Music for the modern misfit #2 The Holy Bible
Released in 1994 - The Holy Bible remains one of the most profound releases of the 20th century, still sounding fresh today.
The Manic Street Preachers hold a space dear to my heart - besides having arguably the most irreplaceable band name in history - they were introduced to me in my formative years by a good friend of mine. Before the Holy Bible, I had written them off as NME Wankslop. Now, unashamedly, I can admit that I was a c*nt of a teenager and very much wrong
The Holy Bible cannot be put into any conventional box - it’s a decrepit, long-nailed finger from the darkest recesses of the human mind etching its way into your brain like a needle to vinyl. I don’t say this in a doom & gloom, exaggerated propagandist sort of way - I mean it. This album concerns subject matter ranging from sex work to eating disorders & the holocaust. James Dean Bradfield’s rotten-esque cries and screeching guitar are lectures to the most wretched parts of the soul, canonised along Sean Moore’s war drumming and the mastercraft lyricism from the twisted pair of Richey Edwards & Nicky Wire - a duo more enigmatic and enthralling than any other in rock history.
Coming hot on the heels of Gold Against the Soul, the manics looked towards Gang of Four, Wire, Magazine and AC/DC (of all places) for a new sound. What they came out with was a politically infused and enthralling storytelling piece of modern art that transcends age, sex and lifestyle. Each song perfectly flows into the next, with a plethora of intro snippets sampled from weird and wonderful places (including but not limited to - 1984, an interview with the mother of one of Peter Sutcliffe’s victims and a translation from a soviet report on the Nuremberg trials.)
It’s hard to take a pick at a highlight, but for sheer presence, it has to go to Faster, the song credited with being the most controversial performance on ToTp. Faster’s sermonesque start combined with its post-punk / dad rock fusion sound, is a fantastic first listen for an introductory lecture into the Holy Bible for those only acquaintanced with the Manic’s chart toppers like Motorcycle Emptiness.
Holy Bible enthusiasts might see fit to listen to
Generation Terrorists - Manic Street Preachers
While the album is musically and stylistically brilliant, the vocal delivery is a gripe- many of the lyrics were taken from Edward’s scrawls coming out of psychiatric care, and adapted to music by James Dean Bradfield in an interesting albeit difficult format. Many first-time listeners I’ve introduced to the band have complained they can’t understand what he’s saying or what the songs are about - but they grow on you like a fattening leech, and the message comes through regardless.
A product of the escalation of Edward’s anorexia and a plethora of other intricate complications, many falsely attribute the album to be a leading cause in his subsequent disappearance ( A la Heath Ledger & The Dark Knight). Edwards has been missing now for 30 years, and in that span, the band has evolved into the sort of alternative chart-topping gigantic that they aspired to be in the first place, with many not knowing they were ever a four-piece.
