The Holy Bible [IMPORT]

Manic Street Preachers

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 28, 1994)
• Original Release Date: August 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Epic Europe
• ASIN: B000024J5H
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,206 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Aussie version of the UK act's critically acclaimed third album, originally released in 1994. 'Holy Bible' is their last album featuring iconic guitarist Richey James. 13 tracks including the harrowing anorexia diary '4st 7lb'. 1994 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius, lyrically and musically, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Holy Bible (Audio CD)

This is the album par excellence. More people live their life by this piece of music than any other, yet was it intended as such ? When recorded, co-lyricist Richey James was going through mental illness, anorexia and alcoholism. Other lyricist Nicky Wire was on the verge of leaving. Both of their lyrics are stark and to the point with a severe lack of humour. Subjects range from concentrarion camps, to political correctness, to anorexia to American Imperialism ansd are treated in a manner that could not be described as anything except vicious and passionatte.

The music (co-written by drummer Sean Moore and singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield) is as stark and brutal as the lyrical contect. Most songs begin with an uncredited sample followed by vicious, furious and sometimes tragic music that captures the essencs of the lyricists' vision.

On a personal level, the song "Faster" means most to me. It deals with the impossibility of the soul to stand up to, and oppose the modern world, or something like that. Set to a furious neo-punk backdrop, with Bradfields powerful voice and guitar shining through It ends with these brilliant lines repeated 4 times "So damn easy to cave in / Man kills everything".

Superior. Especially in light of what the manics hve turned into.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brutal and Brilliant, January 30, 2005

By	Coleen "frankie-machine" (Down in the alley) - See all my reviews

One of the greatest recordings of the 1990's...this album affected me the same way the first Clash album did. EVERY song is a killer! However, this does not sound like the Clash, except it is influenced by them - it is much darker than the Clash - lyrically, more like Joy Division, VERY dark. And the JD comparisons don't end there. JD's lyricist, Ian Curtis, hung himself right after recording the band's epic, "Closer". MSP's co-lyricist (with Nicky Wire), Richey James Edwards, went missing and still hasn't been found (in fact, has been declared dead) after this album was released. Listening to the lyrics, it's not surprising. But the album is somehow uplifting, too, with James Dean Bradfield's powerful vocals and surging melodies. This album truly is a classic! Check it out! You'll probably wear it out.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything's for sale. But buy this one, February 1, 2000

By	Ville Halonen (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews

I just realized it's now been exactly five years since Richey James' disappearance, and what better time to write a review about a record that has been said is simply a portrayal of this "coolest person in the 90's".

Three quarters of the lyrics on the Holy Bible are by Richey, and as always, James and Sean have written the music. Prior to the album, the band said to have been listening to Joy Division, for example, and they visited death camps, among many other haunting locations.

And this can be heard. The Holy Bible simply gives me the creeps, and now even more than before. It was the first Manics record I ever laid my hands on, but now that I've heard the previous ones also and seen what they were like a couple of years before, I can't but say it frightens the hell out of me.

By handling issues all the way from death camps to anorexia to gun laws to serial killers to glorification of the past to political correctness, this record changed my way of thinking. In the same time I was reading ethical philosophy, met this great socialist fellow and heard this record, and I was forever moved away from such a selfish movement as capitalism.

Richey wrote great lyrics for this one (and I can't say that any of them are bad, so I have to give credit to the bassist Nicky also), and they are supported by great melodies and sounds, not a single track is less than excellent. The lead guitars are sometimes so terrific I'm speechless, not to mention some very fine riffs, bass ("Archives of Pain") or guitar ("Yes").

Some people have complained about how the album has been produced, it is too "full", but I think it's perfect. I couldn't ask for a more finely produced record. Can't say a single bad word.

No, I'm not through yet. You see, I really love the sleevenotes. Full of style, and they fit the theme of the album perfectly. And the band...damn, they look good...

Now you can go on and buy this. Five stars ain't enough.