Holy Bible, The - Manic Street Preachers > Reviews

Advantages: 13 fantastic tracks
Disadvantages: none apeart from its very dark

this album is nothing short of brilliant. The cover art is brilliant, the lyrics are brilliant, the music is brilliant, the production is brilliant, the vocals are brilliant. Its not stadium rock like the first two, its sort of very moody punk. every song starts off with some speaking. the bass is well up the mix and the guitar effects are brilliant. The opener is called Yes and has a fantastic riff. Every track is a brilliant song musically and ... Read review

Advantages: Angry music that makes sense
Disadvantages: None

...album. My friend lent me the Holy Bible and I expected more of the same. Did I get a surprise!! This album shows the Manics at their darkest, mirroring Rich's state of mind at the time. However once I got used to the heavy darkness of it, I was hooked. 4st 7lbs is one of my favourites, beautifully raw lyrics that kinda touch you. The whole album is packed with amazingly different yet similar tracks. Anarchic yet not unidentifiable. Tips ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic lyrics, thought-provoking, emotional
Disadvantages: May upset some listeners

...is hard to describe the Holy Bible. It is a mix of Punk, Metal and Rock. This is by far the Manics' most intense album. As a warning though, you may find some of the subject matter extremely disturbing. In particular is the song "4st 7lb" which is centred around the anorexia of a girl. "I Wanna Be So Skinny That I Rot From View" sings James in a song that literally brings tears to your eyes. If you do not own this album, buy it today. Trust me, unless ... Read review

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...i first listened to the holy bible i was dissapointed. i found it hard to listen too and the tracks very varied. i put it in my cd rack and thats where it stayed for all of two days. before i relised it, this album had become the only thing i was thinking of and for the next 2 months it did not leave my cd player. this album is by far the manic's most chilling and autobiographical album. richey's criptic lyris are perfectly delivered by james' hard ... Read review

Advantages: The whole album
Disadvantages: maybe too complex in places

The Holy Bible by the manic street preachers is really the story of Richey Edwards depression and complete lack of lust for life. It encapsulates a mood and a time in the manics’ career and is truly a masterpiece and one of the albums of the decade. As soon as you hear the first song you are hooked to it. Yes is a class song riche’s lyrics are at their best and the intro as on many of the tracks are very good and make the songs sound even better. ... Read review

Advantages: Amazing lyrics and concept.
Disadvantages: Not for the faint-hearted.

Personally, I couldn't give a shit about what the Manic Street Preachers produced before or after this album. They started life as inept Clash-wannabes screeching about high street banks ("Death sanitised through credit"; er...okay.) and have ended up as bloated stadium behomoths searching frantically for their lost muse. However, this album pretty much single-handedly justifies their career. Made at the height of Richey's depression, the entire ... Read review

Advantages: The finest rock/punk/political album of the nineties
Disadvantages: Last great album the Manics would make

The Holy Bible, marred by the disappearance of Richey Edwards, is to date, the best work in my opinon that the Manics have ever released. Having matured so much by the release of Gold Against the Soul, their sound on this record is very punk orientated which lends itself perfectly to the political lyrics of tracks such as 'Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart' and the excellent 'P.C.P.'. Whilst 'Faster' and 'Archives of Pain' ... Read review

Advantages: Dark and sweet, elegant elegies and powerful passion.
Disadvantages: none

...love the music - The Holy Bible in particular. But I dont like the competitive nature of Manics fans or the "I've liked them since..." business. I havent liked them since Richie was three, and I dont feel the need to defend my "right" to support them, but many fans have imposed this view on me before - that I am not "as much of a fan" as they are. Ho-hum, c'est la vie. Getting back on topic, The Holy Bible is perhaps the finest album the Manics ... Read review

Advantages: it's the manic street preacher's defining musical statement and a blistering assault on the senses
Disadvantages: there is only one track that i don't absolutely love, it's almost the perfect album

...is writ large on the Holy Bible. The opening track 'Yes' is a blast of disgust, heavier than iron maiden and more literate than an english professor. Edward's lyrics tackle anorexia, the holocaust,right wing politics and the notions of sexual identity. The Manics always promised they'd never write a love song-and they certainly keep their promise. 'Faster' is the defining moment, a breackneck pace rocker with a riff that is achingly brilliant. The ... Read review

Advantages: Very powerful and very dark.
Disadvantages: I mentioned "coal" and quoted Dylan Thomas.

...hard not to, because The Holy Bible has all the gruesome fascination, and some of the rhythms and metallic squalling, of a car-crash in slow-mo. ... Read review

Advantages: People think you are weird if you like it.
Disadvantages: People think you are weird if you like it.

...released two albums before The Holy Bible (and several after), but their cult following (mainly consisting of Goth wannabes) has raised this record to near-mythical status. Sample Lyric: "I believe in nothing, but it is my nothing." Best Song: 4st 7lbs. Official Website: http://www.manicstreetpreachers.com/ The Holy Bible is the quintiseential Manics album. Buy it now, rather than wait for the "Oh they were good, shame they split up" articles ... Read review

Advantages: dark, rock, informative
Disadvantages: difficult listening in places. Can be over-personal

The Holy Bible was the third studio album by the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on August 30, 1994 by Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Records, unlike their two previous albums which had been released on the Columbia Records imprint. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart. In August 2005 it topped Newsnight Review's 'Quintessential Newsnight Viewer' top 5 favourite albums poll, pushing Radiohead's OK Computer (a much ... Read review