The Manic
Street Preachers’ third album, released in 1994 was the last to feature
guitarist Richie Edwards. It’s an
intense piece of work, many of the tracks emphasizing ugliness and pain. The band certainly has an axe to grind all
over this album. Second track,
Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit’sworldwouldfallapart, is a very wordy
track, singer James Dean Bradfield belting out the lyrics, reaching a climax on
the chorus “there ain’t no black in the union jack, there ain’t enough white in
the stars and stripes.”
Many of the
tracks are very grim indeed, Of Walking Abortion features a murky riff, while
Archives of Pain opens arrestingly with a snatch of dialogue of mother of one of serial killer Peter
Sutcliffe’s victims from a TV report on his trial, and some fine lead guitar
from Bradfield. 4st 7lb leaves little to
the imagination with lyrics like “I wanna be so skinny that I rot from view”.
There are more
accessible moments. She Is Suffering belies
its title, delivering a descending riff which builds to an anthemic chorus,
while Revol and Faster are catchy, call-to-arms style belters. The uncluttered, almost ballad-y This Is
Yesterday stands out from the oppressive nature of many of the tracks, acting
like a palate-cleanser ahead of the final tracks.
Singer James
Dean Bradfield is in fine voice throughout, none more so than on Die In The
Summertime. They would never release a
darker album than this. Yet buried
within are plenty of hooks and melodies for those prepared to look for them.
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