Metal Box (studio album) by Public Image Ltd.

Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
Year: 1979
Overall rank: 799th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 422 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1979 (13th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (175th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (799th)

Public Image Ltd. bestography

Metal Box is ranked as the best album by Public Image Ltd..

Public Image Ltd. album bestography « Higher ranked (-) This album (799th) Lower ranked (2,594th) »
No album foundMetal BoxThe Flowers Of Romance

Upcoming concerts

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19
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MJ LIVE - Michael Jackson Tribute
Paramount Theatre, Anderson, United States. United States
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11
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20:00
Fantastic Cat
The Southern Cafe & Music Hall, Charlottesville, United States. United States
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Jul
26
Sat
17:00
CARNIFEX "HELL CHOSE ME 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR"
Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside, United States. United States
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Metal Box track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 82 (71 votes)Comments: 1
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2.
Rating: 82 (66 votes)Comments: 0
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3.
Rating: 82 (65 votes)Comments: 0
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4.
Rating: 83 (70 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 83 (72 votes)Comments: 0
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6.
Rating: 79 (55 votes)Comments: 0
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7.
Rating: 78 (59 votes)Comments: 0
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8.
Rating: 77 (57 votes)Comments: 0
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9.
Rating: 76 (57 votes)Comments: 0
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Metal Box rankings

Metal Box collection

Metal Box ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 422 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 422 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 Report rating
3 days ago Invader666  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,89467/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
06/01/2025 03:43 BurndenAce  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 80678/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
05/24/2025 16:07 paologabriel  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 67283/100
 
65/100
 Report rating
05/15/2025 20:35 Jibb  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,37782/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
05/12/2025 13:50 CharonBri  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,00175/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.8/100, a mean average of 75.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.4.

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Metal Box comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 27 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
60/100
From 04/15/2023 18:11
Socialist is the best track on this album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
30/100
From 04/07/2023 04:40
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/08/2023 22:24
A decent album but there isn't anything ground breaking that would make it a must listen. It is enjoyable for the most part with the strongest tracks coming right at the beginning. The quality does go down hill the further into the record you go and the music becomes really slow and a bit boring. Overall, it has a few very good tracks but for the majority it is just pretty average.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/18/2022 23:11
Very unique and interesting album, a metallic and uncompromising post punk sound of it makes it hard to sit through it.
The experimental stuff works only some of the times.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/12/2022 10:48
#449 in 1001 Albums listening project. I do not get why it is there. Not for me, I tried, I tried, I tried, I tried, I tried,..
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 10/14/2021 18:34
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -6 votes (0 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 06/28/2021 09:33
I understand it's influence, but it is not really my thing...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/23/2019 18:33
Favorite Tracks:Albatross, No Birds, Bad Baby
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/23/2018 21:47
A classic album. A must have.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/23/2018 20:49
I've been into weird post-punky side of rock for more than a decade but I finally got this album's vibe just a couple of days ago. As unbelievably amazing as Flowers of Romance is, this one is even better. A milestone album, really. On the same level of unique innovation and inventiveness as TMR or WL/WH. And play damn good all along.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1979
1. London Calling by The Clash
2. The Wall by Pink Floyd
3. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
4. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
5. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
6. Breakfast In America by Supertramp
7. Entertainment! by Gang Of Four
8. Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
10. Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
11. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
12. Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
13. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
14. Ambient 1: Music For Airports by Brian Eno
15. The B-52's by The B-52's
16. Specials by The Specials
17. Armed Forces by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
18. 154 by Wire
19. Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks
20. Setting Sons by The Jam
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