MAKING OF THE ALBUM: Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

A Nirvana song once stated ‘Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old.’ This statement could easily summarise Manic Street Preachers; who at one time were rebellious, political and influenced by punk and Guns N’ Roses, only for them to mature into respectable, middle aged artists, desperately trying to relive their tortured youth. But when their definitive album, The Holy Bible, was released back in 1994, they spoke to a generation of disillusioned and alienated kids, whilst mainstream critics accused them as being fake. This attitude resulted in a famous incident where rhythm guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards attempted to convince NME writer Steve Lamacq that their message was not manufactured, only for the journalist to dismiss his comments. Frustrated, Edwards took out a razor and carved the words ’4 Real’ into his arm in front of Lamacq. Their first two albums – the punk infused Generation Terrorists and the over-produced Gold Against the Soul – had divided critics, although the former had boasted many of their earlier hits, but their complex and disturbing third effort, The Holy Bible, would prove to be their crowning achievement.

The year leading up to the release of the album had been a dark and painful time for the group. In December 1993, their manager and mentor, Philip Hall, had lost his battle with cancer at the age of just thirty-four, whilst both Edwards and singer James Dean Bradfield had begun to drink heavily. After the experience of feeling spoilt whilst recording Gold Against the Soul at Outside Studios in Hook End Manor, Oxfordshire, the band decided to relocate to Sound Space Studios in Cardiff, where they hoped to avoid any distractions and focus solely on producing an album that was worthy of their reputation (something many critics felt their previous work had lacked). Whilst Outside Studios had cost £2,000 a day to record, Sound Space Studios was just £50. The group’s label, Sony, had at one point suggested recording in Barbados, but the band wanted to avoid the rock star treatment.

Whereas its predecessor had aimed for arena-friendly rock anthems with From Despair to Where and Roses in the Hospital, The Holy Bible would make no attempt to aim for a commercial sound, instead incorporating many samples of dialogue to open the tracks, whilst some of Edwards’ lyrics (who would write the majority of the words on the album) were difficult for Bradfield to sing. The titles of the songs would indicate the kind of tone The Holy Bible was aiming for, such as Die in the Summertime, She is Suffering, Of Walking Abortion and Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit’sworldwouldfallapart. Whilst Gold Against the Soul had been produced by Dave Eringa, who would also work with such radio-friendly acts as Ocean Colour Scene, The Holy Bible would see the group reunite with Steve Brown, who had also worked on their debut.

Edwards’ behaviour would become more erratic during the recording, constantly crying and becoming withdrawn. Having not only lost Hall but also an old friend from university who had committed suicide, Edwards had become more intense and unpredictable, something that would be evident in the lyrics of the album. In July 1994, he was committed to a mental hospital for his own protection, having reduced his weight to just six stone and continued to mutilate himself. When the album was finally released on August 29th (two months after the first single, Faster), it was almost universally praised by both critics and fans, although commercially it failed to do the same kind of business as its predecessors.