The Holy Bible (disc 2: US Mix + Demos & Radio 1 Session)

Classic.

The Holy Bible,originally released in 1994,was the Manic's third album,and remains their one genuine claim to greatness.In fact it now stands as one of the very best albums of the 90s,standing with the likes of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless or Spiritualized's Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space.This tenth anniversary reissue contains demos,radio sessions and a US mix of the album along with a demo with videos,live performances and a sadly brief (30 minutes or so)interview with the band.Contrary to what one of the previous reviewers says,the differences in sound between the original and US mixes of the album are considerable,with some...  Read full review »

Some sort of power

This album is fantastic.
As for the re-released 10 year addition, i think it is a very well put together package. Aesthetically the 10 year anniversary album is impressive. The liner notes, with a small essay written on the historical aspect of the album, is interesting, and leaves one with a sense of the power that the album has. The notes also pointed me in the direction of Pinter's "No man's land", which was nice!
I was excited by the extras that came with this edition. I found the live tracks to be just awesome; a real insight the band's power as a live act at the time.
It has been noted that this album was released close to "lifeblood", the bands latest studio album, and so ma...  Read full review »

An utterly pointless release

I should point out now that the original release of The Holy Bible was possibly the best album of the last decade, and is still as great now as it ever was. For those who haven't heard it, assume a 5-star rating and go buy that. For those who already own it, this 10th Anniversary Edition is no more than a commercial scam, courtesy of the Manic Street Businessmen.

So what have we got here?

DISC 1 - The Holy Bible (Digitally Remastered) + Live Tracks
For "digitally remastered", read "louder" and you've got the idea. The four live tracks lack energy and enthusiasm. Some could argue that this adds to the songs, given their content. I'd argue that it sounds like James Dean Bradfield is either half-asleep or just couldn't be bothered. Of Walking Abortion is particularly disappointing because I've heard it performed so much better on the Leaving The 20th Century DVD.

DISC 2 - The Holy Bible (US Mix) + Demos & Radio 1 Sessions
The US Mix contains few noticeable changes, mostly to track openings and endings, which don't really affect the songs at all. Don't get me wrong, the whole album DOES sound different, but the same effect can be achieved by listening to the first disc...  Read full review »

An Absolute Classic

One of the best albums of the 90s has become even more essential. The 10th Anniversary Edition of The Holy Bible comes in three discs with extras galore.

The original album superbly matches metallic art-punk with horrific yet compulsive lyrics. Musically, it is quite a departure for a band whose other albums have more of an anthemic rock element - the influences here are strictly arty (post) punk with James Dean Bradfield on superb form on vocals and guitar. The first 60% of the album is pretty near musically perfect with just a couple of not-quite-so-brilliant songs later on.

The Holy Bible has of course passed into mythical folklore with the disappearance of chief lyricist Richey James a few months after the album's release. Was the LP his extended suicide note? The words are often absolutely horrific and nihilistic yet also compulsive when they do connect. The (self) disgust of the repeated "Who's responsible. You f-king are." At the end of Of W...  Read full review »

Give them the respect they deserve

I'm not normally one to indulge in overblown hype, but... This tenth anniversary edition of the Holy Bible is perhaps the most significant reissue since the King James edition of the book of the same name contributed to the spread of literacy among the masses in the seventeenth century... Heheh, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it makes a suitably grandiose introduction to an album that deserves to be recognised as a classic of British rock music. It gets the respect it deserves with this edition, which is beautifully packaged and includes many new features, none of which are superfluous, and all of which only help to enhance our appreciation of this challenging, frenetic masterpiece.

The album itself shows the Manic Street Preachers at the peak of their musical powers. The scratchily metallic guitars, frantic drums and random samples, which sound like snatches of conversations from some nightmare world, created for the first time a perfect backdrop to the manic intensity of the Richey-era lyrics, which had often sounded awkward set against the melodic soft metal of the band's earlier releases.

The lyrics are often frightening but are always brutally and unflinchingly honest, and despite their initially confusing nature they will soon make sense to the intelligent listener, who will probably find himself empathising with some parts but questioning others. Even those who question the ability of a mere rock band to try and express the horrors of the holocaust (as on The Intense Humming of Evil) and who disagree with their apparent support for capital punishment on Archives of Pain (although the song seems mainly to be concerned with the glamorisation of serial killers) will find this album compelling and hard to dismiss....  Read full review »