometimes awful noises compiled onto it. This one still carries on with the drone-y and repetitive song structure, but does it better and gets rid of the awful sound. The bass carries this album a lot, it almost makes it some sort of Disco album. No particular favorite since it took me 3 days to completely listen to it, but the album was good enough.

Mumble punk

Didn't love or even really like most of this, but was such an odd combination of sounds/vocals I can't give it a 1. It was all over the place and that was the point of the album. 2/5

mid 3 Quite like having this on its pretty cool. Just feels like a band having a good time jamming in a practice room on a tuesday afternoon

This one was....interesting. I knew that PiL was way out there (as well as seen the album score) but didn't expect all the guitar noise or just this style in general. Honestly still not kinda sure what to think of it. Ain't bad but I don't know what I would come back here other than the groove in Swan Lake. 3/5?

Could not get through the first 2 songs

I really wish there were no vocals on this album and I'd like it a lot more Favorite Songs: Memories

Mmmmmmm

solid 4. É um álbum muito difícil de digerir em sua primeira ouvida, mas já é nítido como ele é único e explora bem o post-punk de uma forma completamente única, mergulhando quase que completamente no experimental

I'm never opening this metal box again.

Eh, weird at best. I was hopeful at first.

There are a couple of tracks worth listening to. But, overall, it's a weak effort.

One of my kids does rock band at school with other elementary and middle schoolers. It sounds exactly like this.

I'm only annoyed this has popped up on here before their first album. I like to appreciate a band's "progression" and the only other PiL I know is from later still, so I'm hearing their journey in reverse, leaving that "bridge" between the Sex Pistols and PiL as yet uncrossed. Anyway, I rarely hear a Jah Wobble bassline that I don't like, and despite some veering, whilst listening, between "nope" and "oh yes" I mainly settled into the grooves and the avant garden creativity, in spite (perhaps) of the vocals. I like the sparse sound, the little unexpected moments in the production, the hypnotic style. Jah Wobble influenced David J from Bauhaus in using dub, I would surmise? I struggled with certain tracks (side E - The Suit and Bad Baby - would NOT have made it face up onto my turntable more than once) but I'm glad to have heard this.