Manic Street Preachers Announcing ‘Know Your Enemy’ Reissue

The Manic Street Preachers have revealed that a new reissue of “Know Your Enemy” is coming soon, with an announcement due this week.

On their social media profiles today (July 20), the band shared a teaser video clip for the album’s 20th anniversary, along with a date – this Friday, (July 22) at 9am BST.

You can watch the clip here:

Last year, the band spoke to NME about the reissue, explaining that they had been working on a reissue of their sixth album since 2001.

The album, which contained the singles “Found That Soul”, “So Why So Sad” and “Let Robeson Sing”, was divided in public opinion upon its release. A long record with a very eclectic mix of sounds and some of its more blunt political imagery, it alienated many of the new fans it gained from its earlier, more successful album “This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.” However, they earned a place in the hearts of die-hard fans, as well as in the history books, when they gave an opening concert in Cuba to an audience that included Fidel Castro.

When asked about the progress of the reissue during a chat with NME last year, Nicky Wire replied: “He’s looking at me now! There are two stuff boxes. I’m sitting in the studio with our engineer and there he is, facing me”.

He continued: “It’s been really exciting because I’ve discovered two songs that have never been released. If I don’t get discovered somewhere, there’s a song called ‘Rosebud’, which nobody’s ever heard, and another one called ‘Studies In Paralysis’ was never heard before, as well as a completely different version of ‘Let Robeson Sing’ by James [Dean Bradfield, líder] he did in his London apartment on a keyboard, and it is nothing like what he came to be.

“The truth is that there are many good things. Even I am very excited. But James and Sean [Moore, batería] they don’t care…”

Wire also revealed that they plan to fulfill the band’s original intention for the record with the upcoming reissue, splitting it into two separate albums called ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’, showcasing their hard rock specific and a more acoustic and experimental side. .

When asked if they could do special ‘Know Your Enemy’ anniversary shows, Wire replied, “I wish I could! To be honest, there’s a fucking lot to learn. When we recorded the t – that album, we never played in the same room. . It was all on purpose, on the edge. It was really punk. A lot of demos became songs, we were coming up with ideas on our own. I don’t think I thought we could do a whole show.”

Reviewing the divided reaction to ‘Know Your Enemy’ in 2001, Bradfield said: “Sometimes it’s just an indelible part of the direction a band takes to childishly trash its own success.

“That’s what ‘Know Your Enemy’ is about, to a certain extent. It’s our response to follow-up albums, ‘Everything Must Go’ and ‘This Is My Truth’, which were huge UK-only albums: one sold 1 , 3 million copies and the other 1.5 million in the UK alone. Then, childishly and cockily, we go and accuse ourselves of being too successful, bloated and self-satisfied by writing ‘Know Your Enemy’. “

He continued: “When I’m listening to ‘Know Your Enemy’ I hear that we did a good job of describing the success of those two albums. more into ourselves.”

Reviewing the album at the time of its release, NME concluded: “‘Know Your Enemy’ may have more flaws than California, but in a less ambitious world, it allows for a ‘yes.’ Godly care, but on. the side of the angels.”