The Holy Bible [CD]

The Manics have been criticised for the subject matter of this album, in which the songwriter alternately identifies himself with prostitutes, anorexics, and disturbingly demonstrates his empathy with victims of the holocaust and the atom bomb. They have been accused of posturing, of taking tragic, horrific events and using them to define their own image as a band. I myself think that there was no such cynical reason behind the Manics’ treatment of such subject matter on this album. They always have been an honest band, to the point of making themselves look ridiculous, and I think that when they made this album, they were genuinely preoccupied with the horrors of the world, and they genuinely wanted to portray their reaction to that horror, however misguided an ambition that may be for a rock band.

To put this album into its real context, look at death metal bands and American artists such as Marilyn Manson, and the way they fetishise death and violence for entertainment, and then compare that with the Manics, wearing their hearts on their sleeves, trying to get all their jumbled thoughts out into their songs, not thinking enough about the possible consequences. Later in their career the Manics would look ridiculous when they wrote a song about the Hillsborough disaster. If anything, it showed a sense of arrogance, a misguided assurance that they were somehow qualified to be the spokesmen for victims of tragedy. With “The Intense Humming of Evil”, the Manics obviously saw themselves in the worthy tradition of the Spielbergs of this world, rather than in the exploitative tradition of something like “the Night Porter”. Whether it works out that way is up to the listener to decide.

“The Holy Bible” is definitely a powerful, well-made album, and it deserves recognition as a real classic of British rock music. For the first time in their career, the Manics’ music matched the manic, jumbled intensity of the lyrics. The line “so damn easy to cave in, man kills everything” is matched on “Faster” by crunching, discordant powerchords and crashing drums. Disturbing lines such as “I want to walk in the snow and not leave a footprint” are echoed in “4st 7lbs” with a track of tinny, skeletal beauty. Elsewhere we have the mournful, repetitive refrain of the strangely muted guitar on “Yes” and the powerful industrial metal of “Archives of Pain”. “This is Yesterday” is one of my favourite Manics songs, with its understated lyrics and excellent guitar work. Never before, and not since, have the Manics produced an album of such consistent musical excellence and power.

The lyrics are a mixed bag. They are consistently good and paint vivid pictures of the big themes the band decided to tackle. Lines such as “these sunless afternoons I can’t find myself” on “Yes”, and “see myself without ruining lines, whole days throwing sticks into streams” on the paean to lost youth “Die in the Summertime” rank among the most beautiful lyrics the Manics have produced. However, as I referred to before, some of the subject matter may be too disturbing for comfort for some people. “Archives of Pain” is a bleak call for capital punishment that may cause woolly liberals some discomfort. “The Intense Humming of Evil” and “Mausoleum” will make most listeners uncomfortable.

Ultimately, I feel that this is a great album that has dated well, and ranks as one of the classics of the 80s and 90s. It’s unquestionably a dark album, but it has a power and energy about it that makes it stand out as the best work the Manics have done.

The roots of this album start with the over-produced "Gold Against The Soul" and the backlash that befell the band that wanted to be bigger than Guns N' Roses. While the effort was more streamlined than the debut, the result was a Manic Street Preachers album that was too polished, very photogenic, and even polite enough to merge with MOR stadium rock in an effort to gain a larger audience. The acoustic trend in music was acknowledged with hefty doses of fingerpicked intros and hushed Hammond organs while grunge was highlighted with wah-wah pedals and stacatto riffs. They supported this album by playing with Bon Jovi.

Then, things started to happen. Richey Edwards continued his slide into self-hurt, depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Musical tastes were changing as bands jumped on the BritPop bandwagon. Pop music was on the way up as moody, introspective rock was on the way out. Their manager, Philip Hall, had passed away from cancer. Kurt Cobain committed suicide. All of these factors combined with an Manic Street Preachers habit of changing gears to keep their musical approach fresh. Hammonds and acoustics were stripped off the songs. Fuzz guitars and bass were added along with flanger and phase effects. The band that had a soundbite for each track on their debut album started defining each track with an opening excerpt from film, text, and music. As the Manic Street Preachers were born from punk rock, so they fully embraced their roots, and made an album of sheer vitrol and noise.

Richey's illness had sidelined him from recording, yet as he never plugged in that wouldn't be a problem. Instead, his focus was on an over-all image. Combat fatigues and dog tags told you that the band was ready to fight. Images of distorted flesh and crosses dictated a lyrical focus on the body and the soul.

Released in late summer of 1994, The Holy Bible was a stark change from the eyeliner and glitter of the first two albums. As the band had matured, so had their audience and while not everyone was comfortable with the subject matter, it was generally agreed that the Manic Street Preachers had reached the highest artistic level of their career.

The songs span several topics and spare no-one in their intensity. Yet while almost everyone who has posted a review on this album comment on the dark tone, they all admit that they cannot go for long without listening to it. While unrelentingly bleak this album is the strongest the band have ever been. Had things been different, and a few more years passed, this album may have broken free from the British Isles and been a worldwide smash with the teenagers and youths who grew up in the shadow of grunge.

Their masterpiece, hands down.