Metal Box

Just not my thing. Not my kind of music. Not what I look for. Not what I listen to. Simply personal preference. Someone could tell how technically brilliant it is but it wouldn't change the fact that this isn't for me. I do like Graveyard, Socialist, and Radio 4 a bit.

No me gustó

sonoridade interessante, mas tudo é muito grande deve ser chato só pela duração vai 1

Very bass heavy...

I did not think this would been good, let alone think it would this good!

Overall Rating - 2.42/5 (4.83/10). If you made all of the songs instrumentals, I'd like this album a lot better.

Shit. Fuck John Lyndon too.

what would you call this? alternative punk? Just awful, devoid of any good melody or joy.

Hey so this was awful!

first listen few tracks i liked and many i legit hated

It’s actually just not that good I shan’t be coming back to you Mr Rotten

As a fan of experimental she Avant Garde music, I can safely say this shit fucking sucks what the fuck

about time the generator gives me something properly weird and dissonant! that said i found this a bit underwhelming. the dubby influence is always welcomed by me, but after the first disc it really gets dull and falls off. Lydon isn't a good enough vocalist to carry it either. not bad but a disappointment for me. deserves to be one of the 1001? yea

This is BORING.

This sucks. Congratulations to the band if the point was to make one of the most annoying albums ever.

Idk what this is but I hate it

This album is like having a slow panic attack

The first song starts out with a cool bass line but is about 8 minutes longer than it needs to be. If you can make it through that, it doesn’t get much better from there. There are pieces of good songs here but nothing is cohesive. Can’t give it a 1.5 so I guess it’s a 2.

The bass groves in some of the songs are the only thing getting me through it. Too spicy for my liking.

“the albatross” in this case being, of course, a per-track runtime that is consistently thrice as long as would be required to make whatever musical or lyrical point we are going for, and being, unfortunately, not at all gotten-rid-of in any editing process,

What an inspiration for never ever making a new sound over the course of minutes

A pretty good bass player surrounded by people who didn’t understand the assignment

Musically this is a really interesting album, but while I get a smile each time I hear John Lydon sing, the pleasure is short-lived. I found "Albatross" unlistenable--that's the first song. The next one, "Memories" has a killer bass line and classic John Lydon vocals. Great guitar lines on "Swan Lake", and so it goes. Each song has some really cool musical characteristic, but I'm not in the mindset for an hour of punk vocals. Four stars for the music, one star demerit for a failure to make Lydon's voice less grating. :)

I did not care for this.

parece más un jammeo que un album. no me aburrió tanto como me podría haber aburrido.

2.5 stars. Misguided 80's post-punk. Leadoff "Albatross" is interesting musically at times but the vocals bring it down. Noisy "Chant" so hard to listen to.

Music was good. I did not necessarily like the vocals.

Interesting album

it’s nice to bop your head to and space out, which is how i listened

Listening to this now in 2026 is the timeline equivalent of Johnny Rotten listening to Benny Goodman while they were making this album. Back in the day, everyone had a PiL button but no one had a PiL album. More "important" than "good," this album sounds like it took about as long to record as it takes to play. They are lucky to have killer bass and guitar, else I would be prone to bailing out. Also, Johnny Rotten is smart to give the rest of the band a lot of space / give the listener a lot of breaks from his grating vocals. But very much of its time, like I can totally imagine playing this in between Joy Division and Gang of Four records. I think it might sound better and be more interesting in that context than when it is left to fend for itself in our modern, timeless, timeline where everything is up against the weight of the availability of everything that is new and everything that came before, all together everywhere at once. But when the aliens come and consume everything we've ever produced, I don't think Metal Box is going to force them to change their priors much if at all.

This album is another bizarre and unexpected surprise from the twisted minds of PIL. While I'm a bit disappointed that the Wikipedia entry for "Second Edition" (aka Metal Box, or maybe vice versa) isn't nearly as strange and random as the entry for "First Issue", the album itself definitely goes much further into the strange, experimental realm, without any real hint of punk at all (in part thanks to Jah Wobble's pulsating bass, I suspect). It's *way* too long by yards, and some of the tracks could have been easily left on the cutting room floor without any great loss; this seems particularly true of the opening track "Albatross", which doesn't really need Wikipedia to let us know that they recorded it in one take, with the band making it up as they went along, and John Lydone "improvising" the entire set of lyrics. Of the lot, I think I appreciated "Swan Lake" (remixed version of their "Death disco" single), the Guy-Ritchie-style plot of "Careering" and the over-the-top oddballness of Lydon on "No birds" more than the others. While I enjoyed the imagery of PIL fans frantically changing out the three original 12" 45rpm discs to listen to the entire album, and I respect John Levene's choice to use an aluminum Veleno guitar for its harsh screech, I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed the actual music overall. But I'm glad to have heard the album, and I'm glad both of PIL's first two albums were included in the collection.

The last track, Radio 4, was really nice, and not just because it signaled the album was finally ending.

Jah Wobble's bass is good, the rest is bad.

Dear God. I don't think I could I could bear the amount of heroin I would have to do to even slightly enjoy this album. Hot garbage.

I couldn't even get 2 songs into this absolute trash fire.

one of the hardest albums of all time. john lydon reborn. bass player whos never played before. records in a metal box so you fuck them up trying to get them out only to hear the worst cover of swan lake youve ever heard. amazing.

An apex offering for post-punk, with all the genre's positives and drawbacks. Interesting use of melodic structure (or lack thereof), but gets a bit too abstract for my personal taste. Comes together in moments, but definitely not for everyone. Top tracks: Albatross, Swan Lake

Not sure what I am listening to these days…

Socialist Realism.

An improvement on the precious PIL album presented to my judgement, but after about half an hour John Lydon’s vocals make me feel a little queasy.

This album spunda like a group of friends all showed up to a recording studio having never practiced or played their instruments. The only exception being the bass player. Everything else is terrible. I am giving this album a 2 just because the bass player held this mess together the best he could.

I knew it was only a matter of time until I got alien probing music again this week. I’m not sure what I’d even call this. Experimental punk? -2 stars for not being on streaming, -1 star for being boring as shit, and -2 stars for being a depressing drag. Oops I’m out of stars. Idk what else to say, I don’t like it.

Noise slop! This conventionally is not good, but the BASS IS Great. It is whiny, it is unbearable, I hate this, yet I can not stop listening. I just can hear the influences. I hear Loveless in here, and it makes me not hate it. The songs are long and obnoxious. I hear Thundercat in that bass. I really, actually like this as an experience. The bass and drums are what keep me alive. The lyrics don't matter. The words that stand out is what matters. This is the punk version of shoegaze, and for that alone, I can not hate it. This is exactly what avant-garde music is meant to do, challenge your belief in music and melody. This is the equivalent of a child blocking your view. You can either ignore them or pick them up so they can see from your perspective. In Swan Lake, we hear a repetition of the ending lyrics 5 times. Why? Why choose to do that? Are you paying attention? They ask. Don't fall asleep they say. As you reach Radio 4 the bass and synths have carried you to the end and you see the light the noise has gone away you can rest and you have come to the end of the journey and are left with a beautiful bass to take you away. I like this this was an experience. This may not be my favorite album but this has opened my eyes to the world of weird and this is punk despite it sounding nothing like the sex pistiols.

It was just all annoying noises; whiney singing, screeching, and feedback. All backed by a baseline. Pretty awful stuff

not great

I hate this album can’t lie - it does nothing for me and it’s way too long

The music itself is at times decent & interesting, but it is completely ruined by the singing. And I am saying this as someone that enjoys singers that don't fit the mold of what is traditionally considered "good". The voice is just completely unpleasant to listen to and takes away from any other enjoyment I could possibly get from this record.

Significantly more interesting than what he did with the Sex Pistols, a bit too avant garde for me at times but a solid album.

This was my second album after picking this project back up after a month, and upon listening, I regretted starting again haha. Not a song or melody on this album, just sounds and cacophony (derogatory). And I thought the Sex Pistols were bad!!

Sigh, why do I need to spend an hour listening to this? It's not absolutely horrible, but it did start getting actively annoying to listen to toward the end.

i hate this.

I like the experimental aspect - it would’ve been fun to see live - maybe a little hard to listen to this in one run.

Bit odd

First song is pretty rough, but it gets worse

garbage

No thank you.

If I were a teen with angst I would love this album (known as Second Edition), my adult angst appreciated it.

Not a fan.

Johnny Rotten comes off as one of those assholes that is all mouth until he gets punched. Then he’s all teary eyed and crying. It sort of reflects in his music. It’s gives off that “don’t give a shit” attitude but behind it all there is someone who really wants to succeed. So what are you looking for here? Think a pop version of the Sex Pistols. Sort of alt pop. There is still a heavy punk sound but it’s just not as raw and misaligned. Like it took all this time for him to perfect the sound he was really looking for. There’s noise as well. Sort of instruments doing all they can to drown out the other one. Not too badly though. This can’t possibly be the best album they put out. There are hints of catchiness in some of the songs but there seems to be something that puts me off still from it. I’m middle of the road on this and you, whoever reads this should be too.

i could take it or leave it - I know these guys are important for the post-punk movement, but It wasn't really my jam. There were a couple of songs that captured me but otherwise I'd be ok if I didn't sit on this album again.

Felt like my brain was getting a dental cleaning

This was an emo album (vocals) wrapped in a techno blanket

Aika valju levy. Tykkäsin bassotteluista, mitkä on post-punklevyissä parasta antia mulle. Lydon laulu on aika ärsyttävää.

Really liked this!!

maybe the only good album ever made in england?

Hifiman HE6se v2 SE Artwork: 💊🤘📦 Production (Remastered 2009): 😌🩺𝄢 Music: ⚙️🌪️👀 Rating: 🦤🦤🦤(🦤)/5

Stundum nær þetta hypnotísku (alls ekki dáleiðandi samt) dróni og áhugaverðu, en stundum eru þetta bara dissónísk læti. Og Lydon hefur oft verið í betra formi en hér. Tvistur í krafti einnar hlustunnar.

The bassline is SOOOOOOOO YUM in albatross. i really like the singing. it feels post-punk-ish to me. holy dash. i listened to this for the first time coming home from a rehearsal and it was warm enough to put my windows down and i was just blasting this. my ride home from rehearsal is 10 minutes so albatross filled all of those. it was very cool. i really like albatross. this feels like music that my friend's dad would bump while we're going somewhere. it's a little nostalgic in that way.

top 3 - Chant, Careering, Memories. This is pretty good, will definitely revisit it! I didn’t expect the rating to be that low though.

Johnny Rotten sucks.

3/18/26. Figuring out that Post Punk is a controversial genre for me. Perhaps I'll need to revisit in the future, but did not really enjoy this one. Thought it was overly repetitive and simple, and couldn't grasp the lyrics. Most likely I don't "get it."

Meh

Mjög gott og þróaðra póstpönk hjá PIL. Bassinn hjá Jah Wobble geggjaður. "Söngur" Lydon truflar örugglega marga en ekki mig.

Nothing really stood out to me aside from 'Albatross' being a really long track Standouts - 2/5

Unlike almost any other album I've heard. Might be even more bizarre than their debut, and also slightly better. The guitar sounds wicked, Wobble is great on bass, and I love the drumming. Funny how many drummers are actually all over this album, the wikipedia page says most of them left before sessions ended. And that they technically didn't even rent a studio they just snuck in. I also still cannot believe this is the singer for Sex Pistols, I can't imagine the whiplash following his career and going from one side of punk right to the other

2.

Urgh… that’s is all

Hard work

This certainly was an experience. Not a bad one of course but I can’t see me revisiting it.

I just don't enjoy it. Four attempts to listen to it and I always get distracted.

*This sounded a little too redundant over the album. *I prefer their first album over this.

Nothing of interest to me here. 1 star or F.

Musically grating, awful vocals, annoyingly repetitive, way too long. A pretty miserable experience overall.

Swan Lake Careering Graveyard

Swan Lake No Birds Careering

7/10

Metal Box is one of those albums where it tries to be so weird and out there that it ends up just becoming really repetitive. This album gives me quite a bit of deja vu to Suicide's self-titled album i did way back, however this album isn't nearly as bad as that one because its not nearly as annoying. There were some good basslines on this album and they definitely did try a lot of things here. But it just all ends up blending together considering the album's ho-hum production and it simply goes on for too long, like an hour of this is excessive. I was initially thinking of giving this a 2.5 but due to the length, it got knocked down to a full blown 2. Best Song: Memories Worst Song: Chant

It doesn’t even feel experimental or deliberate. It’s kind of nonsense.

A bunch of moaning and wailing over simple drum and bass lines; a lot of the songs' vocals sound like that famous clip of Yoko Ono ruining that Lennon/Chuck Berry collab performance. This is the kind of avant garde bullshit that art college douchers pretend is good and defines their personality. Some of the up-tempo background music has potential and could be fun, but the song structure and vocals are complete shit. The lowest 2/5 possible.

If this was instrumental, it might be oddly hypnotic if overlong. But the vocals pushed into actively annoying for me.

This is #day576 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… how about one of those post-punk classics from the late '70s? You bet. This particular record fits the moniker "new musick," which post-punk was given in its infancy, very well. It's different from what was going on in the scene at the time, just like almost any other record from that year: Unknown Pleasures, Fear of Music, and Entertainment! to name a few. What a time it must have been to be alive. "Albatross" is a sonic monument to the genre. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day577.

4/10 Bass and drums are good (although let's not carried away). The guitar and vocals are excruciating.

Review - great baselines and some great songs. They were trying to do something different than everything that has come before and sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. For angular guitars and propulsive baselines there's better albums of the day, like Gang Of Four. Still a decent album. Review - 7.5/10 Need to hear? YES

Quelle AFFREUSE manière de commencer sa journée, j’en reviens pas que j’ai pogné la grappe d’albums de Johnny le Putride dans le même deux semaines. J’ai essayé vraiment fort j’ai pas réussi à finir la moindre toune, le cringe était trop fort et la qualité avait viré par dessus bord depuis que j’avais lancé la lecture. Seul réconfort: ça ne sera pas mon dernier album généré, dieu merci

no just no, i can't listen to that lmao. that's like a bad version of the Fall

Absolute garbage!!!

There's really not a lot positive that I can say about this one, so I'll just note that I liked the bass playing. When I focused on that, I was able to get through the song without needing to turn it off halfway through. Occasionally another instrument would add something interesting, but that was rare. Pretty much everything else was bad. Yeah... this might be the worst album I've heard on here so far. Overall: .75/5

I wish I didn't contaminate my ears with this tragedy of sounds and noises. 0/5

Definitely experimental. The vocals aren’t good. First song is extremely long. The beats of the songs aren’t bad at all some of them are pretty good. Favorite song: Memories Second favorite: Socialist

Not good. At times it sounds like the guitar is playing along to a drum and bass click track, then the singing (if you can call it that) makes it really hard to complete the album. Camparing this to Captain Beefheart is absurd.

I saw PIL live this year in Jan 2026, the backing band to Lydon pumping out the Bass, I did have this album in its metal box for several years, so many great tracks on here, listened whilst on my drive to watch the football at Portman Road - Albatross, Suit, swan lake, graveyard - Tunes from 1979

Ech. Podsumowaując - to na pewno było jakieś. Tylko przez jakieś mam tu też na myśli złe. Ale czasem nie aż tak. Czasem dało się tego słuchać z pewnym poziomem przyjemności. Szkoda tylko, że zaraz później znowu osuwaliśmy się w kakofonię. Chyba jestem masochistką, ale... 5/10. Wolę cierpieć niż się nudzić? Być może.

241/1001 Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ✅ This is such a interesting record, at first I was a bit worried I'd dislike it, but there was something that hooked me early on in this experimental, post-punk record. This is one because of how different it is, that I can see myself properly loving in the future.

Maybe today isn't the best for me to listen to this album. After awhile I had to stop and look at thinking WTF am I listening to? Oh yeah.... Oh a different day I may rate it higher.

Very different.

If you listen to this album and rate it a 5 star, I’m sorry but you are tone deaf. The vocal performance alone makes it a 1 star album. This is pure garbage. There are no redeeming qualities. I’d rather eat a warm bowl of chunky vomit than listen to this again.

Eh it was ok. Not anything I could dig into. Actually having a hard time remembering much about it this morning.

2/5. The minute you see a "post" as the prefix for a genre, you know you're in for something weird. It's a really hard listen. Cacophony is the norm throughout the album, and the mix of sounds here is bewildering. The singer is of the "I'm gonna sing this however the hell I want to and you'll turn it off if you dislike it enough" variety, one of the punk qualities that made it through the post filter. There are some awesome little pieces though. One song quotes Tchaikovsky. Other songs have powerful bass thrumming throughout. Other songs have a guitar strumming in the background with an ethereal, spacey quality to the distortion. There are some brilliant components that are a genuine treat to listen to, but you gotta dig for them here. There's an earnestness to this album that endears it to me. It is apparent there were no compromises or considerations for the listener, it's the band's vision and it didn't falter on it at all. If it weren't for that, I don't think this album would be worth the try.

I wasn’t initially very excited for this album, but I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would? Having context on the time period was helpful in my reflection on the music/lyrics and I appreciated the exposure.

od komercyjnego do obskurnego punka i dookola swiata z zgnilym jasiem

I would take this over the Sex Pistols any day of the week.

Great bass playing. Feels as though throughout the album the intention is to juxtapose the expert bass playing with the minimalistic/basic work of guitar etc.

What is it with this guy?

If you put a really good bass player in a studio with monkeys on fentanyl this is probably what you'd get. There's no reason for it to be this long. Listen to the first couple of minutes of each song and you can skip the rest of it. I was tempted to give this a 2 because of the bass playing but I just could not bring myself to do it.

can’t stand john lydon but my god this album just has everything going for it, love love love the bass

poptones is so sick. swan lake is so sick. sick bass tone. sick album. SICK

This is an album where I sincerely think if you're seriously interested in music as "art" and you think it's terrible and irredeemable and not important then you should just give the whole thing up and try something else. SORRY!!!!! Simon Reynolds's writing on this is really fascinating and has informed how I think of this album, as an even further splintering (or maybe even shattering ?) of rock music, like from Sex Pistols who already have reduced it quite a bit to this which strips it of choruses or really even instrumental ability or like, legible production. The result is this very erratic and occasionally frightening thing. Jah Wobble is the only guy who can play his instrument. It's so good and eerie and feels like textural exploration in a way rock music does not always feel.

It's not for everyone (the vocals can get really obnoxious at times) but if you like post-punk you might get some enjoyment out of this so give it a fair try. Also the song called Socialist is the best one because of course it is.

Music itself not bad but the vocals hurt my ears!

We have scientific evidence of what it sounds like when people who don’t know how to play musical instruments find someone who can’t sing, and no one is brave enough to admit it.

The extra 50% added to every song adds NOTHING to the songs or albums. Over indulgent wanking, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Wusste nicht dass John Lydon noch eine Band mit jemand von the clash hatte. Hätte aber mehr erwartet.

zu viel für easy listening

Pretty unsettling and cool!

argh, so annoying! at times there's a hint of radiohead glimmering through the noise but in the end i regret not having stopped at the end of the 10m opening track

Public Image Limitedin kakkoslevy Metal Box (tunnetaan myös nimellä Second Edition) on hämmentävä julkaisu kaiken kaikkiaan. Kappaleet ovat pitkiä ja junnaavia, äänimaailma usein kylmä ja kaikuinen. Mielestäni basisti Jah Wobblen innovatiivinen soitto on parasta Metal Boxissa, kun taas John Lydonin ulina on monesti raskasta kuunneltavaa. Albumi herättää ristiriitaisia tunteita, mutta sen kokeellisessa soundissa on jotain kiehtovaa. Olin aiemmin kuullut PiL:in debyyttilevyn ja pidän siitä enemmän.

Never heard the artist, nor seen the album. Rock is good, but I have no idea what to expect, rating gives me the idea that it's that basic sound of rockness that's easy to find anywhere, either way it won't be as bad I hope. First song, amazing start I have to say. Vocals are a bit echoey, or better to say, coming from afar. Sounds like Morrissey too idk. It is permanent wave I think, but that doesn't diminish its goodness.. yet. It is too long now hm. Did become repetitive, but I hope this isn't the majority of the album. Weird ah sounds at the end from him. Second song, also a good start. Good for walking actually. A bit shorter so that's a plus cuz I'm afraid this is how the whole song sounds like, buuut the length helps make it look likeable. Oh nvm he talking a lot now and the beat is fully changed. Better with each second somehow. Third song, hope the name is actually suitable for what I expect. Not what I wanted yet, but it's going somewhere. NEVERMIND I can hear the swan lake, goooood, really wanted the rock version at some point. My favorite so far. 4th song, here this and songs after are all less popular, so I can't expect much from them, tho I did enjoy the ones before so. Kinda meh, but can't say it's boring either. 5th song, probably the best intro yet. Shortest one too I think, but that doesn't matter rn. It's a bitt futuristic in some parts, and also quite less active as the other ones. 6th song, more classic way to start this one, I'm talking about the intros always cuz it's the most different part of whatever comes after the song which is usually the same thing over and over again, not that I'm complaining though. 7th song, kinda electric and ravey already. Great instrumentals, damn I feel like it's talking in its own way. No lyrics for this one, and I'd say it wasn't even necessary. 8th song, voice remembers me of Shock Treatment the movie's that one guy. Wasn't bad, but it didn't fulfil me with balanced use of the voice and instruments. 9th song, same structure as the 8th song. Not bad, it got better and better kinda. 10th song, also no lyrics for this one. Had a bit of a progression after the middle which made it worth it, but usually it was one thing going on and on, then again not complaining, at this point I'm not gonna ask for more. 11th song, somehow the majority of the beat is the guy repeating something over and over, but it's well done, does explain the name too kinda. Screamed that "chant" more and louder as the song got to the end too. 12th song, probably the most passive song on the album, no repetitive beat, but.. I think the violin is doing the most work here. Love that they included this, cuz it really is a rest from all that thumping sound being the most part of the album, plus considering that it's the end of it too. While the end is playing I guess I could write a conclusion too. I've been thinking it over and it's not more than 3 stars for me, meaning it's just.. there. Nothing new for me, it didn't surprise me with anything, and I for sure wasn't enjoying the whole thing with enthusiasm. It had its moments and that's why the rating is accurate for me. Hmm, I think it could have gone a little harder with the instruments or also had one song which was focused on vocals, but less quirky than the ones that were presented. Anywayy enjoyed it, but wanted a lot more.

Not for me

Saying some bs over a fat beat. I did not mind one bit. Got a little old over the course of an album though

Hoewel sommige onderdelen van nummers best vibey zijn, met name de baslijntjes, heb je het na 3 minuten vaak ook wel gehoord. Ik twijfelde nog tussen een 2 of en 3, maar aangezien John Lydon/Johnny Rotten echt een ontiegelijk grote kneus is (staan er overigens wel veel van op deze lijst), geef ik ze toch maar niet het voordeel van de twijfel.

Ik moet toegeven dat mijn initiële reactie ook echt op track 1 heel erg voelde. Het was een soort dronke vader in de douche vocals en echt ongelofelijk slecht in het algemeen. Er zit iets cools op het album, een sicke bass en danceable punk. Maar man dit was echt de meest waardeloze zang ooit. Noem het stijlistisch of whatever maar ik kon het niet aan. 1.5

Best interessant. Doet me denken aan Joy Division. De nummers (en het album) zijn wel aan de lange kant, maar als ik zo'n bandje op LOTD zou zien zou ik wel genieten. Ga ook lekker op de synth bliep bloops

Waanzinnig grooves met ongeëvenaarde basloopjes die worden bijgestaan door de meest waardeloze vocals op deze lijst tot nu toe. Fuck John Lydon.

Not Available on Spotify.

More creatively interesting than the Sex Pistols in my opinion, but it overstayed its welcome

Despite myself, I am somehow predisposed to like John Lydon. His proclamations that PiL were gonna change music reminds me a lot of Tom DeLonge talking about how Angels and Airwaves were gonna do the same, and while neither were even remotely correct, at least Lydon went into new territory. Incredible how it sounds pretty of 1979, pretty of 1989, and pretty alien. There's a lot to hate here for the haters, as Lydon wouldn't have it any other way, but for a guy who was in a dangerous boy band, there's also an incredible amount of intentionality. The bass kicks ass, the wiry guitar kicks ass, the drumming kicks ass. However, for all its planning, it still gets to be a bit one note: sometimes that drone is hypnotic and sometimes it's just a song overstaying its welcome, but that's kind of a characteristic of this flavor of post-punk. Hell, even the packaging sounds like it was a challenge and a poke in the eye. It sounds nothing like the PiL of 45 years later, which is a good thing, but I also don't think this kind of thing would fly today - it's been plumbed to death and its...shock value? abrasiveness? oppositional defiance? just isn't today, but recognizing that its of a time, well damn it's pretty good. I think this is just the right album for the right kind of person and everyone else will think it's shit.

This genuinely might be my favourite first listen from this list. I was aware of this band but had never listened to any of their songs before, but this is genuinely brilliant. The fact that Lydon was making stuff like this so soon after the Sex Pistols has kind of blown my mind. Really unique while quite clearly being influential to a lot of other bands that came later.

I love this album. Veers into the avant-garde just enough to be intellectual, but not so much as to be snobbish. Lydon has a... heaviness... or perhaps a creepiness, offputting, obnoxious. It works perfectly with Keith Levine's and Jah Wobble's dubby experimental meanderings. THis really feels like it will fall apart at any moment, it's brittle. Dronelike, it's a very "felt" musical experience. Completely unique.

You should have stayed in the Sex Pistols, Johnny. At least then, we knew you weren't trying to be pretentious with this garbage.

Wasn't a fan of the shouty singing, music was middling at best. Suits was alr. Could have been worse. 46/100

I kind of liked this for its weirdness when I first turned it on but it soon became quite dull. Still has a certain charm I can't describe about it but I'd never choose to put it on.

Don’t like the music, hate the singing. Jackie would have loved it.

nope.

Favorite Track: Swan Lake

Man this was an unpleasant soundtrack for my morning jog. I only ever heard on song by PiL before and it’s not on this album (This Is Not A Love Song). This is post punk of the harsh, noisy, industrial kind. Joy Division with nasal vocals and screechy guitars. They really test your patience on stuff like the starting track Albatross with ten minutes of noise or The Suit where they chant “everyone likes you/until they know you”. This album is a very harsh treatment of the listener. Thing is, as the listener, it’s kind of hard to take all of this punishment with nothing to reward me. Music is both art and entertainment and this leans fully into art I guess. Give them two stars for the art but no you don’t have to listen to this before you die, other post punk and noise rock is more fun to listen to.

Not available

Not my thing

I love the idea that two of punk's main architects were also the ones who took it apart and rebuilt it into something stranger and more interesting. John Lydon is a madman. That's not a revelation. I recently went to see him do a talk in my hometown with a friend, expecting lots of interesting and crazy stories from his time as Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols, or on tour with PiL. Instead, we felt like hostages, trapped in our seats as he ranted aggressively at us about life in general. It was an uncomfortable experience to say the least. Back in the day, though, he was a defining figure and the unofficial frontman of punk. So, for him to go on to be an equally defining figure of the post-punk movement is fascinating and totally unexpected. Keith Levene was another important figure in the world of punk, helping The Clash to shape their sound, a sound that would be another crucial part of defining punk as a genre. So, for him to also go on and become part of a group that helped to carve out the post-punk genre is equally fascinating. On "Metal Box", Lydon's stream of consciousness free-form shouty rants float about, almost in the background atmosphere of the songs. They collide with Levene's mind-bending, metallic guitar textures (sounding like he's laying down blueprints for Joey Santiago). Jah Wobble's dub-reggae bass lines add a looming darkness and yet another level of unpredictability to the chaos. They are all held together by Jim Walkers' drumming, seemingly the only one not improvising his way through these songs. Put it all together, and it makes one hell of a weird listening experience. It's not easy listening. It's about as comfortable as having John Lydon aggressively rant at you about life, while you are trapped in your seats. It's certainly not something you'd throw on as background music over dinner. It's fitting that it's called "Metal Box", as everything sounds quite metallic and almost industrial. It's intense, cold, weird, yet oddly hypnotic and enjoyable. An important, confrontational and experimental record. Punk pulled apart by key figures of punk, and reassembled into post-punk.

If a cat in heat had a drum machine, you'd get this album.

Very unpleasant to listen to.

I know there's PIL out there that I really like a lot...but this ain't it. 3

I've always felt that this album is just as important to the post-punk genre as something like Unknown Pleasures, but instead of the tight instrumentation and songs found on that record, here the songs are seemingly infinitely expanding outward and have a controlled aimlessness to them. That might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me this style of post-punk hasn't been bettered than it was on here. A phenomenal and important record for the genre.

1.5/5 Strontvervelend

This guys singing is really annoying, but the backing music is actually pretty good

Would have been 4 stars except for the vocals and every song being about 3 minutes too long.

Post-punk does not suffer without this album in its lineage. Challenging, it is not. Obtuse, it is.

I struggled with this one. It’s not meant to be an easy listen, and there were parts that I enjoyed. The bass lines are so good and sometimes hypnotic, so I would be bopping along even though the vocals are challenging. The vocals are performed by John Lyndon- also known as Johnny Rotten. This is his post-punk project after the Sex Pistols, and the music is certainly experimental, gritty and dissonant. Not an enjoyable listen, but I can see how it was influential. I wouldn’t listen to it again though.

I didn’t know what to expect from this but I was pleasantly surprised. Some cool riffs and strange mixing experimentation made this a treat. Will listen again soon

i could see the vision, some parts really dragged out and i feel it was structured weirdly

I can see how this was different and new in a lot of ways, but just didn’t hit like their self titled album for me.

I enjoyed this, but not in a "fun to listen to" sort of way but more a "laugh at how preposterous it is that I am voluntarily going through this torture" sort of way. I was hoping my average rating for this project would be close to 3. It tends to drift up but I can always trust Public Image to get me back on track. Two albums, a total of two stars.

In highschool, this album was my introduction to weider music. After being a Sex Pistols fan discovered PiL and bought this CD. From here I followed the way to Throbbing Gristle, No Wave and alot more different sounds.

I did kinda like the instrumentals, but the singers voice just completely ruined everything

This is a brilliant album, one of the earliest in what became known as 'post-punk' along with albums such as Real Life (Magazine) and The Scream (Siouxsie and the Banshees). It's pretty uncompromising stuff with Wobble's rumbling dubby bass and Levene's scratchy guitar, not to mention Lydon's vocals on top of all that. I never bought it at the time (I was a poor student), but the conceit of presenting it in a metal film can was great (and was used also in the later CD releases. The Super Deluxe version is worth the extra. A very influential album.

1/5. This is the demo tape your buddy's alcoholic friend gives you at a bar. This band legitimately must have had blackmail material for the people making the list in order for this muddy, droning mess of an album to get a spot. A ten minute opening track?? Get outta here.

Appreciate that ‘weird’ experimental albums are on this list. Even if they don’t get rated so well by everybody else it seems. I feel a lot of the sounds explored in this album inspire a lot of the more contemporary music I love today, for that PIL deserve their flowers. Don’t get me wrong, none of this is going on my playlists anytime soon, but it’s a cracking experience as an album.

Two one note for me, I got quite bored

Do I hate this? Jah. I do.

375/1089 - Sounds like Joy Division except even shittier and more repetitive. Seriously, the repetition on this gives EDM and Reggaeton a run for their money. Non-list rec: Breakfast in America - Supertramp (1979) Excellent showcase of the Wurlitzer and a very solid Prog Pop record.

Unconventional, but almost pompously so. I'm all for invention but this feels contrived to me. And musically it doesn't do anything for me. Would I listen to this again? No

finally listened to it, its as good as expected.

This is not my kind of music.

I didn't hate it but I didn't love it

if i never have to listen to John Lydon's nasally, grating wailing, see his smug fucking face, or think about his dumbass, self-serving, performative politics ever again, it'll be too soon. a man whose only ideas have ever amounted to "aren't you soooo mad?" and retrofitted everything else to fit that. this would just be more generic english garbage but he brings it to new lows with his caterwauling. the Ricky Gervais of music (or is Gervais the Lydon of comedy? who fucking cares)

Surprising! I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, though it was overlong.

No comment

Esse Álbum me surpreendeu positivamente. Achei um pós punk bem executado com pitadas experimentais bem interessantes. Letshuoer D13.

It’s like really pioneery n shit dawg. I’m sleep deprived and so is this music. I like it. It’s got groove and punk which is a combo that gets me hard and staying hard. Yum. Let’s see what much more intelligible and respectable review Drake has for us. 3.6

No!!!!! A second one???? This is ass. This thing is an hour long. Listen, I like the guitar on pop tones. Socialist is kind of fun. That’s all I got.

Imperfect, but boundary pushing. Earns a place on the list even if it's not something I'd come back to again and again.

Sounded kinda terrible, but I kind of liked it.

nice, but I wouldn't listen to it again

He had 1 great album in him. It wasn't this

Didnt like it

Heared only First Edition beforehand and some selected songs beforehand. My opinion is that Johnny did "Nevermind" for the world and everything he did later he did for himself. It's artsy, and I know that Jah Wobble and Keith Levene brought a lot to the sound, but it sounds so personal by Johnny that it even feels eerie time after time. And I'm not sure where he is dead serious or when he is taking a piss. This album is even more repetitve than the first and has less songs that I like, so only 4. Best track: Poptones. The worst thing is I don't know what on here is to take serious or not. The best thing is I don't know what on here is to take serious or not.

I really didn’t enjoy this one, the singing the guitar and the rhythms were all hard to listen to and get into. Not for me

weird

What even is this? Didn't man it far into the album. It sounds like when South Park was making fun of Marilyn Manson

Weird ride but I like it. Cathartic and trance-y if you let it be.

Didn't hate this as much as I thought reading the description but not something I would revisit 3*

Okay, why do I always get Public Image Ltd. albums in close proximity to other albums with its members? I got the first one 12 days after the Sex Pistols album and now I'm getting the second one 4 days after the Jah Wobble thing! What the hell, website? I don't dislike this band, but you've got to give me a better chance at really enjoying them. Whatever. It's not like there's a third chance seeing as this is all they have on the list. Well, I guess we'll have to just accept what we've got. This album's good. I'd say I enjoyed it about as much as the debut, maybe a little less though. They're both good, but I don't really love either of them. Of course, there are things about Metal Box that I do enjoy. The atmosphere is interesting, but in a good way. It's dark and echoey, but it makes sense given the vague lyrical matter. I think the band members do a good job with the compositions. The aforementioned Jah Wobble is actually pretty talented when he's just playing bass and not trying to make his weird-ass world music stuff or whatever. I'm still not huge on John Lydon's vocals, but they work at times on the album. The songs have some good variety and there are standouts. The 10-minute opener "Albatross" and "Swan Lake" in particular are pretty neat. I definitely understand the appeal of this band and album, but I don't think they're really for me. I certainly don't hate them as much as this website does, that's for sure. Metal Box is good, but not really my thing. I wish I had more to say. High 3/5.

It holds nothing for me. Really bland. Enjoyed "Socialist" tho

It's dissonant and abrasive, I love it! This is more punk than the Ramones and the Sex Pistols combined. "Chant" is pure genius, and Keith Levene one of the most underrated guitar players of all time.

really really really nothing for me

reminds me of college :)

Thanks, I hate it

I can't figure out how much I love it yet based off of one listen. Need to come back to this one.

Most of PIL's good shit is on this album. Some of these songs are my absolute favorite songs everrr. "Memories," "Swan Lake" and "Careering" are like sooo fucking good. When PIL does disco punk, it's the fucking best; like, it hits the perfect tone, perfect ingredients. Heavy dub influence here, with loads of dub bass lines played with punk characteristics. Many tracks are droney, meandering, vague and lost feeling but not necessarily in a bad way. There's an effective mood throughout, like impoverished life in a collapsed post-industrial society or something. Like there's really no where left to go. It's really good at being grim and destitute whilst dancing on dirty drugs in the final days. This album shows a band just getting started on something spectacular. Unfortunately, the vast majority of PIL is trash. It has always irritated the shit out of me how awful most PIL is. Like, it's legit terrible, offensive-to-the-ears music, like actual crap music. PIL should be way-better but they aren't and I gave up long ago trying to pretend they're anything but awful. But I absolutely love this album. And I love the few other good PIL songs outside of this album. PIL songs I love are some of my favorite songs everrr.

Bad

When the album first started it seemed promising. But I was soooo wrong. This is the worst piece of music that I've come across. This was a terrible album with no memorable moments. Why is this even on this list. So much whining and whining for a grown man. Literally, why is this album an hour long. Would rather spend my time sucking dick.

I don’t know what happened with this but I didn’t like it at all. Maybe it was just my mood that day but I was totally disinterested by track 3.

Nah

Not really, no

These albums just keep wowwing me

Umm, strange. Very repetitive songs, and some were so similar! One guys voice was wonky the way it went up and down. And the other guys voice was just creepy.

No strong feelings about this which is weird for me for a scorpio Halloween vibe!

Not really for me but also not really that bad?????

ehhhhhhh. 1.5

I understand the sentiment from the reviews towards the album. It’s certainly a quirky album that’s not fitting any mold you try to put it in. Wasn’t a bad listen to me

nope, must've been a "you had to be there" album

Urgh dull af

8/10

Depressed Bon Jovi? Actually really good, love the sound and the moving tempo.

More of this please

Not Good.

Ok everyone be like this band such an inspiration but I didn’t love it. I think it’s one of those things where people who know about it love it yk. For me this was my album of the day and I ain’t gonna act like I hated it, it had some interesting stuff. Maybe a little anger put out on this album because I had my first day of school after winter break today.

#53 Shouting from the other end of a tunnel

Ehhh it's fine I guess but I was really expecting more. Experimental post punk that's just not that impressive, I don't think this would be included if Johnny Rotten wasn't the band frontrunner.

Where did they find that singer?

Meh

This album would’ve been a whole lot better without the vocals, some interesting bass lines. Some of the experimental sounds don’t hit for me. Between this and their first album, Public Image is my least favorite band so far.

Not for me

Can't make it through

meh

What a racket..got four tracks in, read about it on Wiki, and get what it means for the scene. But no.

I still like it and think it’s quite cool

8/10 Favourite: The Albatross Least Favourite: Bad Baby

I've been sick the past few days and the thought of listening to this gave me a headache so it's been a few days. ehh. 4/10

I liked the music hated the vocals

Ugh. I'd rather listen to an actual metal box.

weird

John Lydon is the worst part of any project he’s in.

I don’t enjoy it as much as their more straightforward debut but this is still great. My enjoyment of this has skyrocketed since I first listened to this last year. I’ve gone through Can and the Fall since then which has definitely helped. The best tracks are in the front half but it’s all solid. I love them putting the softest sounding song at the end to reward you for making it there. It reminds me of Kid A in that way. You can hear so many elements that helped define the post punk sound. The three main members are all legends along with the story of the album container. It can be a tough listen all at once but if you just play 10 minutes and then come back to it like they intended then it’s much easier. If I could change ratings, I’d change my rating on their debut from 3 to 5. This is a solid 4. Rating: 4.4

"Mainly just noise, Ltd." This is a tedious album on which the punk sensibilities are still in full swing - but the band wanted more, and so they tried to experiment, the result of which is utter unlistenable. 1.5/5

Looks like Santa delivered coal for Christmas. If it was -just- the instruments, I'd be okay with it. It's repetitive and boring, but that's fine. That's okay. But the grating vocals tip this over into the terrible territory.

It may be christmas, but I am declaring war on this type of music. Let's make a checklist of all our favorite post-punk tropes, shall we? - "avant garde" singing techniques, which basically means chucking every semblance of scales and tone out the window for what can best be described as pained screams from stubbing ones toe. - Reinvent this singing style... By sounding like a talking heads knockoff... - Incomprehensible lyrics about some faint zeitgeist feeling I guess... Because the interviewer is asking about it. - Synth sounds outdated years before. - Guitar play just as "avant garde" as the singing, dial the settings to something innately stupid like zero gain or all treble as on this album. Either forget modulation and drive exists or use it as a crutch for one of your songs' endless loops. - Despite wishing to push at all boundaries of taste and style failing to break out of a 4/4 rythm, betraying an innate lack of musical skill or imagination. Do I need to go on? But above all else the runtime is atrocious. I suspect this has to do with the improvised nature of the lyrics. Nobody knows what the singer's going to do or when he bothers to start singing or when he's gonna be done. So you have the bass player and drummer playing endless empty loops with nothing happening over them for entire minutes. Any other sane crew would have cut this shit out of the album. As a final middle finger to the listener, the last song is just a lame sounding lonely synth plodding along meaninglessly for 4 minutes and 26 seconds. And here I am wasting time again, writing this all down.

I'm certain this one will be a grower, it's pretty obtuse. Love Poptones and Radio 4 which I'd heard before.

albatross swan lake 1979 post punk, experimental rock united kingdom

Near

3.5/5

When I first discovered this, it was 1985. I loved it without knowing why. Now it’s 2025 and I love it. Still, I don’t know why!

Nope. I recognize punk beginnings but there were so many better bands/music.

Post Punk is cool and all the one voters need to step out of their comfort zone once in a while.

Borderline unlistenable

This is one of the greatest post-punk albums ever released. It is brilliant mainly because of John Lydon’s near-manic and unpredictable performance. He sounds as if he is constantly on the tipping point of sanity, shifting from bellowing to whispering, from stammering to screaming. The band (especially Wobble's hypnotic bass) creates the perfect, repetitive backdrop, sounding like Can performing from inside a metal box (forgive the comparison), with the dissonance turned up to eleven. It is a staggering document of its time: a smudged version of post-punk, fronted by a genius "actor" who tries to tame the chaos just enough for the songs to remain discernible beneath all the misery. A true piece of art. Inimitable, astounding and unique.

I couldn't connect with any of the tracks and some of them were even annoying. Not for me.

This feels like a series of voice memos where you are coming up with ideas. Not in a bad way but in an interestingly unfinished and unpolished way. An interesting narrative of “don’t want to get caught” recording with the different drummers. Johnny Rotten is a vocalist I’ve not connected with and it’s the same here. Graveyard was a highlight on this album (which makes sense because he keeps his mouth shut).

Hate the singer. Lyrics are basic and depressing. Music arrangements are sometimes ok but are not really creative or interesting. Songs are too damn long. Listened before? N Saved tracks? N Favorite tracks? The last note of the last track was the best note if the whole damn album. ⭐ Hated it

It's a no from me on the vocals.

Some of this was ok and some of it was unpleasant. The vocals on The Suit were especially jarring. Wouldn't listen to this one again.

PiL's Metal Box (aka Second Edition) is Johnny Rotton's new wave band after the Sex Pistols Broke up. this is him in his full arrogance. this PiL album like other groups at the time are putting out these transition type albums where punk is trying to grow into new wave. never was a PiL fan, but they do have better, non-wailing brighter stuff out there. a side note, the guitarist is Keith Levine who was an original founding member of The Clash. they were originally a five-piece band. when he left/kicked out (depending what camp you listen to), they just never brought in another guitarist to replace him.

I felt like this is what cats fighting would sound like. It was as annoying as listening to someone with the sniffles. The ONLY reason this doesn't get a one star is because just about every song had a KILLER bass line. Wow. Loved that part.

Hard time finding the alblum on line. After listening, I am not a fan.

Interessant, aber ein nervig langweiliges Schlagzeug

Somehow I enjoyed the loud Brazilian slurping of Os Mutantes more than this. Will wonders never cease?

[For reference I listened to the rerelease Second Edition.] Let's take the Sex Pistols, Clash, Joy Division, and Can and put them all into a blender. What we get is this album. I can see it being swept under the rug in a musical year which saw London Calling and Unknown Pleasures, and so much dub or unconventional bass was being heard in places like The Specials S/T or Regatta De Blanc. In short, this is a lot like so many other bands but also wildly different. It's definitively post-punk and "anti-rock". The gritty improvisation is not as off-putting as something like Trout Mask Replica but is not polished like some kind of jazz form. It is dark and nihilistic and industrial with its ripping unrelenting guitar lines. Lydon's voice meanders in and out and spits and sputters in punk freeform. It gets a bit tired in some places (e.g. the long instrumental in the second half of "Poptones" really began to drag for me), but what drives all of this along are the bass lines. The dub playing is a masterclass. What is great is that many long, downtrodden songs like "Albatross" (which is great) are complemented by faster, almost danceable tracks like "Swan Lake" or "Socialist" or "No Birds". The song "Careering" was probably my favorite on the album with its almost Neu! style beat and synth, and is a great performance by Lydon. Tracks like "The Suit" and "Bad Baby" showcase the improvisational aspects, and these tracks in particular are two of the hardest to listen to in my opinion. Some tracks feel almost like a response to new wave, but a inversion of the genre, a corrupted version of Fear of Music which came out the same year. Then a track like "Radio 4" comes along and its synth lifts you out of the malaise and you wonder where the hell you've been. It is by no means a relaxing listen or one you can really tune out. It's really great, and I think will be even better in subsequent listens.

This album was filled with surprises…good songs! Not sure what to expect, this box delivered.

6/10… dance punk / new wave / *1979

I wanted to like it and I preferred it to the other PIL album but honestly Johnny Rotten works in 2-3 minute bursts not

14/1089 It took me three listens but it definitely got better each time. Johnny Rotten has quite the range going from sex pistols punk to PiL new wave. This is another album that I'd probably bump to 4* if it had Rise or This is not a love song included. Hits....pop tones, socialist.

Loud!

Jeez this is a weird album but I actually kind of like it. The bass playing is brilliant. John Lydon's lyrics and singing are out there. Even the guitar is a really good jangly. I know others have struggled with this but I really liked it

Alright

A guy finds an original Rembrandt and Stradivarius in his attic. Is all excited but then discovers Stradivarius is an awful painter. Artists do not always make good musicians. This is a testament to that.

Gritty

Dreadful, with good basslines. Fuck music, I guess?

Not for me

Liked this more than I expected. Has a cool post-punk sound. Some songs are super weird without a doubt, but personally I enjoyed the strange labyrinth this album took you through. On the best cuts, it was reminiscent of Joy Division or similar bands. I’d recommend if you like post-punk or just generally enjoy weird music.

Kunst, die weg kann. Beim ersten Lied wird (nicht nur) eine Katze gequält. Das Album hat 12 Lieder und ist stilistisch konsistent mit ein paar Ausreißern nach unten.

Es literalmente escuchar todo el rato el mismo sonido y la misma cancion, lo unico que se diferencia alguna vez es algun sonido estridente o la voz plana, nada entretenido

this fuckin bangs!!!!!!

This is quite a mixed bag, the start of this album is phenomenal, the bass in particular is fantastic (a consistent throughout the whole thing to be honest). However, it dips in the middle when things lean a little too into the avant-garde approach for my liking.

Has nice instrumentals though a few tracks did get a bit out there to hold my interest

Fantastic bass work and a truly gritty sound. Made great music to be up all night studying to, but I don't think it would be as good if I wasn't listening to it in a 4:00 AM stupor.

Never heard of band or album. 10 minute first song has me weary. Cool baseline. Vocals suck. A theme I’m noticing with these older rock albums is that the background music is way louder than the vocals. Guitar is choppy and feels improvised but not in a good way. Could’ve ended this song after 3 mins. Drums were good I guess. Memories is a lot better. Still bullshit vocals. Unnecessary. Swan lake is pretty good. Great guitar. Bass/drums are the best part of every song. Ending is really weird/bad. Pop tones is fine.way too long tho. I don’t understand these sounds going for so long when it’s the same riff on loop. We didn’t need the last 3 minutes of that. Careering sucks. Giving me a headache. Socialist is ok. More of the same. Graveyard has some good element but feels incohesive. I can’t believe it’s not even halfway done. This album just didn’t stand the test of time. I can understand how at the time of real ease it could’ve been “influential” but it’s not a good listen at this point. No birds is fine. Not the best or worst on the album. Weird ending again. Chant is weird. Good guitar. Radio 4 is kind of refreshing? No weird shouting or ad lib bed guitar. Works as a closer. I think this saved it from 1 star but I would not recommend. 1.5 out of 5

New one on me. Not always an easy listen but once you get into it you can hear why it became so influential.

I would have thought that I would enjoy this, but that wailing voice is just unbearable

It’s fine but I’ll probably never listen to it again

I get it, punk but more experimental. I actually hated it, each song that went by the more I felt like it was torture to endure it. I usually can understand why albums, I personally don’t enjoy, make the list. This one has me wondering.

It's not as un-enjoyable as some reviews here make it out to be. But it's certainly not what I expect to hear on a Sunday afternoon playing Rummicub at the old people's home. And it's very certainly of its time.

not my first listen, but i think i understood it a bit more this go around. doesn’t mean that i like it necessarily… but the instrumentals are pretty good. great bass 2.5

I'm all for art and experimentation, but what the hell did I just listen to?

I'm good

Horrible, sounds like non talented kids found instruments and a homeless guy picked up a mic

Really bad from the start, couldn't even get through the first track, though it was the only one I skipped. I'm just finding that I dislike anything labelled as post punk, it feels too derivative and intentionally abrasive/dissonant and it annoys me. 1.5 rounded down since it required a track skip.

This is noise rock. It's not for me.

Experiment post-punk-dance with almost spoken-word delivery. Just not my style at the moment.

not my style

iconic basslines

IDK... The songs somewhat vibes, but they all get repetitive fast. Feels more like a jam or something. The signing is more distracting than serving the songs. So in the end, I didn't quite _like_ any of them.

I'm only 4 minutes into the first song and I want to give up on the rest of the album so bad. This is barely listenable. The only musician that seems to know what they're doing is the drummer. Okay, second song and the bassist is also not bad. But the guitar and the vocals are truly awful, and they're put way too much at the forefront. As the album progresses, I realize the first song was probably the worst. Either that, or I got used to the sound after a while and drowned it out. Either way, physically hurts to listen to. 1/5.

Reichlich avantgardistisch. Nicht mein Geschmack

wanted to turn it off immediately

Atonal, and rather painful to listen to.

that was fun. very clear why this album is relevant and how much influence it has had - giving a 3.5

Very experimental and pushing boundaries in 1979. Clearly an influence on new age bands that would arrive in just a few years. Just not very enjoyable to listen to. The guitar and Lydon’s vocals are downright irritating.

The warmed over classic rock riffs (and production) of the punk boy band Sex Pistols get most of the press. But PIL was way more interesting. Where sex Pistols were stuck in the present (of 1976/77) PIL is forward thinking. Imagine hearing this album of you were executing SP Part 2. Bass takes precedence over guitars - shout out Jah Wobble for bringing reggae/dub to the chat. Strange sounds abound. The centerpiece is still the singular wail of J Lydon. This album is still challenging and rewarding in equal measures. 4.5

Metal Box is hard to sum up. The album opens with Albatross, a track that runs for more than eight minutes — the rumbling bass, the dissonant guitar and the vocals that sound more like a curse than singing all feel deliberately confrontational in a way that some listeners might love. The stretch from Graveyard into The Suit honestly left me thinking, What am I even listening to? It’s hard to judge. I think I kind of like No Birds, but at this point I’m not even sure I trust my own judgment anymore.

1/10. As innovative, and original this album is, I just cannot stand it. It deserves its inclusion in the generator, and I like the Sex Pistols. However, this album is just really not for me. Sorry!!!

Avant guarde!