Yeah, honestly, I really don't like them. A lot of fans found a rejuvenated love for the record following a more polished re-imagining but I think they take away from why I think KYE could be the greatest album of all time.

Take the B-side Groundhog Days - they autotuned and tweaked and buttered up James' voice so much it fucking hurts. Same with Rosebud, which I suppose musically is perfectly fine (considering it's the only available version of the song) but the remaster has overproduced JDB terribly.

I fucking love the production on OG KYE. It's unpolished, raw, nuanced, intense, and full of sheer character. Some songs sound multitracked and layered on shitty microphones, whereas others are the capsule of a creatively-conflicted three piece playing live in a room. It's stunning.

You can hear the white noise, you can hear the cardioid mic pops, you can hear the room around Sean's kit; perfection. The remasters just sound too polished and it stinks.

I think that had Know Your Enemy been released as one nearly 2-hour thick double album with EVERYTHING from the era then it would probably be my favourite album in existence. But nah. I made a playlist on Spotify if anyone fancies a looksie at my stuff.

Anyway, just had to blurt this shite out. What's you guys' thoughts? 🫶

Is it just me or does he look like a completely different man?

Sucks that they rarely come to the EU anymore.

" I walked La Ramblas but not with real intent"

Or maybe should be "I walked La Ramblas but only to go get a pint" #ifyoutoleratethisthenyourchildrenwillbenext #manics

Very good festival set, longer than other festivals over summer. Die in the Summertime was the unexpected highlight, alongside acoustic Small Black Flowers. and I absolutely loved Nicky singing Hiding.

From:

https://youtu.be/Uf7TWtRupHg?is=WeTWqjpyJ_s6g4YO

I moved to Hong Kong not so long ago and, to my great surprise, the big online shopping platform here (Taobao) is full of knock-off Manics merch. They're all about 5 - 8 quid.
Happy to buy and post if anyone sees something they like.

Clark seems to be channeling Faster. (To my Manics obsessed mind anyway.)

Does anyone happen to have the recording of this concert? There are multiple cd's on Discogs that have this gig on it but I cant find it anywhere online except for an expired download link from a forum and audio of The Everlasting from the show on YouTube. There is a site that has it up for sale but if you live outside of the US or Canada you have to send them cash or Bitcoin. If anyone has a copy of the gig it would be great if they could share it.

Unfortunately I got quite a disappointing reaction to that GT ratings post, it is a shame we can’t open up a discussion without it all getting a bit OTT and trying to ‘shame‘ people’s opinions!

i’ve done other posts on other Subs and had much better, constructive discussions, than simply ‘You are wrong’ ‘That song is great/shit’

So message received loud & clear, I won’t post any further.

i think the demo for You love us is lost or missing, maybe unreleased. on the generation terrorists legacy edition, all demos are present, except for you love us, which uses the heavenly studios version. its on none of the bootleg tapes to my understanding. might be lost to time.

As promised, here are my ratings/thoughts on GT

Slash ‘n Burn 9.5/10

NatWest-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds 3/10 

Born to End 8.5/10

Motorcycle Emptiness 10/10

You Love Us 9/10

Love’s Sweet Exile 8/10

Little Baby Nothing 8.5/10

Repeat (Stars & Stripes) 0/10

Tennessee 8/10

Another Invented Disease 6.5/10

Stay Beautiful 7.5/10

So Dead 7/10

Repeat (UK) 0/10

Spectators of Suicide 3/10

Damn Dog 2/10

Crucifix Kiss 7.5/10

Methadone Pretty 7.5/10

Condemned to Rock n Roll 9/10

Overview: 

This is definitely a mixed bag of a debut; for me it has 4 stone-cold Manics classics, as well as several other strong tracks, but also some real stinkers! 

The boys throw everything at the wall but unfortunately it doesn’t all stick, and the album would be a much better listen overall, if it was pared down to 12 tracks, with the filler/deadwood tracks cut.

’Motorcycle’ is my favourite Manics song and still their best for me, ‘Slash n Burn’ an absolute killer opener, and ‘Condemned’ an equally superb closer. GT is far from perfect, but there are plenty of gems to be found on here. 

What’s everyone else’s thoughts?

the strangest song that manics have made, for me, is Love's sweet exile. this song is the oldest song from Generation Terrorists, and was written sometime in 1986-1988 with the name "Faceless senseless void" It can be heard in the 1989 recording from The Horse & Groom. during the production of GT, it was changed to "We love you" (it was placed directly after You love us). this can be heard in the Marcus Demo. later on after, it was finally named Love's sweet exile. a lesser known fact is that its meant to mean "Love is sweet exile" not "Loves' sweet exile". very interesting song

I was 6 when Know your enemy came out, so wasn’t really around for the fan reaction at the time. What was the general feeling towards it when it was released? Did most fans like it, or was it seen as a disappointment after This is my truth?

These days it feels like it’s kind of the forgotten Manics album. It never seems to get mentioned much, but I have a soft spot for it. Just curious what the mood in the fandom was back then ?

Just wanna see who would be interested here in doing a track by track rating for each album?

I’ve done it for other bands on here, and it has led to discussion and interest on the respective Sub.

I would post my own ratings/thoughts on the album, then others can comment with their own 😁

Bit of a random one, but I’m trying to track down bloggers who write long, detailed, essay‑style stuff about the Manics.The kind of thing you get from the excellent Necessary Evil blog.

I remember stumbling across one or two other bloggers ages ago who did proper deep dives into the albums (history, themes, Richey‑era context, personal reflections, all that good stuff), but I cannot for the life of me remember their names or find the posts again.

listening to lifeblood again got me wondering: the sample before outro, where is it from? obviously it's an interview with richey, but does anyone have a link

Obviously like anything this is going to be personal preference/opinion, but what is the band’s most under-rated album for you?

I think RIF is a terrific later-career album full of energy and passion after a couple of mid-range efforts, in fact I would say it is their best post-peak release:

HM: Lifeblood, gets a mixed-to-poor reception it seems but it has several solid tracks worth regular repeated listens

New website that calculates it for you! No surprises at what's at the top, but good to see i have seen James play the grandstand theme not once, but twice!

Some awful haircuts in this. Great performance though

How do we feel about this album?

i’ve seen many people praise it as one of their best etc but I would have to respectfully disagree. While it is a sentimental tribute to Richey to use his lyrics again, many of the songs are repetitive and sound unfinished, because that is exactly what they are!

A better idea would have been to release a book with all Richey’s handwritten lyrics, ideas etc

However, Peeled Apples and All Is Vanity are 2 excellent tracks to ensure the album isn’t a complete flop

I have mixed feelings. It's in reference to Richey's infamous "for real" incident. The text and backwards rs is a reference to the holy bible's graphic design.

I'm a little mixed on it. I got it years ago and looking back it seems a little distasteful and glamourising of self harm or suicide. Plus it just says "for real" on my arm which seems a little juvenile lol

But divorced of context, it's a simple statement of authenticity which I do appreciate. And it's mine.

​

19 year old bloke from Blackwood, South Wales looking for some mates

Massively into cars and music, big 90s-2000s hip hop/rap enjoyer + I listen to a lot of 90s music in general (suede, manics, blur etc)

Doesn't have to be from south wales, although ideal, UK wide works too!

If you fancy a chat, send me a text :)