The Holy Bible

In 1994, as Britpop’s bunting began to go up in London and Manchester, Manic Street Preachers relocated to Cardiff to make one of the decade’s most remarkable and outlying rock records. Released in the UK on the same day as Oasis’ *Definitely Maybe*, *The Holy Bible* is a harrowing expression of anguish, unshrinking and unromantic in its abyss-edge study of death, fascism, self-harm, and man’s capacity for atrocity. Its barbed, rigorous post-punk sound is given extra muscle by the superior US Mix on this deluxe edition, which also includes highlights of the band’s 1994 gig at London’s Astoria—lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards’ final show before disappearing in February 1995.

Only in that brief moment in the '90s, when the record industry was grappling with the impact of alternative rock going mainstream and just as Brit-pop was hitting its stride, could the Manics release such a dark, difficult album on a major label, get it played on such pop-oriented programs as Top of the Pops and MTV’s Most Wanted, and make appearances at the Glastonbury and Reading festivals. And then, in a flash, it was over. Richey James went missing on February 1, 1995, and after that The Holy Bible was frozen in amber, forever seen as his last will and testament, just like how In Utero seemed like a suicide note in the wake of Kurt Cobain's suicide in April 1994. After James' disappearance, plans for an American release of the LP were shelved, but in retrospect, it's likely that The Holy Bible -- like some latter-day Manics albums -- would never have had an American release at all. To those who know the album -- and it's a small, dedicated group of partisans who do, since not only didn't it see American shores for a decade, but it didn't sell as well as previous or subsequent Manics albums in the U.K. -- it can comfortably be compared to the Clash's London Calling, but that's not quite accurate, no matter how much inspiration the Manics drew from the Clash.