Track Listing

1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swan Lake
4. Poptones
5. Careering
6. No Birds
7. Graveyard
8. Suit
9. Bad Baby
10. Socialist
11. Chant
12. Radio 4

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14168 in Music
• Released on: 1979-05-29
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

One of the key post-punk albums...
Rating: 9/10

Best tracks: "Swan Lake", "Careering", "No Birds", "Poptones"

Never mind The Sex Pistols, here's Metal Box! The second Public Image Ltd (or PiL) album is at once a challenging, difficult yet mesmerising work; often seen as the absolute pinnacle of the post-punk movement, it's certainly not the most accessible example of what I personally think was the most exciting, creative, fluid era in all of 20th century's music. Yes, more than the 1960s! Metal Box is driven by the terrific bass lines of Jah Wobble and the coruscating, tortuous and sometimes hypnotic guitars of Keith Levene, while lead singer and lyricist John Lydon is just as effective a lead presence here as he was in his former band, but in a very different way; it's amazing to think that this is the same singer as Johnny Rotten was only a few years back.

Opening dirge "Albatross", of all the ten songs here, is definitely the most difficult to enjoy; over ten minutes Lydon laments and ghoulishly wails over an unrelentingly rhythmic bass and searing, painful-sounding guitar. Lydon was a big fan of the German group Can, and their at once repetitive yet subtly expanding rhythms are a clear influence on this album; some may find "Albatross" a drag and then some, and its certainly a wilfully tough choice to open the album on, but it has power and presence, and is a grower. On an additional note, Metal Box was originally released in a film canister-style box with the tracks spread across three 12 inch, 45RPM records, with the intention being that you could play the sides in any way you want; so in theory, some may prefer not to regard "Albatross" as an opening track after all.

Things get hardly lighter with "Memories", but it's got a gripping, great tune, the kind you could dance to even (it was also a single), but it's not going to be played in any 1970s nostalgia clubs, that's for sure! There are some spooky, vaguely Arabic guitars, and the kind of bass line that's really very simple in theory yet so directly captivating that it becomes something approaching genius. The even better "Swan Lake" (essentially pre-album single "Death Disco" in edited form and a song about Lydon`s dying mother) has one of the all-time best-ever bass lines, amazing vocals, amazing guitars...it's one of the most striking singles ever created, and probably the band's zenith. You can really dance to this one too! Dance to it, and be freaked out at the same time! The song also ends on the locked groove of the original vinyl, before switching out of the blue to the disturbing "Poptones", which is, in its own ugly way, beautiful, at least musically anyway. Lyrically (the song focuses on a rape victim) its as dark and bleak as anything Lydon has ever put to paper.

"Careering" is spooky, atmospheric and one of my favourite things here, with the eerie synthesisers a major highlight. "No Birds" is probably the most accessible thing here in that the rhythms and guitars are clicked onto one hell of a beat; of course, it's still a hellish, scary ride all the same! The creepy and catchy "Graveyard" is a spooky shuffle with an sinister synthesiser that casts a spooky moon-lit illumination over a suitably ghoulish beat. It's great stuff! "The Suit" and "Bad Baby" continue the creepy moods very effectively, while "Socialist" builds on a bubbling, relentless and edgy bass riff; "Chant" provides a punishing five-minute assault before the almost-soothing "Radio 4" appears out of nowhere and in its synthesiser drenched respite, feels almost like an act of generosity after what has almost been an hour of spooky, scary, disturbing, unforgettable music. This album is most certainly not for everyone, and to take it all in one listening might be too much, but it is a brilliant album which still sounds extraordinary and fresh nearly thirty years since it was first released...

Lydon ,Wobble and Levene's masterpiece.
Originally released in 1979,this,even today,sounds like a trip into the future.It wass famously released originally as 3 12-inch singles,so breaking down the begining-middle-end of conventional albums.The contents pretty special too.
Jah Wobble's bass thunders out as the backing,with Levene's guitar and Lydon's vocals swirling over the drum/bass mix.It is the reason for the original 3 12 inchers(the bass tracks could be cut into the vinyl that much deeper).
Hard to pick out highlights as it works as a totality,rather than a collection of tracks,but "Poptones" and "Careering".Any fans of dub reggae,Holger Czukay/Can, and/or Captain Beefheart will find something to delight in here.
It isn't easy listening,and if your knowledge of PIL starts with "Album" or later releases,you'll probably be scratching your head in puzzlement as you listen to this.Listen to it with an open mind,and enjoy.

Magnificent record
Metal Box is the second PIL album and their masterpiece. One of these rare things that crosses the sky of rock from time to time. Formed by John lydon after the split of a well known band, PIL turns the back to the past : with cynicism. Exit the image shaped by Mc Laren, place to the music, a powerful funk carried by the hypnotic bass of Jah Wooble that sometimes evokes Holger Czukay of Can, striated by the minimalist riffs of Keith Levene (between James Blood Ulmer and Tom Hemran from Pere Ubu) and chanted by a muezzin voice who once used to call himself "Rotten".
In the late 70's, PIL is unique with this punk Funk : only the bands Siouxsie & the Banshees and Wire offer a music as original as theirs. Inspired, Lydon makes psalmodies on the breathtaking " Careering" which with " Poptones" is enough to justify the acquisition of this precursor recording.