Editing Metal Box (section)

{{about|the Public Image Ltd record|boxes made out of metal|Tin box|the company formerly known as Metal Box plc|Novar plc}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Metal Box
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Public Image Ltd]]
| cover      = PIL - Metal Box original.jpg
| alt        =
| caption    = Original metal canister packaging released in 1979.
| released   = {{Start date|df=yes|1979|11|23}}
| recorded   = March – October 1979
| studio     =
* [[The Manor Studio|The Manor]] in [[Shipton-on-Cherwell]]
* [[Townhouse Studios|Townhouse]], [[Advision Studios|Advision]], [[Gooseberry Sound Studios|Gooseberry Sound]] and Rollerball in London
| genre      =
* [[Post-punk]]<ref name=am/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-50-best-post-punk-albums|title=The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums|first=Robert|last=Ham|date=July 13, 2016|website=[[Paste Magazine|Paste]]|access-date=December 8, 2024}}</ref>
* [[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |year=2006 |title=[[Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984]] |location=London |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |isbn=978-0-571-21570-6 }}</ref>
* [[Dub music|dub]]<ref name=v/>
* [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]<ref name=am/>
* [[dance music|dance]]<ref name=am/>
* [[post-rock]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/public-image-ltd/641|title=NME Reviews: Plastic Box|date=1999-01-11|publisher=[[NME]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610054006/http://www.nme.com/reviews/public-image-ltd/641|archive-date=2008-06-10|access-date=2025-05-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| length     = 60:29
| label      = [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
| producer   = Public Image Ltd
| prev_title = [[Public Image: First Issue]]
| prev_year  = 1978
| next_title = [[Paris au Printemps]]
| next_year  = 1980
| misc       = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = ''Second Edition'' cover
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = PiLSecondEdition.jpg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption =
}}
{{Singles
 | name        = Metal Box
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Death Disco|Death Disco (Swan Lake)]]
 | single1date = 29 June 1979
 | single2     = Memories
 | single2date = October 1979
}}
}}

'''''Metal Box''''' is the second studio album by [[Public Image Ltd]], released by [[Virgin Records]] on 23 November 1979.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Record News |periodical=[[NME]] |publisher=[[IPC Media]] |location=London, England |page=4 |date=10 November 1979}}</ref> The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in standard vinyl packaging as '''''Second Edition''''' in February 1980 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom, and by [[Warner Bros. Records]] and [[Island Records]] in the United States.

The album was a departure from PiL's 1978 debut ''[[Public Image: First Issue|First Issue]]'', with the band moving into a more [[avant-garde]] sound characterised by [[John Lydon]]'s cryptic lyrics, propulsive [[dub music|dub]]-inspired rhythms led by bassist [[Jah Wobble]], and an abrasive, "metallic" guitar sound developed by guitarist [[Keith Levene]].

''Metal Box'' is widely regarded as a landmark of [[post-punk]].<ref name="am"/> In 2012, the album was ranked number 461 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/elvis-costello-and-the-attractions-armed-forces-44401/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= September 2, 2019}}</ref>