Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/25/2002
It's difficult not to look at
The Holy Bible as
Richey James' last will and testament, yet that only makes the record all the more powerful. A remarkable step forward from
the Manic Street Preachers' first two records,
The Holy Bible is a tense, harrowing collection of tortured, cryptic declarations of depression -- the diary of anorexia
"4st 7lb" is one of the most chilling songs in
rock & roll.
James' lyrics, which are punctuated by
Nicky Wire's political tirades, are unflinching in their bleakness. Every song has a passage frightening in its imagery. Although the music itself isn't as scarily intense, its tight, terse
hard rock and
glam hooks accentuate the paranoia behind the songs, making the lyrics cut deeper.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide