Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box (1979)


"PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running -- the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires -- but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. ... [Metal Box was issued in the States in 1980 with different artwork and cheaper packaging under the title Second Edition; the track sequence differs as well. The U.K. reissue of Metal Box on CD boasts better sound quality than the Second Edition CD.]"
allmusic
W - Metal Box
W - "Memories", "Another"
W - "Death_Disco"
Julian Cope presents ...
Guardian: How we made: Jah Wobble and Keith Levene on Public Image Ltd's Metal Box
amazon: Metal Box, Second Edition
Spotify: Metal Box
YouTube: Metal Box
YouTube: Memories, Death Disco, Swan Lake, Peel Session 1979: 1. Poptones (0:07) 2. Careering (4:39) 3. Chant (12:12)

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