10 Most Inaccessible But Ultimately Rewarding Albums Ever

6. Public Image Ltd - Metal Box

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L_z-Qaaero After John Lydon left the Sex Pistols behind him he made a conscious effort to pursue a completely different artistic direction, one where artistic aesthetics and image were left behind for something with arguably more substance and musical credibility. What he ended up forming was Public Image Ltd (PiL), something which Lydon strongly advocated as being "a company and not a band". That outlandish statement would have you believe that they aren't focused on making landmark albums but they did the exact opposite with the 1978 sophomore effort Metal Box. Now seen as a watershed moment in the roots of post-rock, the record combines labyrinth clanging guitars with Keith Levine at the helm, Lydon giving one of the most dynamic vocal performances of his career, a myriad of drummers providing almost metronome, dance hall beats and all of this further driven forward with bassist Jah Wobble living up to his name and literally shaking the foundations of these insistent tunes with his relentless refusal to be buried in the mix. The sheer abrasive nature and unconventional structure of pretty much all of the tracks here take some time to digest but even on first inspection it's clear there is something special on the menu. Again the insatiable chemistry between the members just push this one into a new stratosphere like on the building kinetic energy of 'Careering', the bombastic bounciness of 'Swan Lake', the mutating, krautrock inspired opener 'Albatross' and the list just goes on. For all their instrumental noodling in parts, it never feels like there is a wasted second here because there is a plethora of musical movements either in the forefront or in the background. As good as the Sex Pistols and Lydon were, Lydon doesn't steal the show here for once simply because his fellow musicians contribute something unique to the overall sound in their own wonderful way. Few bands can add to their musical forefathers in a meaningful way let alone surpass them in some regards and in the process create something entirely of their own but PiL did just that on their most career defining moment Metal Box.