Editing Metal Box (section)

==Metal box packaging==
The title of the album refers to its original packaging, which consisted of a metal case in the style of a [[16 mm film|16mm film]] canister embossed with the band's logo and containing three [[12"]] [[45rpm]] [[gramophone record|records]]. It was designed by Dennis Morris<ref>Metal Box Stories from John Lydon's Public Image Limited, book by Phil Strongman, published by Helter Skelter, {{ISBN|978-1-900924-66-5}}</ref> and was innovative and inexpensive, costing little more to the label than the cost of standard printed sleeves for equivalent 12" releases (although Virgin did ask for a refund of a third of the band's advance due to the cost).<ref>Reynolds, Simon: "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984", page 216.  Penguin Press, 2005.</ref> Before the metal tin was finalised, there was discussion of the album being released in a sandpaper package that would effectively ruin the sleeve art of any records shelved next to it. That idea would later be realised by [[the Durutti Column]] for their 1980 [[Factory Records]] debut, ''[[The Return of the Durutti Column]]''.

[[File:PIL - Metal Box original open.jpg|thumb|left|''Metal Box'' opened]]
The album's lack of accessibility extended to the discs themselves. Packed tightly inside the canister and separated by paper sheets, they were difficult to remove, and were prone to being nicked and scratched in the process. Since each side only contained about ten minutes of music, the listener was required to frequently change sides to hear the complete album.<ref name="RS #318">{{cite magazine |last1=Marcus |first1=Greil |author-link1=Greil Marcus |date=29 May 1980 |title=PiL box |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |publisher=Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. |issue=318 |page=53 }}</ref>

Deleted from the catalogue on 23 November 1979 after an initial release of 60,000 units, the album was re-issued on 22 February 1980<ref name="fodderstompf 1980">{{cite web |url=http://www.fodderstompf.com/CHRONOLOGY/1980.html |title=PiL Chronology 1980 |publisher=Fodderstompf |access-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> as ''Second Edition'', a double LP packaged in a more conventional [[gatefold]]. The sleeve art of ''Second Edition'' consists of distorted photographs of the band members, achieving a funhouse mirror effect. (The front cover is a composite photo of Keith Levene and John Lydon.) The lyrics are printed on the rear cover. These were originally printed in a magazine advertisement and not included with ''Metal Box''. The band initially wanted the album released with a lyric sheet but no track titles. The United Kingdom version of ''Second Edition'' appears as the band intended, with lyrics on the back cover, but no titles, and "PiL" logo labels on all four sides of the vinyl. The US edition of ''Second Edition'' has track titles both on the back cover and the labels.

The original metal canister idea was used a few years later during the compact disc era. By the late 1980s, a number of CDs were packaged in metal canisters. In 1990 the concept came full circle, with the compact disc release of ''Metal Box'' employing a smaller version of the original metal canister, containing a single disc and a small paper insert.

Tape with the PiL logo was created with the intent of sealing each metal box. However, labor costs were deemed too expensive and the tape went unused. Martin Atkins has some of this tape and has put some pieces of it up on auctions to benefit The Museum Of Post Punk and Industrial Music. 
[[File:PiL tape.jpg|alt=PiL tape|thumb|PiL tape intended to seal Metal Box]]