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33⅓ Main Series #137
Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible
In August 1994, Manic Street Preachers released The Holy Bible, a dark, fiercely intelligent album that explored such themes as mental illness, murder and war. Richey Edwards, the band's lyricist and motive force, vanished five months later; he was never found. In his absence The Holy Bible entered the rock canon alongside Joy Division's Closer and Nirvana's In Utero, the valedictory works of troubled young men.
This book tells the dramatic story of Manic Street Preachers' masterpiece. Tracing the album's origins in the Valleys, an industrialised region of South Wales where the band spent their formative years, the author argues that The Holy Bible can be seen as a meditation on the uses and abuses of history.
This book tells the dramatic story of Manic Street Preachers' masterpiece. Tracing the album's origins in the Valleys, an industrialised region of South Wales where the band spent their formative years, the author argues that The Holy Bible can be seen as a meditation on the uses and abuses of history.
- GenresMusicNonfictionPolitics
153 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 20, 2020
I get jealous of those who, like writer David Evans, talk about how the Manic Street Preachers were their entry point to so much literature, poetry and art. They’re a band I love, but at the point I started listening to them, I think I was frightened off by how much smarter and more cultured than me Richey Edwards seemed – but now, at 38, I could follow the rabbit hole of Evans’ Manics-inspired recommendations forever. The Holy Bible is an album that I suspect will sound vital and current whenever you listen to it, and Evans’ short contribution to the 33 1/3 album appraisal series does an incredible job of putting it into its social and cultural context. And it also makes me wish desperately that somebody like Evans, who has his own theories, could have sat down with Richey 25 years later and dig into what he meant by his lyrics.
February 2, 2020
It was always going to be tough for anyone to write about my favourite album of all time and the most important of my life but this book was pretty disappointing. Without going into massive detail I didn’t agree with a lot of the authors insights, was annoyed by his disparaging of some of their songs and albums, and found it hard to relate to his relationship with the album as he found it during Everything Must Go era Manics. This best thing about the book is the motivation to finally read Simon Price’s biography of the band and to maybe seek out a couple of the other works mentioned in this book.
March 3, 2024
I first came across The Manics in 1996, when A Design for Life was screened on MTV - the video was popular. I liked it but not enough to be invested.
In 1997 MTV had a britpop weekender and although I was studying for my exams, I missed most of it but during a study break, I watched for an hour or so and the Manics cropped up with the song Revol. I liked that a lot and tried to find info about them but this was before Wikipedia so that hunt was dropped.
Then in the summer of 98, the week after I finished my A Levels, If You Tolerate this Your Children will be Next went straight to number one and magazines were featuring their story.
I had some cash so I decided to invest in their discography. I bought Everything Must Go. I thought it was very good but I gravitated towards the Richey lyrics, I read that he wrote the words to the previous album The Holy Bible. I bought it
I loved it, A very angry album which spoke to me.
( I lost interest in the band after Know Your Enemy, an album I don't like very much but I'm listening to Journal for Plague Lovers and enjoying it so some catch up is in order)
Dave Evans has that same love as he presents The Manics history and their relation to The Holy Bible, namely the problems Richey went through and how the album won them their dedicated fanbase, created a Richey cult and then in the aftermath of Richey's disappearance the album took on another life, something which still hangs over the band today.
As an analysis goes, it is equally touching and informative. Definitely worth reading, especially if you're a Manics fan.
April 8, 2024
An interesting short read on one of my favorite albums. I was lucky enough to see one of the 20th anniversary Holy Bible shows in Scotland. If you’re looking for a super in depth look into the album, Richey and this period of early manics this book might not be for you as the 33 1/3 series are meant to be small. It’s still a good jumping off point to look into other books on Holy Bible and the band. I did appreciate how the book looked at the album in the context of growing nationalism in the 90’s. It makes the album all the more eerie to listen to 30 years on with the current growing fascism around the world.
April 15, 2020
A tough album to review considering how much has already been written about this album; from 10th to 20th anniversaries and a literal book of dedicated essays, right up to the small but self-sustaining Richey Edwards cottage industry; I have a lot of respect for David Evans tacking such a beloved album while also trying to find something new to say about it.
The biography of the first decade or so of the Manics is both very well worn at this point, but also forever a niche and cult concern - those who know, know, others...not so much. Using the opportunity to his advantage Evans quickly but effectively runs through the early years one last time, working to position the Holy Bible not as an aberration in their "catalogue," but as a solid example of the constant hiraeth and hwyl that he sees as defining their career, Welsh terms (I'll leave you to google them) that he admits are verging on cringeworthy, but are worthy of reclamation. Much like the band really.
The Holy Bible then, Evans contends, is where both the band's lyrics and music finally reach a level worthy of their own ambition, leaving aside both the slogany Manics-speak lexicon and major-label rock pastiche of their early work, and moving into what are effectively dense and oblique essays put to similarly complex music.
No Richey fanatic, and admitting that a detailed reading of the lyrics, and even the references, has already been released in print in 2017's Tryptich, Evans instead does his homework demystifying the fan-lore both around the band and around the album, positioning them as products of Wales and their time in history. While folk-memory of the mid 90s might lead us to think they were years of cheery and beery Britpop, Evans digs into the London Review of Books and beyond pointing out there was much talk in the more "serious" press at the time of fear of a rise in fascism, of the rise in self-harm and suicides amongst teenagers, and that the rise of New Labour was already well on the way in 1994 - all of these inform the album in ways that perhaps reading a copy of Select magazine from the time would not.
In tribute to how the songs themselves wee written he separates the chapters about the music from the chapters on the lyrics. It allows the magnificent musicianship to be praised on its own but there's a part of me that wonders why this needs to be done, picking apart the object and undoing the alchemy of its creation, especially since he astutely notes that the words that Richey (and Nicky) were writing are better identified as lyrics and not stand-alone poetry.
If I have any real problem with the book it's that I could detect the younger indie-rock snob Evans peering out from behind the layers of analysis, praising the albums' nods to critic-approved post-punk heroes like Wire and Gang of Four and downplaying the fact that the Manics were not fans of escapist, glossy 80s hair-metal like Guns and Roses ironically but genuinely. NME-reading indie kids at heart for sure, but the sheer quality of the FM Rock radio-aping early Manics at their best went far beyond what would be possible had they been simply engaging in arch art-school experiments in the form. Similarly Evans' refusal to grapple with Britpop as a popular phenomenon except as something to be sneered at, pooh-poohing the bands who actually achieved the kinds of success the Manics so dearly craved in those days, reads like the sniffiness of the holier-than-thou gatekeeper clutching his unsuccessful, misunderstood favourites ever closer. One wonders what Evans would have actually made of the Manics had he been around in 1992 or 1993 and been presented with this working class band playing working class (i.e. aimed at the mainstream) music, not the clever-clever, critically approved (dare I say, student-y?) music of the Holy Bible.
Still though, as an introduction to the band and a tribute to an album in a relatively crowded marketplace, the book does its job admirably. The 33 and a third series is a little more hit and miss than I'd like it to be and this definitely comes out at the upper end. Now will someone please write one about Generation Terrorists don't make me do it myself guys.
The biography of the first decade or so of the Manics is both very well worn at this point, but also forever a niche and cult concern - those who know, know, others...not so much. Using the opportunity to his advantage Evans quickly but effectively runs through the early years one last time, working to position the Holy Bible not as an aberration in their "catalogue," but as a solid example of the constant hiraeth and hwyl that he sees as defining their career, Welsh terms (I'll leave you to google them) that he admits are verging on cringeworthy, but are worthy of reclamation. Much like the band really.
The Holy Bible then, Evans contends, is where both the band's lyrics and music finally reach a level worthy of their own ambition, leaving aside both the slogany Manics-speak lexicon and major-label rock pastiche of their early work, and moving into what are effectively dense and oblique essays put to similarly complex music.
No Richey fanatic, and admitting that a detailed reading of the lyrics, and even the references, has already been released in print in 2017's Tryptich, Evans instead does his homework demystifying the fan-lore both around the band and around the album, positioning them as products of Wales and their time in history. While folk-memory of the mid 90s might lead us to think they were years of cheery and beery Britpop, Evans digs into the London Review of Books and beyond pointing out there was much talk in the more "serious" press at the time of fear of a rise in fascism, of the rise in self-harm and suicides amongst teenagers, and that the rise of New Labour was already well on the way in 1994 - all of these inform the album in ways that perhaps reading a copy of Select magazine from the time would not.
In tribute to how the songs themselves wee written he separates the chapters about the music from the chapters on the lyrics. It allows the magnificent musicianship to be praised on its own but there's a part of me that wonders why this needs to be done, picking apart the object and undoing the alchemy of its creation, especially since he astutely notes that the words that Richey (and Nicky) were writing are better identified as lyrics and not stand-alone poetry.
If I have any real problem with the book it's that I could detect the younger indie-rock snob Evans peering out from behind the layers of analysis, praising the albums' nods to critic-approved post-punk heroes like Wire and Gang of Four and downplaying the fact that the Manics were not fans of escapist, glossy 80s hair-metal like Guns and Roses ironically but genuinely. NME-reading indie kids at heart for sure, but the sheer quality of the FM Rock radio-aping early Manics at their best went far beyond what would be possible had they been simply engaging in arch art-school experiments in the form. Similarly Evans' refusal to grapple with Britpop as a popular phenomenon except as something to be sneered at, pooh-poohing the bands who actually achieved the kinds of success the Manics so dearly craved in those days, reads like the sniffiness of the holier-than-thou gatekeeper clutching his unsuccessful, misunderstood favourites ever closer. One wonders what Evans would have actually made of the Manics had he been around in 1992 or 1993 and been presented with this working class band playing working class (i.e. aimed at the mainstream) music, not the clever-clever, critically approved (dare I say, student-y?) music of the Holy Bible.
Still though, as an introduction to the band and a tribute to an album in a relatively crowded marketplace, the book does its job admirably. The 33 and a third series is a little more hit and miss than I'd like it to be and this definitely comes out at the upper end. Now will someone please write one about Generation Terrorists don't make me do it myself guys.
January 31, 2024
With the working title of “The Poetry of Death” and lyrics about Nazi concentration camps, British serial killers and western sex tourism and let’s not forget mental illness and eating disorders. It’s safe to say that the album doesn’t make for the most uplifting of listens.
Evans makes a fair point about the album working as a belated contribution to the Post-punk movement, its themes, lyrics and sound, falling somewhere between Gang of Four at their most political and Joy Division on a rainy day, though it’s fair to say that many moments have some gritty and distinctive Industrial elements in the sound too.
Of course this album is forever overshadowed by the disappearance of Richie Edwards only months after its release, which only deepens the already dark clouds hovering over it. The author emphasises the importance of Hywl (emotional passion and excitement) and Hiraeth (homesickness tinged with grief) insisting that this dichotomy can be found throughout the album, which is hard to disagree with.
“Like watching a paunchy thirty-five year old try to pull on an old pair of jeans.” Is how he describes, the frankly terrible, “Know Your Enemy” album, which made me laugh. He describes the Manics as “a reader’s band.” Which is spot on, so many of their songs and artwork on their releases lead so many down literary and cultural rabbit holes, and I certainly include myself in that group.
I got so much out of this. This is really well-written and Evans has produced a great piece of work here, really capturing the mood and spirit of the album and doesn’t get too carried away with the outside aspects or influences and I thought he pulled off a really consistent and convincing balance. A cut well above all the rest of the books I’ve read in the series.
Evans makes a fair point about the album working as a belated contribution to the Post-punk movement, its themes, lyrics and sound, falling somewhere between Gang of Four at their most political and Joy Division on a rainy day, though it’s fair to say that many moments have some gritty and distinctive Industrial elements in the sound too.
Of course this album is forever overshadowed by the disappearance of Richie Edwards only months after its release, which only deepens the already dark clouds hovering over it. The author emphasises the importance of Hywl (emotional passion and excitement) and Hiraeth (homesickness tinged with grief) insisting that this dichotomy can be found throughout the album, which is hard to disagree with.
“Like watching a paunchy thirty-five year old try to pull on an old pair of jeans.” Is how he describes, the frankly terrible, “Know Your Enemy” album, which made me laugh. He describes the Manics as “a reader’s band.” Which is spot on, so many of their songs and artwork on their releases lead so many down literary and cultural rabbit holes, and I certainly include myself in that group.
I got so much out of this. This is really well-written and Evans has produced a great piece of work here, really capturing the mood and spirit of the album and doesn’t get too carried away with the outside aspects or influences and I thought he pulled off a really consistent and convincing balance. A cut well above all the rest of the books I’ve read in the series.
May 15, 2023
Almost exactly five years ago I read Simon Price's Everything: A Book About Manic Street Preachers and the review of that kind of encapsulates my history with the Manics.
I picked this up from the library because of the series it is a part of and the lure of the mystery of Richey's disappearance. Within the lyrics are brushed over with a forensic toothcomb and held up against his past and where he was writing from. Beyond the shock factor, there are weighty subjects explored as Richey echoes the past with the mistakes we continued to make almost to a prophetic degree.
It's not all about Richey even as his spectre hovers over the output of the album as James Dean Bradfield's musicality is looked at too with the Manics producing a post punk album at the nexus of Britpop. The volume is bookmarked by a history of the band itself, who appear as something more remarkable with the passing of time. The book also points out how over time the band have managed to accept their history a bit more especially where it comes to the album they made using what was left of Richey's lyrics.
I picked this up from the library because of the series it is a part of and the lure of the mystery of Richey's disappearance. Within the lyrics are brushed over with a forensic toothcomb and held up against his past and where he was writing from. Beyond the shock factor, there are weighty subjects explored as Richey echoes the past with the mistakes we continued to make almost to a prophetic degree.
It's not all about Richey even as his spectre hovers over the output of the album as James Dean Bradfield's musicality is looked at too with the Manics producing a post punk album at the nexus of Britpop. The volume is bookmarked by a history of the band itself, who appear as something more remarkable with the passing of time. The book also points out how over time the band have managed to accept their history a bit more especially where it comes to the album they made using what was left of Richey's lyrics.
April 25, 2021
A great bit of insight into my favourite album of all time. David Evans has done a fantastic job with this. Would recommend to any fan of the Manics, especially The Holy Bible. 🎸
July 27, 2019
Excellent. Meticulously researched, with just the right tone added to fully explore one of indie rock’s darkest records, produced by one of Britain’s most interesting bands.
May 15, 2025
After just finishing Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers' The Holy Bible, I was worried that the relatively slim 33 1/3 volume on the same album might feel a bit slight in comparison. And in some ways, it is : it's three times shorter and not necessarily aimed at an audience of hardcore Manics fans.
That said, the author's love for the band really shines through (even if he's sometimes surprisingly dismissive of certain songs, on what's supposedly his #1 favorite record). The book provides a solid overview of the essential things you need to know about "The Holy Bible".
On the flip side - like many works covering this album - I kind of wish it had more discussion about the music itself, and a bit less focus on Richey's turmoil and subsequent disappearance.
For fans already very familiar with the album, you probably won't learn much here. You'd likely get more out of Simon Price's Everything for the band's early personal stories, or the aforementioned "Triptych" for a deep dive into the album itself. But if you've heard "The Holy Bible" a couple of times, really liked it, and want to understand what all the fuss is about, this makes for a perfect introduction.
That said, the author's love for the band really shines through (even if he's sometimes surprisingly dismissive of certain songs, on what's supposedly his #1 favorite record). The book provides a solid overview of the essential things you need to know about "The Holy Bible".
On the flip side - like many works covering this album - I kind of wish it had more discussion about the music itself, and a bit less focus on Richey's turmoil and subsequent disappearance.
For fans already very familiar with the album, you probably won't learn much here. You'd likely get more out of Simon Price's Everything for the band's early personal stories, or the aforementioned "Triptych" for a deep dive into the album itself. But if you've heard "The Holy Bible" a couple of times, really liked it, and want to understand what all the fuss is about, this makes for a perfect introduction.
October 21, 2021
Saggio interessante su un disco capolavoro (anche se il sottoscritto ama molto di più il precedente Gold Against The Soul). L'assunto dell'autore è semplice: la scrittura della band (non solo su The Holy Bible) oscilla tra il senso di nostalgia e perdita (hiraeth, in gallese) e un'oratoria inarrestabile quasi bulimica (hwyl).
L'ho apprezzato e tanto, ma l'impressione è che si sia focalizzato su THB quasi per forza quando invece questo tipo di discorso abbraccia un po' tutta la loro discografia (e infatti non mancano ampi brani al riguardo).
Essendo il primo libro di questa serie che leggo, ammetto che mi sarei aspettato una sorta di radiografia di THB (al massimo includendo Comfort Comes, la bside del disco precedente e che - almeno nei suoni - ho sempre concepito come suo prologo).
Non mi ha deluso ma è come quando mangi per la prima volta un kiwi: essendo verde ti convinci che sappia di insalata.
L'ho apprezzato e tanto, ma l'impressione è che si sia focalizzato su THB quasi per forza quando invece questo tipo di discorso abbraccia un po' tutta la loro discografia (e infatti non mancano ampi brani al riguardo).
Essendo il primo libro di questa serie che leggo, ammetto che mi sarei aspettato una sorta di radiografia di THB (al massimo includendo Comfort Comes, la bside del disco precedente e che - almeno nei suoni - ho sempre concepito come suo prologo).
Non mi ha deluso ma è come quando mangi per la prima volta un kiwi: essendo verde ti convinci che sappia di insalata.
March 6, 2025
I had heard the name of the Manic Street Preachers, and just assumed they were some kind of jam band, so didn't really pay that much attention. But then I read the description for this book (and I always like to read the ones where I know absolutely nothing about a band) and was fantastically intrigued to hear more this band who are Welsh (1 point in their favor), with an album irreverently called the Holy Bible (2 pts), with cover art of an obese woman in her drawers looking into a mirror while also staring at you (3 pts), who were political (4 pts), and who suffered the sudden disappearance of their band mate, Richey (a sad but intriguing point to the story).
I'm glad I did... what a tale. Loved it all. Now to listen to the record itself and hopefully capture a feeling of an era that I missed when it happened the first time...
I'm glad I did... what a tale. Loved it all. Now to listen to the record itself and hopefully capture a feeling of an era that I missed when it happened the first time...
August 14, 2023
The Holy Bible is the third album by the Manic Street Preachers, one of my favorite bands of all time, and this is my favorite album by them. I’ve read several books on the band, but this is the first one focusing in on one of their albums. Evans does a fine job exploring the nitty gritty of the Manics from high school friends to punk antagonists to chart topping UK superstars that, unfortunately, never made much of a dent in US radio or fandom. That’s okay, I like having my little secret band that almost nobody around here has ever heard.
September 23, 2025
If you are here skimming reviews to check if this is one of the 33 1/3 entries that's actually worth reading - good news! It is!
Students of the Manics' history (and there's plenty of them) may not find a tonne of new information here, but being a casual fan of the band and a huge fan of the album I found this a great read. It's reignited my love for The Holy Bible, provided context so I can enjoy it on new levels, and left me with a deeper appreciation of the band as a whole. A great bit of music journalism.
Students of the Manics' history (and there's plenty of them) may not find a tonne of new information here, but being a casual fan of the band and a huge fan of the album I found this a great read. It's reignited my love for The Holy Bible, provided context so I can enjoy it on new levels, and left me with a deeper appreciation of the band as a whole. A great bit of music journalism.
January 3, 2022
If this series mean much to you, this is precisely how these books were supposed to be written. Fair amount on past and present tense Manic well-being, decent amount of "The Holy Bible" material, and then the aftermath, plus a good amount of personal connection. Maybe a touch too little on the actual album that could warrant a 4.5, but it actually made me go pick out the album and put it on...not to mention the various other allusions and things I picked up along the way. Perfectly done.
February 16, 2023
I gave this a 3 - personally, for me, it was more of a 2 as i felt it was way more academic and scholarly than i was hoping for; but, for those who do enjoy a more higbrow look at a band this could be a 4. So i split the difference. The author is extremely knowledgable and it’s obvious he’s passionate about the album.
I think essential reading for MSP fans as it does give a deeper understanding of the band.
I think essential reading for MSP fans as it does give a deeper understanding of the band.
May 3, 2020
good! i liked it.
however, it does pale slightly in comparison to triptych (not the writer's fault - he has been limited by the format of the series he's writing in).
perfect for someone new to thb/manics history.
and I really like this idea for a series. definitely going to pick up some more of these.
however, it does pale slightly in comparison to triptych (not the writer's fault - he has been limited by the format of the series he's writing in).
perfect for someone new to thb/manics history.
and I really like this idea for a series. definitely going to pick up some more of these.
July 27, 2020
A well-written academic account of a brilliant, difficult album that is somewhat marred by the typical fanboy approach often seen in the 33 1/3 series. The endless bashing of other bands (this time especially Blur) and the author’s own opinion on too many irrelevant things are getting tiresome and only weakens the plot.
June 7, 2022
These don’t work if you already know the subject matter but they’re probably not interesting if you don’t know the subject matter so? These never work. However, I am a big fan of reading about the manics so I shall let this one slide
August 2, 2025
Having read 'everything' by Simon Price this does not really give you all that much additional information about the band. And not being from the UK you miss out on a lot of the references but sure, I could look them up. Still a great read and I recommend it!
August 30, 2024
Not sure I agree with everything the author said but it was good to have a deep dive on a masterpiece, even from a different point of view. Did take some new ideas away too!
January 4, 2025
Biblical.
January 15, 2020
The Holy Bible is Richey Edwards' tortured swansong, a work of stunning literary and fierce intelligence. It's also James Dean Bradfield's musical masterpiece. Listen with glee as he carves out barbed-wire guitar lines with the same vitriolic force as Richey's tragic episodes of self-harm.
David Evans is switched on enough to realise both of these things and examines The Holy Bible's place in Manics history as well as its fervently anti-Britpop themes (death, decay, prostitution, anorexia, depression, the Holocaust amongst other cheery topics) with much care and consideration.
As both author and band are Welsh, there's a neat nationalist interpretation at play here, but only in the most positive of ways.
For some, the Manics hit their peak with this, their third album, and not only does it tower above the rest of their output in terms of quality, consistency and sheer ferocious energy, it could even be argued that it's the greatest album of the 1990s.
But perhaps that's a debate for another time...
David Evans is switched on enough to realise both of these things and examines The Holy Bible's place in Manics history as well as its fervently anti-Britpop themes (death, decay, prostitution, anorexia, depression, the Holocaust amongst other cheery topics) with much care and consideration.
As both author and band are Welsh, there's a neat nationalist interpretation at play here, but only in the most positive of ways.
For some, the Manics hit their peak with this, their third album, and not only does it tower above the rest of their output in terms of quality, consistency and sheer ferocious energy, it could even be argued that it's the greatest album of the 1990s.
But perhaps that's a debate for another time...
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews