The Holy Bible

What an amazing album. I feel like this album got swept under the rug with Kurt's suicide the year prior basically signaling the death of the grunge movement. And to have a depressed guitarist/songwriter who disappeared in 1995 never to have his body found and only declared legally deceased in 2008 makes for an even interesting backstory to this album. I can't believe I hadn't ever listened to this. Such a precursor to post-grunge and emo in the early 2000's. I enjoyed this album beginning to end. I couldn't understand a lot of the lyrics but the music itself carried my interest. I need to read the rest of the lyrics as they seem to all be pretty depressing.

Very punk.

(I found the backstory about the vocalist, Richy interesting.)

An emotional and disturbing masterpiece, this is the manics best work, but can be such a hard listen knowing what happened to Richey, he was going through these horrific themes himself, which sadly does give authenticity to the art.

I quite enjoyed this one! Very cool musical choices overall, britpop with punk edges executed really well!

The Holy Bible was a really good album. The first few songs weren't exactly the greatest to me, either that or i just wasn't in the groove yet. But it was by track 4 that it really started to grow on me. The tracks could either be fast, frenetic and fun, or they could be much more villainous with some pretty haunting melodies especially with those bass lines. I still do not think that any of the songs from this album are bad either, sure the first 3 might have been a little forgettable but they still were good. Geez, why do so many britpop albums go this hard?
Best Song: The Intense Humming of Evil
Worst Song: Yes

Anger, desolation, remorse—this is just the bleakest album. It reflects the misery of turning 15 at the time; "soft skin now acne."
"The Holy Bible" is also peak Manics, when they jettisoned Hollywood-style production in favour of making an entire album that sounded like it was recorded down a tube, but that finds beauty in its unpredictable timeshifts and razor-sharp guitar, when Richie found his voice and confidence as a writer, and before they became radio-friendly with "Everything Must Go," which has dated awfully compared to "The Holy Bible."

You can tell the difference in this and post-Richey Manics. This feels better than some of the better known later stuff. Some quite dark lyrics highlighting his state of mind at the time. Not sure if I would call it an enjoyable listen at times but not a bad effort.

I like this more than their later work, it has an edge to it that feels genuine and angry, and even if they aren't so good with their grammar (it's) the songwriting feels just haunting enough for you to relate if you've gone through any of these feelings, and disturbed and worried if you haven't. However, the mix doesn't match the tone, as it feels really flat and doesn't allow any particular moment to shine. So, there are tons of great hooks and memorable moments, in theory, but by the end nearly every song sounds like the last, and while I enjoy the general sound enough to see it as a good time, I could also see it being a slog for those just wanting to rock out, and feeling blue-balled the whole time. Still, I think this effort is jarring yet catchy enough to win me over, and while Manic Street Preachers still haven't won me over completely, I can see why this is the defining moment for them.

One thing I think I've learned over the course of rating all these albums is that present mood is a big factor. I'm not sure I'd always give this a five, but today it felt just like what I wanted to listen to.

I don't think the lyrics here are nearly as deep or meaningful as Richey thought they were. And the music is super bombastic, which I often find a turn-off. But today, it's a five.

Really not what I anticipated, based on the singles I knew by them. Really good rocker and a lot more noise rock and punk-y than I expected them to be. Multiple really cool songs out of this. Really glad I got to listen this, even with that ugly album cover.

Enjoyable but sounded kinda quiet, not sure how to explain. Reminiscent of many bands I enjoy but not sure why this is on here. I could hear some proto-SOAD, proto-Incubus, stone temple pilots.

I think there is more of a message here and I got at firts listen, but the songs were bops! Definitely will listen again.

Not for me

Probably would have had more luck with "interesting" girls (i.e. alcoholic with loose morals) if I'd claimed to be into MSP as a teen. However, JDB's vocals always irritated me, and could never understand how they ended up so popular. It's just dull unremarkable indie.

One of my favorite bands

Of the 90s British rock I’ve gotten on this list - this was among the more surprising.

Felt like an emo record circa 2004 - so I was a bit shocked knowing it came out in 94.

It was a good listen - fairly depressing lyrics. And the story behind one of the band members disappearing is fascinating.

This album is great: it has a unique sound, I love the music and the vocals, and the first and last song are really good. The content of the lyrics seems to be great. I love the album art. My only gripe is that it's a bit bloated toward the middle of the album (this may lesson on future listens). All in all a good listen and this will stay in my rotation. 4/10

second track is pretty good but this feels like grunge knockoff and i am not about it.

Vimmainen levy! Synkkyydessä ryömitään, ehkä toisinaan vähän tarpeettomankin syvällä, mutta musana menevää ja selvästi jostain syvästä paikasta virtaavaa. 3/5

I had heard of this band, but never listened. Pleasantly surprised. Pretty good 90s sound.