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
Released30 August 1994
RecordedJanuary–May 1994
StudioSound Space Studios in Cardiff, Wales
Genre
Length56:17
LabelEpic
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

The Holy Bible is the third studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 30 August 1994 by Epic Records. While the album was being 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, and their last studio album as a four-piece band.

Although it reached number 6 in 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 received widespread acclaim from critics and has sold over half a million copies worldwide as of 2014. It has frequently 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.[1][2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Quintessential Newsnight". BBC News. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Melody Maker Top 100 Albums of All Time". Melody Maker. 5 January 2000.
  3. ^ "Radiohead romp home in Q poll". BBC News. 13 September 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Readers Best Albums Ever". Q. No. 235. February 2006. p. 161.
  5. ^ "[Kerrang! article]". Kerrang!. 19 February 2005.