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The Holy Bible (album)

The Holy Bible
"The Holy Bible" in capital letters in black print with "Manic Street Preachers" in capital letters below, smaller, at the top of the image in front of a white background. In the middle of the image is a rectangular triptych painting of an obese woman in her underwear – the first image capturing her from the right side, the next image from front on and the last capturing her from the left side. Below this, at the bottom of the page in front of a white background are the track titles listed from one to thirteen.
Studio album by Manic Street Preachers
Released 29 August 1994
Recorded 1994
Studio Sound Space Studios in Cardiff, Wales
Genre
Length 56:17
Label Epic
Producer
  • Manic Street Preachers
  • Steve Brown
Manic Street Preachers chronology
Gold Against the Soul
(1993)		 The Holy Bible
(1994)		 Everything Must Go
(1996)
Singles from The Holy Bible
  1. "Faster"
    Released: 6 June 1994
  2. "Revol"
    Released: 1 August 1994
  3. "She Is Suffering"
    Released: 3 October 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars
Blender 4/5 stars
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5/5 stars
Mojo 4/5 stars
NME 9/10
Pitchfork Media 8.4/10
Q 4/5 stars
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars
Select 4/5
Uncut 4/5 stars

The Holy Bible is the third studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 29 August 1994 by record label Epic. At the time the album was written and recorded, lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards was struggling with severe depression, alcohol abuse, self-harm and anorexia nervosa, and its contents are considered by many sources to reflect his mental state. The songs focus on themes relating to politics and human suffering. The Holy Bible was the band's last album released before Edwards' disappearance on 1 February 1995.

Although it reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, initially, global sales were disappointing compared to previous albums and the record did not chart in mainland Europe or North America. It was promoted with tours and festival appearances in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Thailand – in part without Edwards. The Holy Bible has sold over half million copies worldwide as of 2014 and over the years it received significant critical acclaim. The album has been featured and listed highly on lists of the best albums of all time by British music publications such as Melody Maker, NME and Q.

According to drummer Sean Moore, the band felt they had been "going a bit astray" with their previous album, 1993's Gold Against the Soul, and so the approach to the follow-up was for the band to go back to their "grass roots" and rediscover "a little bit of Britishness that we lacked". Singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield recalls the band feeling they had become "a bit too rockist [...] we had lost our direction". The band stopped listening to American rock music and returned to influences that had inspired them when they first formed, including Magazine, Wire, Skids, PiL, Gang of Four and Joy Division.


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Wikipedia

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