The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers (1994)

Ideated from: August albums, since it’s my birth month

This is the last album the band recorded while lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards was in the band. He went missing shortly after this album, and no one has really resolved the mystery in the nearly 30 years since.

Regardless of what might have befallen Richey, the Manics were a rollicking good band, more politically and emotionally confrontational than a lot of mainstream rock acts, while making radio-friendly rock that could sneak that pathos to the masses.

There are a lot of mental health problems on display here, and you don’t have to be a psychiatrist to figure that Edwards was going through some shit. The rest of the band (apparently the musical heft comes from everyone else, as Edwards apparently wasn’t much of a performing musician) keep a tight, edgy energy lurking underneath the lyrics, which occasionally lashes out.

It’s a pretty amazing record. Maybe someday the real-life mystery surrounding it will be solved.

Tracks I Liked

Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart - a great song, and a fantastic title

She Is Suffering - a stifling and emotional tune

Faster - breakneck pace and brutal lyrics

Poison Season
Destroyer
an oblique, soulful oddball