10 Darkest Rock Albums Of The 90s

Most of the sounds coming from the British music scene in the '90s were much more optimistic than what was happening across the pond. Around the same time that the grunge movement was starting to die out, bands like Oasis and Blur had a much more optimistic tone to their music, along with a snide attitude which radiated a certain amount of confidence in what they did. And while Manic Street Preachers definitely believed everything they sang, there's a much more moody version of themselves that turns up on The Holy Bible.

Across every other track on this album, you can hear Richey Edwards getting more and more self destructive, talking about everything from the politics of the day to being out of his mind on drugs during the making of this album. Compared to some of the more contemporary bands around this time like The Stone Roses, The Holy Bible is almost pitch black in its subject matter, especially songs like Faster and 4st 7lb, where Richey imagines himself withering away by keeping himself incredibly thin.

While many bands have that sort of vicious streak from time to time, it was all too real when the Manics tried to go on the road to support the album, with Richey disappearing from the public eye and being presumed dead ever since. Now that this is all we have left of Richey, it's hard not to see an album like this as him signing off.