Editing Metal Box

{{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>

==Background==
The first studio album recorded following the departure of founding member, drummer [[Jim Walker (drummer)|Jim Walker]]. ''Metal Box'' was recorded in several sessions with several drummers, none of whom were credited on the original release. "Albatross" and "Swan Lake"/"Death Disco" were recorded with new drummer David Humphrey at [[The Manor Studio]] in [[Shipton-on-Cherwell]]. "Poptones" was recorded with [[Keith Levene|Levene]] on drums. During this time, additional tracks were recorded at The [[Townhouse Studios|Town House]] Studios in London, namely "Beat the Drum for Me" (which later turned up on Wobble's first solo album), and a new version of "Fodderstompf" (which became the B-side of PiL's "Death Disco" 12" single). Humphrey left the band around mid-May 1979. "Memories", "No Birds", "[[Socialist]]" and "[[Chant]]" were recorded with new drummer, [[Richard Dudanski]], previously of [[Joe Strummer]]'s [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] pub rock outfit, [[The 101ers]], at [[Townhouse Studios]] in London. The instrumental "Graveyard" was recorded with Dudanski on drums. Dudanski left the band around mid-September 1979. "The Suit" was recorded as a solo track by Jah Wobble at [[Gooseberry Sound Studios]] in London. Vocals and some overdubs were added at [[The Manor Studio|The Manor]]. "Careering" was recorded at Town House Studios with Wobble on drums. "Bad Baby" was recorded with new drummer [[Martin Atkins]] at Town House Studios. Except for a brief period during 1980, Atkins remained with the band until 1985. "Radio 4" was recorded as a solo piece by Keith Levene at [[Advision Studios]] and an unknown second studio. According to Levene, this was the last recorded track. Levene utilised aluminium [[Veleno (guitar)|Veleno]] guitars throughout the recording sessions to achieve a distinctively sharp and metallic guitar sound.<ref>[http://innocentwords.com/keith-levene-his-metal-box/ Keith Levene: His Metal Box], By Paul Barrel, 2013-11-04, Innocent Words</ref>

==Recording and music==
According to John Lydon, opener "Albatross'" was recorded live at [[The Manor Studio]] in Oxfordshire, with the singer free-forming his lyrics. Guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer David Humphrey made the song up as they went along, and recorded the song in one take.<ref name="ScottMurphy">{{cite web |first=Scott |last=Murphy |title=Fodderstompf - PiL Interviews - John Lydon interview |url=http://www.fodderstompf.com/INTERVIEWS/john2.html |date=January 2004 |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="furious">{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Gross |title=Keith Levene interview - Part 2 of 4 |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/keithlevene2.html |date=May 2001 |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> PiL also recorded at [[Townhouse Studios]] in West London with session drummer [[Richard Dudanski]] and produced the songs "Memories", "No Birds", "Socialist", and "Chant";<ref name="Clinton">[[Clinton Heylin]]: ''"Babylon's Burning – From Punk to Grunge"'', Canongate 2007, page 466</ref> Levene recalls that "Memories" features him playing "this normal Spanish guitar thing that goes dun-da-da-dun da-da-dun... it's one of the first things I learned to play on guitar, very simple. I was very fond of that [...] I just had the guitar going through an [[Flanging|Electric Mistress]]."<ref name="furious"/>

"[[Death Disco]]" – released as a single in late June 1979 – was remixed and retitled "Swan Lake" for ''Metal Box''. "I realised," said Levene, "that this tune that I was bastardising by mistake was '[[Swan Lake]]', so I started playing it on purpose but I was doing it from memory. You can hear that I'm not playing it exactly right. It just worked. [...] There's a few versions of that. The one on ''Metal Box'' is version two, which is very different from the simpler, original 12-inch version."<ref name="furious"/> The lyrics are based on Lydon's mother dying of cancer: "When I had to deal with my mother's death, which upset the fuck out of me, I did it partly through music. I had to watch her die slowly of cancer for a whole year. I wrote 'Death Disco' about that. I played it to her just before she died and she was very happy. That's the Irish in her, nothing drearily sympathetic or weak."<ref name="JackBarron">Jack Barron: ''"I Cry Alone"'', ''[[New Musical Express]]'', printed 10 October 1987</ref> PiL recorded the song at an empty hall in [[Brixton]] to test a three-bass sound system and worked with drummer [[Jim Walker (drummer)|Jim Walker]] but didn't record with him.<ref name="furious"/>

"Poptones" was one of the first songs recorded for the album, according to Levene, who stated that he inadvertently played "[[Starship Trooper (song)|Starship Trooper]]" during the song.<ref name="TheWire">[[Simon Reynolds]]: ''"Albatross Soup"'', printed in ''[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]'', December 2002</ref> According to Lydon, "Poptones" was based on a story "straight out of the ''[[Daily Mirror]]''" about a girl who was kidnapped and "bundled, blindfolded, into the back of a car by a couple of bad men and driven off into a forest, where they eventually dumped her. The men had a cassette machine with an unusual tune on the cassette, which they kept playing over and over. The girl remembered the song, and that, along with her recollection of the car and the men's voices, is how the police identified them. The police eventually stopped the car and found the cassette was still in the machine, with the same distinctive song on the tape."<ref name="PlasticBox">John Lydon's liner notes in [[Public Image Ltd.]]'s ''Plastic Box'' compilation, Virgin Records, 1999)</ref> In his 2009 autobiography ''Memoirs of a Geezer'', Jah Wobble says that Poptones refers to "a journey we took in [[Joe Dever|Joe]] the roadie's Japanese car [..] and Joe had one of his dodgy cassettes playing.". He highlighted the song as "the jewel in the PiL crown. [...] That [bass] line is as symmetrical as a snowflake. [..] We had a drummer with us who was pretty good [...] but the bloke just couldn't get the right feel for 'Poptones'. [...] In the end Levene put the drums down on that track, his drums are a bit loose, but that is actually a good thing."<ref name="Geezer">Jah Wobble: ''Memoirs of a Geezer'' (''[[Serpent's Tail]]'', 2009, pages 108–109)</ref>

Wobble cited "Careering" as his "second-favourite track from ''Metal Box'', and probably my favourite John Lydon vocal performance."<ref name="TotallyWired">[[Simon Reynolds]]: ''"Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews"'', ''Soft Skull Press'', 2009, page 20</ref> Lyrically, the song is "basically about a gunman [in Northern Ireland] who is careering as a professional businessman in London."<ref name="Noble">Peter Noble: ''"Jah Wobble of PIL"'', ''Impulse'' magazine, Toronto, May 1980)</ref> The song was recorded at the Townhouse during a quick nighttime session helmed by Wobble; he told journalist [[Simon Reynolds]] in an interview: "If you listen to the drum rhythm it is very similar to the sort of rhythm a [[Ancient Fife and Drum Corps|drum and fife band]] would create. [...] By now Keith had got hold of a [[Sequential Circuits Prophet-5|Prophet synth]], he used that on 'Careering'."<ref name="TotallyWired"/> Wobble created the drum track and bassline, while Levene played synth. Levene explained his synth playing in the song was an attempt to replicate the sound of ambient machine noise heard from a downstairs toilet, achieved by dropping an item on one of the synth keys to keep it going.<ref name="furious"/>

"No Birds Do Sing" (also listed as just "No Birds") features a line from "[[La Belle Dame sans Merci]]", a poem by [[John Keats]], which Lydon "just borrowed a bit of because it suited this particular rant about suburbia."<ref name="PlasticBox"/> The song was recorded at the Townhouse with drummer Richard Dudanski, whom Keith Levene knew during his tenure with [[The 101ers]]. Wobble said that Dudanski made extensive and imaginative use of the [[tom-tom drums]],<ref name="Clinton"/><ref name="Geezer"/> and Levene told Simon Reynolds that "No Birds" is one of his favourite songs on the album.<ref name="furious"/> "All that it is<!--not a mistake--> is me playing the guitar part and duplicating it, but feeding the second one through this effect I'd set up on the harmoniser. Meanwhile John is lying under the piano and singing that weird feedback voice, while twinkling the keys at the same time, just to be annoying. You can hear the piano on the record," said Levene.<ref name="TheWire"/>

"Graveyard" features a guitar part that was "made up on the spot," according to Levene. "I was in a very [[Clint Eastwood]] mood. I didn't know what I was going to play. Wobble's playing the bassline and drums are playing so I had to do something."<ref name="furious"/> The album version is an instrumental, a version with lyrics and vocals was retitled "Another" and released as the B-side to "Memories" in October 1979.

"The Suit"—described by Lydon as being about "people of low origins trying to be posh"—is one of Levene's least favourite tracks.<ref name="furious4">{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Gross |title=Keith Levene interview - Part 4 of 4 |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/keithlevene4.html |date=September 2001 |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> Levene said, "It was never one of my favourite pieces because of what it was really about. [...] There was this guy that was an old mate of John's who lived in this apartment. At some point John decided he hated his guts. He just wrote this really nasty, finger-pointing, over-exaggerated, ripping parody of what the guy was – 'Society boy.' [...] This guy, [fashion designer] Kenny MacDonald, made his suit and all of ours and it made him look good to have the guys from PiL wearing his stuff. We'd wear it wrong and it looked even better, we didn't want the black leather jacket look like these punk bands. So John just decided to hate this guy, that's what happens and there's nothing you can do. He wouldn't be his lapdog and John thought he was a star and wanted that."<ref name="furious"/> Wobble played and recorded the backing track of drums and piano for "The Suit" at Gooseberry Studios with Mark Lusardi, which started out as a cover of "[[Blueberry Hill (song)|Blueberry Hill]]".<ref name="Geezer"/> He brought the backing track to the band at The Manor, to which Lydon "freaked out when he heard that... He was galvanised into action and within a few hours 'The Suit' existed."<ref name="Geezer"/>

"Bad Baby"—its title a nickname of Levene's<ref name="furious"/>—was recorded at the Townhouse. Wobble (whose playing in the song was inspired by bassist [[Cecil McBee]]) and drummer [[Martin Atkins]] recorded the song together.<ref name="Geezer"/>

Levene recalled that "Socialist" featured cheap synthesizers he had purchased: "Me and Wobble were really having fun fucking around with these things, whilst submerged in the mix was this huge soaring sound, rising upwards from the drum and the bass, like a whale's cry. Later on I dubbed up the cymbals, so you have that spiralling metallic sound. Dubwise!" Wobble told Simon Reynolds, "At the time I was a bit of a [[socialist]]. [...] I hated [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]], I hated everything [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] stood for to be quite honest, you know, and at that time I just wanted that old-style, left-wing socialism."<ref name="TotallyWired"/>

Lydon called "Chant" an "old English ditty with a string synthesizer".<ref name="Hilsberg">Alfred Hilsberg: ''"Public Image Ltd. – Wir sind keine Rock 'n' Roll Band!"'', ''Sounds'' magazine, Germany, April 1980</ref> Drummer Richard Dudanski cited it as one of his favourites.

Album closer "Radio 4" was named after the [[BBC]] radio station. "I called it 'Radio 4' because in England, you got [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]], [[BBC Radio 2|2]], [[BBC Radio 3|3]]...," said Levene. "Radio 1 played pop tunes. Before that, the BBC was so boring! It took until about 1985 before we had FM radio."<ref name="furious"/> "Radio 4" was recorded and performed by Levene, initially with [[Ken Lockie]] from [[Cowboys International]] on drums, at [[Advision Studios]]. Levene played the bassline "as if it was Wobble playing," and played a [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] String Ensemble to create the layered synth sounds. "I was using this thing and I start building it up, all I'm doing is taking different sounds from this thing and layering it. When I heard it, I pulled the drums out. I got on the idea of trying to make it sound orchestrated with the long chords played shorter. To get round the other stuff, I just used what was at hand. I played bass like I imagined Wobble would play bass to it, I wanted a Wobble feel to it. But basically, it's all me – that's when I realised I can completely do everything. You just hear the drums at the end. [...] With 'Radio 4', I was just alone in the studio one night, and I was overwhelmed with the sense of space. I just took everything out of the studio, moved the drum kit out and played everything myself, reproducing this sense of cold spaciousness I felt around me."<ref name="furious"/>

"Many people don't understand that [the album] was [[Musical improvisation|improvisation]]," Lydon recalled. "It had to be, because we'd spent most of the money on the container ''[see below]'' – and so what we had to do was quite literally sneak into studios when bands had gone home for the night. And these were pretty rough [[Studio monitor|monitor]] mixes – no actual production."<ref>Fortnam, Ian: "Behind the Public Image"; ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' #148, August 2010, p61</ref>

==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]]

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=am>{{cite web |first=Andy |last=Kellman |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/metal-box-mw0000714559 |title=Metal Box – Public Image Ltd. |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=30 October 2020}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Pat |last=Gilbert |title=The sound and the fury |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=276 |date=November 2016 |page=100}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev3score = 9/10<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Keith |last=Cameron |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000341reviews.html |title=Public Image Ltd – Metal Box |magazine=[[NME]] |date=7 September 1996 |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001015022435/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000341reviews.html |archive-date=15 October 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev4score = 10/10<ref>{{cite web |first=Simon |last=Reynolds |author-link=Simon Reynolds |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22374-metal-box/ |title=Public Image Ltd: Metal Box |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=1 November 2016 |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Niall |last=Doherty |title=PiL: Metal Box |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=366 |date=December 2016 |page=117}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Rob |last=Sheffield |author-link=Rob Sheffield |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/metal-box-20061115 |title=Metal Box |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=15 November 2006 |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |first1=Mark |last1=Coleman |first2=Michaelangelo |last2=Matos |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |chapter=Public Image Ltd. |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/662 662–63]}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev8score = 10/10<ref>{{cite book |first=Simon |last=Reynolds |author-link=Simon Reynolds |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-first=Craig |editor2-last=Marks |chapter=Public Image Ltd. |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=315–16}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Neil |last=Spencer |author-link=Neil Spencer |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/public_image_ltd/reviews/13934 |title=PiL – Metal Box/Plastic Box |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=8 February 2010 |access-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206064952/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/public_image_ltd/reviews/13934 |archive-date=6 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10score = A−<ref name=v>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Christgau |author-link=Robert Christgau |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv4-80.php |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=28 April 1980 |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref>
}}

''Metal Box'' is now considered a [[post-punk]] classic, and is highly acclaimed. Andy Kellman of [[AllMusic]] said that "PIL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and ''Metal Box'' is undoubtedly the apex", noting that the album "hardly [sounds] like anything of the past, present, or future". He also compared it to the works of [[Captain Beefheart]] and [[Can (band)|Can]].<ref name=am/> ''[[Drowned in Sound]]'' reviewer Mark Ward wrote that the album "tears away from Lydon's sweaty punk roots and into the cold chambers of [[dub music|dub]] evoked by Can, the more outré electronics of [[David Bowie|Bowie]]'s Berlin years and the coruscating post-punk sound that guitarist Levene was in the process of pioneering" and that "if you don't yet have a copy, you really should".<ref>{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Ward |url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14969/reviews/4138615 |title=Album Review: Public Image Ltd – Metal Box (Remastered) |work=[[Drowned in Sound]] |date=8 December 2009 |access-date=29 May 2013 |archive-date=6 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006012201/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14969/reviews/4138615 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice|Village Voice]]'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] described the album's sound as "a full-bodied superaware white dub with disorienting European echoes."<ref name=v/>

The album was ranked at No. 2 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1979 by ''[[NME]]'', with "Death Disco" ranked at No. 11 among the year's top tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1979-2-1045405 |title=Albums and Tracks of the Year |date=2016 |publisher=[[NME]] |access-date=9 November 2016 }}</ref> [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]] placed the album at third place in his best of 1980 list for the ''[[New York Times]]'', proclaiming the album to be the "definitive album of postpunk rock and the year's most compelling slice of metal machine music."{{sfn|Palmer|1980}}

In 2003, the album was included in ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] list at No. 469, the magazine calling it "eerie, futuristic art punk with dub bass and slashing guitar".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/metal-box-public-image-ltd-19691231 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908051443/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/metal-box-public-image-ltd-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 September 2012 |title=Rolling Stone 500 Best Albums Entry |publisher=Rollingstone.com |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' also included it in their 100 Best Albums of the Eighties, ranking it at No. 76.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110418/public-image-ltd-second-edition-20110329 |title=Public Image Ltd., 'Second Edition' - 100 Best Albums of the Eighties |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=[[rollingstone.com]]|date=16 November 1989 |access-date=4 May 2016}}</ref> In 2002, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' ranked ''Metal Box'' at No. 19 on its "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5882-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/9/ |title=Pitchfork Feature: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s |publisher=Pitchfork.com |date=20 November 2002 |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref> It was also, along with their debut album, included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]'', with the reviewer Stevie Chick saying "the abrasive textures and powerful sounds they discovered...would influence all manner of experimental music for decades to come", while describing it as "cold dank, unforgiving, subterranean." The songs "Albatross", "Poptones", "Careering", "Chant" and "Radio 4" were selected as "key tracks".<ref>1001 albums you must hear before you die (2008 edition) Dimery, Robert page 442</ref> In 2020, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' included it in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for pushing "beyond post-punk into a fractured space between demented abstraction and cranky freedom".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-1980-1075743/|title=The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=11 November 2020 |access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>

Bassist [[Jah Wobble]] recorded and released a new version of the album in 2021, titled ''Metal Box - Rebuilt in Dub''.

==Track listing==
All words, music and production credited to Public Image Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Public-Image-Ltd-Metal-Box/release/1163733 |title=Original Release + Credits |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref>

===Original release===
The original release of ''Metal Box'' comprised six sides of 12-inch vinyl, played at 45rpm.
{{Tracklist
| headline = Side A
| title1 = Albatross
| length1 = 10:34
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side B
| title1 = Memories
| length1 = 5:05
| title2 = [[Death Disco|Swan Lake]]
| length2 = 4:11
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side C
| title1 = Poptones
| length1 = 7:46
| title2 = Careering
| length2 = 4:32
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side D
| title1 = No Birds
| length1 = 4:41
| title2 = Graveyard
| length2 = 3:07
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side E
| title1 = The Suit
| length1 = 3:29
| title2 = Bad Baby
| length2 = 4:30
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side F
| title1 = Socialist/Chant/Radio 4
| length1 = 12:34
}}

===Second Edition===
''Second Edition'' fits the album onto four 33rpm sides and features a slightly different song order ("Socialist/Chant/Radio 4" is split into its component parts, with "Socialist" and "No Birds" swapping places).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Public-Image-Ltd-Second-Edition/release/2569353 |title=second edition tracklisting |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref> 
{{Tracklist
| headline = Side One
| title1 = Albatross
| length1 = 10:34
| title2 = Memories
| length2 = 5:05
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side Two
| title1 = Swan Lake
| length1 = 4:11
| title2 = Poptones
| length2 = 7:46
| title3 = Careering
| length3 = 4:32
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side Three
| title1 = Socialist
| length1 = 3:09
| title2 = Graveyard
| length2 = 3:07
| title3 = The Suit
| length3 = 3:29
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side Four
| title1 = Bad Baby
| length1 = 4:30
| title2 = No Birds
| length2 = 4:41
| title3 = Chant
| length3 = 5:01
| title4 = Radio 4
| length4 = 4:24
}}

==Personnel==
;Public Image Limited
* [[John Lydon]] – vocals, piano <small>("No Birds" and "Bad Baby")</small>
* [[Keith Levene]] – guitar, [[synthesizers]], drums <small>("Poptones" and "Radio 4")</small>, bass guitar <small>("Radio 4")</small>
* [[Jah Wobble]] – bass guitar <small>(except "Radio 4")</small>, drums <small>("Careering" and "The Suit")</small>, piano <small>("The Suit")</small>
* David Humphrey – drums <small>("Albatross" and "Swan Lake")</small><ref>{{cite web |title=Humphrey Blue Drums |url=http://www.bluedrums.co.uk |access-date=5 February 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430185521/http://www.bluedrums.co.uk/ |archive-date=30 April 2006 }} David Humphrey</ref>
* [[Richard Dudanski]] – drums <small>("Memories", "No Birds", "Graveyard", "Socialist" and "Chant")</small>
* [[Martin Atkins]] – drums <small>("Bad Baby")</small>

<small>Note: Levene played all instruments on "Radio 4".</small>
;Technical
*Nick Cook, [[Hugh Padgham]], George Chambers – engineers
*PiL, [[Dennis Morris (photographer)|Dennis Morris]] – sleeve design and concept
*[[Novar plc|Metal Box Company]] – packaging

==Charts==
===Metal Box===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1979-80)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
{{Album chart|New Zealand|21|artist=Public Image|album=Metal Box|rowheader=true|refname=NZ1|accessdate=March 1, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|18|date=19791202|rowheader=true|refname=UK1|accessdate=March 1, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|171|artist=Public Image Ltd|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 1, 2025}}
|}

===Second Edition===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (1980)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
{{Album chart|New Zealand|28|artist=Public Image|album=Second Edition.|refname=NZ2|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 1, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|46|date=19800308|rowheader=true|refname=UK2|accessdate=March 1, 2025}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite news|page=7-F|date=25 December 1980|newspaper=[[The Columbia Record]]|last=Palmer|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Palmer (American writer)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88946492/new-york-times-best-records-of-1980/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|title=The Year's 10 Best Albums Become Integral Part of One's Life}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=204–205|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

==External links==
* [http://www.fodderstompf.com/DISCOGRAPHY/LP/3MBLP.html Fodderstompf: Metal Box Discography] (Extensive information on Metal Box from Fodderstompf PiL fansite)
* [http://www.fodderstompf.com/ARCHIVES/REVIEWS%202/metalbox.html Fodderstompf: Metal Box Review] (Review, plus additional info, links & images from Fodderstompf PiL fansite)

{{Public Image Ltd.}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1979 albums]]
[[Category:Public Image Ltd albums]]
[[Category:Virgin Records albums]]
[[Category:Island Records albums]]
[[Category:Warner Records albums]]