Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Eine Band, ein Sänger. Und dann sagt jemand zum Sänger: probiere doch einfach mal zu singen. Oder niemand sagt ihnen dass es nicht zusammenpasst. Jeder einzelne eigentlich noch spannend.
I get it. The rhythm section is interesting and I admire that the group tried to capture some spontaneity on some tracks. And ok its 1979, but it doesn't add up to good music. And it really doesn't add up to something I have to hear.
Day323 - can it be influencial and bad at the same time? i do like the bass playing throughout
It’s more experimental than I anticipated. But most of the experiments fail.
Im kinda struggling with this one - I kind of like the music, but John Luton is such a weird little man that I vehemently dislike, so... I know that most of the musicians on this have other albums on here (Jah Wobble, The Clash, Killing Joke...) so I guess I'll wait for them to come around? Yeah, not one for another listen.
Idc 1.5
Oh, atonal. My favorite. Oh...Lydon. Well, there you are.
It's always disappointing when stuff like this comes up. I didn't like it but I allowed 2 stars because I didn't absolutely hate it.
2/5. I must not be getting it. I must be musically challenged because apparently this is a perfect album by everyone who reviews music for a living. I didn't hate it honestly, and did like the instrumentation, but I think if this was just an instrumental album, then it would be much better. I know the choice of singing in this way was intentional but it's not the edginess it wants to be. Socialist is great because it is all instrumental and provides the energy I was expecting from this album. The bass and other instruments provide enough quality that John Lyndon adding his voice is just about as pretentious you can get for no reason. Best Song: Socialist, Graveyard, Radio 4
Someone should have introduced the singer to the rest of the band. They maybe could have got together and made some music. Instead they went with the approach of some dudes playing (somewhat decent) guitar & drum lines and another dude (sort of) singing different songs to a different melody. After hearing their first album a couple of weeks ago, I expected this to be completely shit. Turns out it was not quite as bad as I expected. Still pretty bad, but not to the same level as First Issue. 2/5
Whatever mixer decided to put “Albatross” as the lead track took a giant gamble. Too long, repetitive, droll and quite annoying. Could have skipped the entire album after that. After listening, I should have. Instrumentals were not good, lyrics were mid. Coming from this group I expected better. The debut was better, but this definitely got the sophomore slump. Barely a 2, and that’s generous
Fuck the vocal performance on this thing is bad, which is a shame since I actually liked some of the instrumental. The guitars on this heavily inspired Albini and a lot of noise rock which I gotta give it rep for but otherwise an unenjoyable experience. 5/10 Fav tracks - Swan Lake, Poptones, Chant, Radio 4 Least Fav - The rest
Didn't do much for me. Mostly just dark and grinding.
I understand that this was ground breaking at the time, but by today’s standards it’s a bit messy
Weird album with prog rock vibes with sampling. Didn’t click for me. 2/5
the instruments are great the vocals not so much
A really tough listen
I could not make it through the album
boring and uninspired. went on way too long. some redeeming qualities, though.
I didn't need to listen past the first few songs.
A very grating and uninteresting listen overall. Some sections were ok, but mostly this was one of those times I couldn't wait for the album to end. 1.7/5 -> 2/5
I've listened to this three times now, to try and work out what KRS and Hector see in it, and I really can't. It's not angry enough to be a proper punk album, and doesn't have energy, but you lose so much in terms of thought and soulfulness from his voice (or lack thereof) that it makes most of the music unintelligible. 2/5.
Metal Box, for me, was an unpleasant experience. I found it grating, irritating, and mostly very annoying and on the whole kind of boring. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-metal-box-by-public?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
I found this very jarring. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood. Seeing this kind of punk live is very different to just listening to it on an album for me. I just couldn't get into and wanted it to end. Reminded me of the fall stuff that I don't like
I thought this was pretty bland. It's a shame because I like John Lyndon's voice but the music was like they'd given up and just made any old thing.
Better than expected.
This album is fucking garbage.
Had to skip through the first song after 4 minutes Like I get the trancy metal-late '70s vibe of it, but it's so repetitive Poptones had an interesting beat. That one got me into counting. Maybe just the drummer's drumming on the offbeats. It is definitely a one sound kind of sound
Awful droning nonsense
Rock experimental. Un tostón. Un 2.
Experimental rock. PUFF. Nada.
Quite surprised that I didn't hate it! I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it! Not really sure what I think of it!
Definitely "ran away" from Albatross about halfway through. The sound of the rest gives me a bit of Talking Heads vibes but just... not as good? I'm not sure, I can appreciate the music, and the style of vocals, but I just think the vocals weren't done well enough to work. It quickly just becomes annoying. This is a shame too, because the music without the vocals is quite good. Fav track: Poptones Least fav: Albatross 2.5/5
It's far from the best album on this list, but it does not deserve one of the last positions in the global status rank. Yes, it's strange and sometimes annoying, but many other post-punk albums follow the same pattern here. It was at its best when it somehow resembled Sex Pistols. Post-punk is better when the "post" part is ignored; that's interesting.
Boring
Songs are way too long. The awful singing makes them seem even longer. It's not 1 star bad, but not much better. At least the production is OK. I think this was the right record at the right time when it was new, but it's not now. Favorite song: Poptones
One extra star cos of what this led to.
not good
I usually like post-punk, but this was hard. It had some redeeming points, but... 2.5/5
Entirely meh, feels like they may have made the misfits intro though.
Yeah, no, mostly irredeemable nonsense.
This is from that era after punk had hit the scene, but they weren't really sure what the next big wave of music was going to be and it shows.
This has a lot of good ingredients. Vocals are not one of them and the rest were not mixed in the right ratios. The bass did a lot of heavy lifting to keep this interesting.
john lydon:obnoxious arrogance::anthony kiedis::sex and wieners
One of those albums where it sounds like the vocals were conceived entirely separately from the rest of the music and the bass player demanded to play a starring role. My dad would love it. He probably has it, actually.
These songs were too dang repetitive. I have a tough time listening to this singer as well with his whiny kind of voice. Not the biggest fan of unrefined/raw instrumentals either. Radio 4 was a cool end though with the spacey piano and synth sound.
There’s some good stuff on here, but I also feel like a lot of it is just John Lydon trying to feel cool/different by making weird songs and lyrics.
After the first song, I was ready to give Metal Box 1 star, the vocals alone are a non-starter for me, but I kept going. Swan Lake was interesting and I actually kinda liked Poptones. Love the guitar, still hate the vocals. Metal Box rotates between decent at times and some of the worst sounds I’ve ever heard 3.4/10
This sucks
Honestly, not a huge fan. There was like one song that was aight and the rest sounded like two machines fucking.
A riff would come up that I liked and then the lead singer would come in and ruin it. I definitely think there’s something there with this album, but I wouldn’t be impressed if I heard it at a bar.
I want to start off by saying that I love the drummer and bass player! That's where my praises end. This whole album feels like the guitarist, vocalist, and producer are just adding random sounds on top of what would be a solid bass/drum beat. Hey, guess what! That's exactly what they did. According to Wikipedia, "Albatross" was completely adlibbed and recorded in one go and you can tell. I wish that we could get an entire album with just the bass and drums. We got a taste of that with "Socialist", but even then they couldn't help themselves by putting random beeps and tones on top of everything. If I was a record label in this time, I would steal Jah Wobble and David Humphrey, pair them with a strong lead man who can play four cords on a guitar, and own the 80's. This would be a 1 star album for me, but the drum and bass brings it up to a 2.
Just couldn’t get into this one, no matter how hard I tried. I think it was the vocals that I just couldn’t stand.
It might be groundbreaking for the time but I found it quite annoying, sorry.
Halfway through I was like "Okay, I get it but it's not for me, three stars" but I decided to be fair and keep listening to the end. Two stars!!!! NOT FOR ME!
I wouldn't repeat it...
Ok so influential to the development of post punk and new wave. But apart from the tight rhythm section I don’t enjoy this. Tuneless singing and discordant guitar noodling.
I think I don't like post emo and goth music much. This is like third album like this and I'm sure it's genre defining but I didn't like the sound much.
Never been a big fan and this doesn't move the needle upwards
I can see how this would have been interesting at the time. It's interesting now, but didn't grab me.
With few exceptions, a 10min+ song is just indulgence that doesn't lend much to the music or the enjoyment, unless an 8hr bender is what you're looking for and don't want to pay the royalties for 200 songs. This one is no different. Feels very much like a live album to me.
Pil can’t have 2 on this list. Other is better
Started to get into it. The post-punk sound is representative of the feelings of creeping paranoia and self-doubt. I felt that for the first 3 songs, but then this one just goes off a cliff. Too long and the second half suffers from falling off the deep end.
Unimpressed. Sounded like looped background music. Maybe the album was influential in its time, but it has no influence on me.
Because this is the second Public Image Ltd. album I started to read up on them more and learned a lot. Yes, Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) is their lead singer but I didn't realize the Clash's Keith Levene was on guitar or Jah Wobble was on bass. It is such a different album than anything else, and that's both a good thing and a bad thing. That said, I do hear where other post punk bands came from (New Order, the Fall) and where the 80's went to. Metal box feels like an appropriate title, it sounds tinny and like screeching metal at times. It's very stripped down and yet abrasive, and this can make it very hard to get into. But man oh man does it have some unique, cool work on guitar (Albatross) and bass (Memories). Even synth (Socialist, Radio 4). And Lydon is still a clever lyricist. Still, it all kind of drones on and on - both within and across songs. The album could be tightened up so much and sound far less monotonous or uninviting.
ну это совсем уже) пост-панкисты поют в альтернативной тональности примерно одну и ту же песню весь альбом и из всего этого можно нарезать заставку мисфитс. очень знаково
Not really my thing. Too much wailing from Lydon and overly long. Some decent instrumentals at times, but otherwise just a bit shit. Can hear some PiL influences in music by The Rapture who are much, much better.
This was significantly better than their debut - a massive step up in quality with some grooves here and there that really pulled me in. Still hated it mind
Though the instrumentation is fine in parts, the real weak link in the band is the singer, Johnny Rotten...oh I mean, John Lydon. He is not a gifted singer, nor even a passable vocalist, but he seemingly gets a free pass from his work with the Pistols, where shouty, snotty punk vocals suited the sound and image of the band. Unfortunately, in this "serious" work post-Pistols, it's unlistenable for the most part and progressively gets worse and it disintegrates into a sloppy mess. So, without Lydon there would be no PiL and we weren't have to suffer through this record. On the positive, there was some pretty nifty bass work throughout and it would be cool to own the original pressing metal box packaging.
Literally never heard of this album or band. Very 1980s slow, punk, BritRock style music (a la Joy Division). Don't really like this one, not for me. Couldn't make it through, it also just didn't feel like the vibe for a Wednesday morning
First the good; nifty bass lines and cool danceable grooves, an uneasy and unsettling atmosphere. Next the bad; the tracks are overlong and there's no real sense of purpose and the songs just don't go anywhere; I was bored listening to it and couldn't wait for each track to end. Last the ugly; the vocals are terrible and I couldn't hear any of the lyrics. I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve with this. It just felt like an irksome itch that was really rather irritating. End result a failed experiment that maybe should have stayed in the can (pun intended).
An improvement over their debut album but still mostly a chaotic mess
Johnny should have stayed sucking at punk rock instead of transitioning to sucking at post-punk rock
- Also ich muss sagen, dass ich bei dem ersten Track ziemlich abgetörnt war. Wirkte auf mich fast wie eine Persiflage auf 70s Rock. - Danach hat mich das Album doch nochmal gekriegt, zwischendurch echt coole Ideen dabei gewesen und ein insgesamt ganz nicer Vibe - Hintenraus hat es mich dann aber wieder verloren Rating: 2,25/5
- Hmm war irgendwie ein wilder Ritt - Kann nicht leugnen, dass ich unterhalten war, aber jetzt nicht primär aus musikalischen/vibey Gründen. - Krass, dass die 1979 einfach solche Mucke gemacht haben - Vor allem zum Ende hin wirds mir leider zu experimentell 2,5/5
Youtube
I don’t think I’ve knowingly ever met any one that admitted to liking PiL. I really don’t get it - who are the demographic that enable his continued existence in the music scene? That said, tight drumming and driving bass elevate it to a mighty 2*.
For an album that relied heavily on experimentation with a harsh noise, I can see a lot of good elements going into it. Just a shame that it does NOT come out that well and is a sludge.
ª Fav songs: graveyard =*
John Lydon: *listens to Joy Division once*
I almost liked Albatross. It intrigued me at first, but never paid off for me. Swan Lake was the same feeling. I liked Socialist, after that the album degenerate for me. Most of it sounds like they recorded a jam session and called it a day. I can't imagine ever listening to this again. John Lydon's are a little grating to me. Sometimes he's ok to me, but not on this album. The bass saves the day here. The only thing that got me through it.
Eh, I'd probably rather listen to an entire album of just the rhythm section here. Maybe even the guitar on top of it. But I could do without Lydon's caterwauling.
Creep rock
It’s an Interesting album historically but fuck is it hard to listen to at points. I do like how experimental it was for the time and I enjoy some of the hypnotic post punk rhythms but at times it sounds like four people jamming to completely different songs.
Vähän kuin olis polkenut mopoa käyntiin jossa on tulpat kastuneet, ei vaan lähde ja jossain vaiheessa alkaa vituttamaan. Negatiivinen kokemus.
Meh
Sex-Pistols-Frontmann Lydon wandelt mit der Nachfolgeband auf experimentellen, dub-inspirierten Post-Punk-Pfaden. Ein Meilenstein, der mir aber vor allem aufgrund des verworrenen, sperrigen Gesangs nicht ins Ohr gehen will.
Maybe if I'm trippin balls
barely made it through first song. rest of album was ok. some hit or miss.
This was a fairly painful listen, and based on the other opinions on this site, it seems I'm not alone in thinking so. I wish I understood what I'm missing, as professional ratings have raved over this collection of long, dull tracks that lead nowhere. And the vocals...yikes! I like modern post-punk, so I hoped I'd enjoy this, but there is minimal musicality here. "Uncomfortably hypnotic" is the best I can offer.
The instrumental is interesting, almost industrial. Lyndon's voice ruins everything though. Even in Sex Pistols, it's my number 1 complaint. Not a must-listen, overall. Hearing this artist's debut is enough, imo.
Eigentlich genau meins. Aber man muss wohl in der Stimmung dafür sein. Jetzt war's nur anstrengend.
Johnny Rotten is quite caustic throughout
Meh
Vreemde muziek, zeker geen aanrader op de vroege ochtend.
Ik vind dit ook weer niet prettig om te beluisteren hoor
It's my least favourite band in one of my favourite genre's of music
Another let down - I'm a big fan of avant-garde and music that's a little more out-there, however this record was directionless. It wasn't bad, but even worse than that was it left no real impression on me whatesoever
What a turn of events ole Johnny Rotten here. I really like the avant garde turn here. It isn’t the best album I’ve ever heard but if you look at when it came out it’s such an odd change of pace. Perfectly fine music, even sometimes enjoyable.
Rhythm section was cool... made it at least listenable despite the guitarist's and vocalist's efforts
Vocal really let this one down. Instrumental was fun, but just too long
made me uncomfortable
Had some instrumental bits that had a nice pep and sound to them, but the vocals I found to be terrible.
Une expérience pour le moins étonnante... Débute avec Albatross, et si la basse est très bonne, le reste n'est que torture : guitare grinçante comme une craie sur un tableau noir, Johnny Lydon qui chante en boucle des paroles approximatives. Et ça dure plus de 10 minutes. Le reste est un poil plus accueillant. Ca doit être intéressant d'un point du vue historique, une plongée dans les traumas d'un homme torturé, un geste artistique total, mais je vais laisser ça aux mecs de pitchfork. Le clavier de “Bad baby” est une blague. Et s'il y a bien quelque chose de pire que lorsqu'il chante, ce sont les instrumentaux (“Graveyard”, “Socialist”). Je me suis marré, donc 2 quand même.
couldn't find this specific album, but I found another one from 1979. It is old school punk stuff. OK, but not exciting
not really my taste but appreciate the out of the box experimentation. will check out some of their other tunes.
Punk rock post sex pistols. a bit underwhelming for me.
This is the first album I've come across that I do not like. Seriously, at all. Scratchy vocals that are out of tune. Guitar riffs and keys that make no sense. The only possibly redeeming quality is some of the bass line is decent. Other than that, no thanks. Didn't make it past the first few songs.
I am not really into post-punk, and this album did not resonate at all. I gave this 2 stars (not 1 because a couple of the tracks were OK).
Had really cool elements to it didn't love the vocals.
I found this a little too boring and long.
I appreciate how this album was wildly creative and original from its time, but I just can't bring myself to enjoy these repetitive dead synthy drum beats, atonal guitar wails, and off-key musing vocals. feels like one of those krautrock psychedelic albums, except stripped of anything that was deemed 'too interesting'. overall feels like a bunch of ironic teenagers made some intentionally bad music to troll the masses. that being said there's some groovy ideas, and I'm glad this media exists I guess 1.5/5
A little too experimental for my prog rock tastes.
Of the first fifteen albums I've listened to from this generaor, this is the first one where I've had to spend all day reconciling how I feel about it. It's not like the others, where I give 'em, two, one-and-a-half, or even just one runthrough and I know. This one, though... I ended up interogating a lot of different topics to try and get to how I felt. "Did I listen to it wrong? Should I have listened to it in bursts and out of order, like how it was originally released?" "Was I just in the right head space, in this weird moment between accidentally falling asleep for an hour, waking up feeling off, and knowing I was gonna go to bed in another two hours? Did I not pay enough attention, even then?" "What about all of the praise critics have given it? Why's there such a divide between the 100% approval rating from them and low 2 from the people here on this website?" "Is it just because I'm not into post-punk?" "What's even the point of lists like this or the Rolling Stone 500? Does rating these albums even matter?" "How does my rating system even work?" I went on like this until I reached two conclusions: firstly, in general I'm just bad at quantifying my opinion down to a single number. Like, all of those questions, and more I didn't list, were just to figure out if I was gonna give this thing a 2 or a 3. I had no idea which number better represented how I felt. And even if decimals were allowed and I could split the difference at 2.5, would that even still accurately reflect how I feel about it? Then there's the second point, which is, simply, "What's the point in putting in overthinking your rating so much when by 00:15 the next day you'll be on to the next album?" It doesn't matter, ultimately. Just pick one and move on. So let's just finally move onto my opinion, huh? Enough blabbering. On the one hand, I feel like I get METAL BOX, or SECOND EDITION, whatever you wanna call it. I actually kind of click with what it's going for, musically. I mean, for one, the dub bass is fantastic. Absolutely the best part of the album, and all of the praise in the world to Jah Wobble for it. And, I mean, you combine that with the guitar, and... I'unno. It kind of reminds me a pre-evolved Primus? Switch out the dub bass for virtuosic slap funk and have more conventional song structures, and sure. Hell, I even really enjoyed "Socialist", "Careering", and the turn to relaxing synths for the closer "Radio 4". I can find a lot of good moments scattered throughout. But, note: scattered throughout. There's pieces and songs here and there I like. But on the whole? On the whole, I feel like it's too long. Which, yeah, relates back to the earlier question about if I listened to this wrong: this was supposed to be listened to in bursts, ten minutes at a time. Sitting down with it for the full hour was never how it was intended to be listened to. But even accepting that and disregarding its total length as a criticism, to put it simply, a lot of it just doesn't interest me. Whatever anti-rock experiments they were going for... Just didn't do it for me. I can tell why most folks here checked out after "Albatross". I mean, of course if I sat with it longer and truly let it sink in I'd maybe grow to like it more. But with only one chance to rate this album before I have another one I hafta spend the day considering... I jus' gotta go with my gut. It's a 2. Part of me doesn't like that, since I feel like experimental in particular gets a bad rap from this website's users, but whatever. "Wha'cha gonna do," eh? All I can hope for is that I like the next album better.
One of The Albums of all time.
i liked it better when he wasn't singing
Evaluating this for influence and enjoyability, leads to a low rating.
I feel like punk is a ‘you had to be there’ genre.
Underwhelming
Meh too experimental
Definitely not for me. Exhausting.
Some of these songs were good while others had vocals and/or sounded like “that”
If you combine the "I don't give a flying fuck" attitude of punk rock with the worst self-indulgent excesses of progressive rock (minus the musical ability), this is what you get. Repetitive, meandering and pointless. BTW this is my second PiL album in 4 days, what's up with that? At least this one doesn't have John Lydon's stupid face staring at me. 2 stars.
could i write poetry to this? n
This album is fine...I like it...But it doesn't belong on this list. The first PiL record pretty much covered it. Two and one-half stars. This spot should have gone to Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance." It's an equal or better early Punk/Post-Punk/New Wave/No Wave album. You might not like it, but you'd have to acknowledge that it's a more "important" recording.
schwieriges Terrain ! Dazu hab ich keine Meinung oder einfach gesagt, das ist halt John Lyndon !
Schon ein paar Jährchen her, dass mir solche Musik richtig gefallen hätte; die Jammerstimme tat es noch nie
Experimental rock. PUFF. Nada.
I found this boring and repetitive.
This actually makes the Sex Pistols sound good. Johnny Rotten’s voice is just annoying.
Post punk. Extraño.
I didn't really enjoy this. I can see this being inspirational in a world that is pre post punk, but on its own it was very clunky and boring.
Didn't care too much for this. It was just ok. 2.5/5
Very meh. Didn't even really notice it.
To quote my co-judge, "I can't believe that PIL would warrant two albums on 1001!" I agree. Some of the music is interesting but Johnny's abrasive sneering over top is a downer.
Yuck. I couldn’t get past the first track.
Public Image Ltd.'s "Metal Box," released in 1979, is a challenging avant-garde experiment.... that made me literally fall asleep. The album's unconventional structure, marked by Jah Wobble's dub-influenced bass lines and John Lydon's abstract vocals, creates a disorienting experience. While innovative, the repetitiveness of the tracks and the overall lack of accessibility may alienate listeners seeking more traditional post-punk. The three 12-inch records packaged in a metal can add to the album's mystique but also contribute to its impracticality. While admired by some for its boundary-pushing nature, "Metal Box" is an acquired taste, earning a modest 2/5 for its limited appeal and experimental extremity.
Man moaning in a microphone on top of untuned guitars.
Yeah nah. Johnny is just a bit crap I'm afraid.
"post-punk", sparse drum/guitar instrumentals with whispery and wailey vocals. Last song was kid of orchestral, though
Can't
Not understanding this one. Just ongoing wailing and general noise.
This list is tough sometimes
Meh
do i buy country life butteeeer? actually enjoyed the backing music but lydons vocals made me imagine what it would be like to insert a knitting needle through one ear and out the other.
Shit box
Not every artist who released an album needs to be represented on the list. Not every genre needs a new name assigned to it. Sometimes "shit" is descriptive enough.
About 10 seconds into this album my feeling was "I'm going to like this!" Mostly because I liked the guitar and the groove. It reminded me of pixies and similar bands. But the rest of the album was a letdown. I don't like the vocals. The sound was too monotonous.
A lot of things about this felt like something I should enjoy more than I did.
Other people were doing this better at the time - Joy Division, Bauhaus. And God, John Lydon can't sing.
Kind of reminds me of something the B-52s would put out as an experimental album.
I try to trust music dorks when they like an album, but this really didn’t do it for me. The vocals are whiny, and the production makes it sound like you’re listening to an ill-fated college punk band through three layers of concrete dorm walls.
some interesting bits here and there but on the whole just didn’t enjoy most of this
Not my style of music
Ik had er precies meer van verwacht
Not my thing. I'm giving it an extra star because it absolutely succeeds at the band's goal of creating an "anti rock" sound.
Muy post-punk. No está mal pero no lo veo imprescindible. Para mi gusto son 2 estrellas y me guardo Graveyard.
The music was good but a bit too droning and aimless for my taste.
Found it boring
The best album this week so far and almost because of that it gets a default 2*
1. Albatross - I do not like the way this one is sung at all and the lyrics, the instrumental is interesting. Also ten minutes and it doesn't really change or evolve that much to me. 2. Memories - this one was a bit better since it was more exciting, but didn't love it. 3. Swan Lake - interesting lyrics. 4. Poptones - this one is creeping me out, the music is like eerie and the lyrics not feeling it. 5. Careering - interesting sound, but not loving it. 6. No Birds - not loving it. 7. Graveyard - i like the music in this one a bit more than others. 8. The Suit - I hate the way the vocals are sung in this one, not pleasant to me, instant skip for me. 9. Bad Baby - same as the others, not my style. 10. Socialist - again I actually really like the sound of this one and since its an instrumental don't have to deal with the vocals haha 11. Chant - not my style. 12. Radio 4 - ending it with an instrumental, it's actually quite nice sounding for me. I didn't really like this very much although I recognise its impact...I knew when it said post-punk on wikipedia I was probably not going to since punk is one of my least favourite genres. I appreciate the music and production but it's not my style and I don't connect with the lyrics or the singing style. PS I find the actual vocals so difficult to hear with the guitars on some songs which is something I hate in music (could be my settings on my earphones/spotify)
Unsettling, unhinged and repetitive. I feel that some records can do any of those three things, or even all at once, in a way that works. However this just didn't do it for me. Maybe not in the mood for this today, but this is the second PiL album so far on my list, and neither have been up my alley. It's a long and repetitive sonic recreation of crippling anxiety. Musically there wasn't that much going for it and lyrically none of it made sense. Its claim to fame is just how weird and nonconformist it was for 1979, and John Lyndon being the frontman certainly helped PiL get famous. Jah Wobble redeems this to an extent, but a bassist can only carry the rest of the band so far. It just seems to be weird and unnerving for no reason. There's no direction to any of it, and as a result it's an hour of (terminal) boredom. Not interested in coming back to this any time soon. One positive thing I will say - Swan Lake is quite cool, and I feel like it has the most substance out of anything on the record. It has a disco groove to it, and the leitmotifs to the eponymous ballet score are neat. The story behind it (or its original form, "Death Disco") is devastating though. Fuck cancer. Favourite - Swan Lake
Not quite sure what this was. It had a nice bass line and had a play time of 65 minutes. Otherwise, I don't know if it was one long song or a bunch of shorter ones. Totally forgettable.
Some of this resembles music
Was well up for this but didn’t like it
Er no.
I don't get it. Why? I don't understand the thought process, I don't understand the appeal. Is this novel? Is this pretty? Is this cool? I just don't think so.
I mean its influential etc etc but it can be a bit of a drag to actually sit down and listen to
This one did not hit any of my musical pleasure zones. There were moments where it started to feel potentially trance-inducing which can be nice, but it just wouldn’t stick. So that meant that it just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and off.
Kinda weird British prof, I get the appeal as something that could be listened to on a crowded party blitzed, but I can’t imagine I’d put this on any other time.
Experimental rock. PUFF. Nada.
Was okay in parts. Give me sex pistols any day
This was more annoying than my review of Public Image Ltd’s “First Image” suggests I found that. Considering it saw “the band moving into a more avant-garde sound characterised by John Lydon's cryptic lyrics, propulsive dub-inspired rhythms led by bassist Jah Wobble, and an abrasive, "metallic" guitar sound developed by guitarist Keith Levene.” I didn’t mind the metallic guitar, but the rest of it didn’t head in a direction I enjoyed.
This was weirder than I was expecting.
Ik heb betere platen van PIL gehoord.
A creepy album with fleeting glimpses of cool riffs and moments. I'm not even sure I listened to the right album because the names were different, but it said so in the description. Those are my favorite albums...the ones that are so incredible that not only do they make it on a list like this, but that they are impossibly hard to find...because they are so popular. SOOOOO POPULAR.
Hostile to the listener. Hefty no thank you. Best track: No Birds
I don't want to live in a post-punk world. The music is pretty cool, not a fan of the vocals. Track highlight - Graveyard (insturmental of course).
Not entirely Rotten.
Pop-rock un tanto experimental. Canciones en ocasiones, sin ningún tipo de orden. No me ha aportado mucho. Totalmente desconocidos. A veces, desconozco el criterio para incluir ciertos grupos/discos en esta serie
4/10. Blah, wish I had listened to the version on Spotify that was missing a couple songs
I got a bit of a reality check this weekend when showing some of my less album-inclined friends a couple tracks from the most experimental artists on the list. Their reactions sum up to, "Why would anyone want to listen to something that sounds like shit?" Today I ask myself that very same question. 3/10
I just can't with this smack. The initial 10+ minutes of just low effort BS filled my heart with hate which did not diminish. It failed the saving grace of so many punk albums by not even being short.
bullshits
this specific kind of post-punk, similar to joy division and such, doesn't so anything for me. it's something that i don't know if i'll ever get, even if i can understand that there's a lot of skill and and great things within the music. i just don't enjoy it.
Strange ambient post punk where the band are almost onto something but Lydon’s lack of humour and warmth distances the listener from really engaging with the experience - tripped out bass and drums with spiky Johnny Rotten’s lyrics. Jah Wobble’s bass elevates the project and The Suit was a highlight but otherwise a lot of hard work.
Le 1 évité sur le gong grâce à cette dernière track
on s'ennuie de fou
I often forget the timing of this band and their albums, so I'm glad this project reminds me when their albums were released. Their style gets a bit redundant to my ears, but I can appreciate what they were doing here in response to other music in the late 70s.
Back to back post punk…hurtful
Pas si mal, mais pas si bon. C'est intense, 1 hr en plus.. 2.80
Rock experimental. Un tostón. Un 2.
The first half started giving me those visceral 1 star reactions ngl. But then, a switch flipped and it inched closer to a 3 on the more instrumental tracks on the back half. Can’t say I want to come back again but I won’t smack a bish if a song is played in the car or sum.
I'd only heard a handful of PiL songs prior to this. I was surprised by how experimental it is. I can hear the beginnings of new wave (I think). Overall, this is a wild album that feels pretty chaotic. I have to be in the right mood for stuff like this. I do respect what they did here, though it's not really sometime I'd listen to very often.
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.
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,,,
If I had to design a universally bothersome experience, I would start by playing this album in a waiting room and embellish from there.
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.
Not sure what the fuck this was supposed to be. Maybe they accidentally sent their rehearsal tapes to the pressing plant.
Singing quality is poor - mostly talk-singing. The music itself is a bit chaotic.
Previously unknown. Just did not land for me.
sounds like a couple wankers who wish they were the Clash
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...
Obv experimental, but kinda unlistenable. Not quite well constructed enough to apologize for its roughness
No sé loco. No sé.
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.
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.
Couldn’t do it. Like if the Talking Heads and Television were way worse.
Not my favorite. Very strange.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Gave up after about five “songs”. Nonsense.
Load of shit.
Emetic
Oh good, more obscure 80s britpop! -No One Ever "Sowing the seeds of discontent//I know you very well, you are unbearable" -Albatross
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.
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.
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.
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
⭐ 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.
Awful
Horrid droning swill.
Actually horrible lmao what the fuck
Easily twice as long as it needed to be. Also, just boring to me overall.
Olyssningsbar dynga
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
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.
Once I adjusted my EQ to cut out all treble it was bangin'
Mumble punk
Could not get through the first 2 songs
Mmmmmmm
I'm never opening this metal box again.
Eh, weird at best. I was hopeful at first.
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
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!
As a fan of experimental she Avant Garde music, I can safely say this shit fucking sucks what the fuck
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
The bass groves in some of the songs are the only thing getting me through it. Too spicy for my liking.
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.
Not sure what I am listening to these days…
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.
It was just all annoying noises; whiney singing, screeching, and feedback. All backed by a baseline. Pretty awful stuff
I hate this album can’t lie - it does nothing for me and it’s way too long
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.
garbage
No thank you.
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
Urgh… that’s is all
Nothing of interest to me here. 1 star or F.
Musically grating, awful vocals, annoyingly repetitive, way too long. A pretty miserable experience overall.
If this was instrumental, it might be oddly hypnotic if overlong. But the vocals pushed into actively annoying for me.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Not Available on Spotify.
You should have stayed in the Sex Pistols, Johnny. At least then, we knew you weren't trying to be pretentious with this garbage.
Don’t like the music, hate the singing. Jackie would have loved it.
nope.
Not available
If a cat in heat had a drum machine, you'd get this album.
Very unpleasant to listen to.
1.5/5 Strontvervelend
Post-punk does not suffer without this album in its lineage. Challenging, it is not. Obtuse, it is.
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.
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.
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.
This is not my kind of music.
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)
No comment
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.
He had 1 great album in him. It wasn't this