It's difficult not to see The Holy Bible as Richey James's last will and testament, since this was the last Manics album he contributed to before his disappearance somewhere near the Severn Bridge. James wrote most of the lyrics, and they add up to one of the bleakest and most lacerating documents in rock'n'roll history, from the litany of self-loathing in the anorexic's saga 4st 7lbs to the ghastly sleepwalk through the Holocaust in The Intense Humming of Evil.
It's amazing that the band were able to turn James's panoramas of horror and disgust into music of such conviction, though they had to develop a new stylistic palette in the process. They turned away from the American-influenced anthems of their previous two discs, instead immersing themselves in the fraught and angular music of the likes of Magazine, Siouxsie & the Banshees or Gang of Four.
However, whether an album only 10 years old needs digital remastering must be a moot point, and the value of including the "previously unheard" American mix is even more questionable. On the other hand, the additional DVD justifies its inclusion with a long interview and a batch of ferocious live performances - not least a terrifying take of Faster from, of all places, Top of the Pops.
