Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

I went backwards with the Manic Street Preachers. The first album I heard was Everything Must Go, then Generation Terrorists, Gold Against The Soul and then The Holy Bible. This was definitely the one that made the biggest impression on me. It had an air of controversy around it. A lot of the stuff mentioned on this record, I didn’t really register that it was quite extreme, but you could still tell there was something about it. It was a pretty suffocating listen.

I really only realised how much it made an impression on me later in life. The fact they used Martin Kippenberger artwork on all the singles and stuff like that. I didn’t really know who Kippenberger was at the time but now I think he’s amazing. Sonically as well I think this record is really interesting. I think it’s the second to last track that almost starts like a martial industrial track and it comes in with this piercing feedback. It sounds like it came off an ‘80s Whitehouse record. There’s a tonne of stuff like that, that I think has had some lasting influence on me.

If there’s one record that gave me an introduction to the idea that music doesn’t have to make you feel good, it’s one hundred per cent this album.