I don't find this album enjoyable.
Of course, it's a good album (I wouldn't list it here otherwise), but it's definitely not an enjoyable album. Engaging, affecting, compelling and powerful, yes, but not enjoyable.
As a mopey 16yr old, I was already familiar with the studied polemic that drove the band by way of their first two albums: the Manics' wore their political motivations on their sleeve and Richie Edwards lyricism was near legendary (his more angst ridden musings especially resonating with my disenfranchised teenage self), but this was something else, something rawer and darker.
I first heard 'The Holy Bible' on a listening pod in the now long defunct chain called Our Price back in my home town. Initially, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'd already heard the single 'Faster', which I liked, but standing in a busy record store with those ridiculous pod headphones over my ears, I couldn't really connect with the rest of the album, which I was trying to absorb in short, 30 - 60 second intervals before hastily skipping to the next track. This of course is not the best way to gauge a feel of any album, especially not one like this.
Fast forward a few years later, my metal years were receding, and I decided to give 'The Holy Bible' another go, diving straight into its relentlessly nihilistic, but strangely beautiful world. The first thing I noticed was that the feel of the record was very different to their previous albums. Gone was the affected stadium rock that defined them prior for a sound more akin to post punk, with the naked, bare bones production serving to accentuate this shift.
So yes, this album definitely made an impression on me. My first proper listen in particular is something I won't forget. The song I've chosen below is one of my favourites from the album, and the interplay between Bradfield's vocal and the music around 0:42 and 1:08 still gives me goosebumps to this day. 'The Holy Bible' may not be the most cheerful album I've ever heard, but it's certainly one of the most memorable.
Manic Street Preachers : Die in the Summertime
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