Cillic Audio’s Metal Box Lite is a free reverb plugin that delivers a delightfully unique character.
It’s also the lite version of Metal Box, which is available to buy for $12.
The name “Metal Box” originates from the album “Second Edition” (1979) by Public Image Ltd. The album gained the nickname Metal Box due to its packaging, a twelve-inch metal canister.
At times, Public Image Ltd had a somewhat revolving door approach to welcoming new members and promptly ushering them back out, but the most prominent member remains John Lydon (Johnny Rotten).
The unique character of Metal Box Lite begins with a very early reverb algorithm and culminates in one of music’s many happy accidents. Cillic Audio modified a reverb algorithm from 1962 and discovered a bug during development.
The bug caused resonances in the decay to ring out, which sounds somewhat wrong, but, as we know, if something sounds good, it can’t be bad, and it does sound good.
So, rather than remove the bug, the developer wisely embraced it, making it a standout feature of the plugin.
Now, you can dial in as much of that technical error as you like using the Stability slider.
With little stability, Metal Box gets pretty wild, featuring ringing feedback in a good, grungy, dystopian, industrial way. It will be fantastic for soundtrack projects when you want the sound to descend into chaos.
It’s also great for any sort of industrial or experimental electronic music.
The plugin has four parameters: Size, Decay, Stability, and Mix. It’s easy to use, and it’s not all about chaos; Metal Box offers more conventional plate/spring reverb effects, but it’s the chaos I like most about it.
If you want more control, you can check out the full version of Metal Box, which features additional parameters for Damp, Mod Depth/Rate, and Width.
I know everyone has a million reverb plugins, but it’s always nice to try one that ventures off the beaten path.
With that in mind, check out Sculpture by Discreet Signals, a spectral multi-effects plugin for macOS and Windows. Use the code BPB50 for an exclusive 50% discount (you can get it for $47.50 instead of $95).
Metal Box Lite is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
Mac owners using the provided installer will need to head to Privacy & Security via System Settings to enable the package to be opened.
Alternatively, you can bypass the installer and place the Component/VST3 files in their corresponding folders; Cillic Audio has provided a handy instal tutorial video for anyone unfamiliar with the process.
Download: Metal Box Lite (FREE)
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Last Updated on October 1, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
