It really gets to me when people whine about this album. If any of you could produce something this good then I wish you'd get on with it because you're guarenteed a buyer. This was the first manics album I purchased and I love it to THIS day. Sleepflower, Yourself, Life Becoming a landslide, Nostalgic Pushead... It's a breath of fresh air before the self destruction of The Holy Bible and after the political genius of Generation Terrorists. No it isn't the most immediate of albums, and no it doesn't carry as clear a message as The Holy Bible, but musically it is as good and worth the same amount of credit. Yes the Manics admit it is their weakest album, but that is what Radiohead said about Pablo Honey and readers of a high profile British music Mag have just rated it Number seven, just below the White Album. If you don't like this album then fair enough but if you discredit it just because it isn't as popular then the others then you have done the Manics and yourself a great disfavour.

Not since Billy Idol's early 80s heyday has there been a group of nastier-looking punks making such radio-friendly music.

For all their snarling lips and spiked hair, on Gold Against the Soul, the Manic Street Preachers wanted a hit and wanted it bad. In North America, "Scream to a Sigh", a formula pop song of the highest order, almost did it for them.

Same can be said of "From Despair to Where", which lets the world finally find out what a Styx with talent might have sounded like. And I mean that in a good way...

Lyricists Nicky Wire and Richy James' topics range from depression to, well, depression, offering personal takes on suicide, sickness, separation, drugs, politics and, yes, even Tourette's Syndrome. Surprisingly, the heavy subjects don't come off as heavy-handed, thanks to the upbeat music of Sean Moore and James Bradfield.

Not as strong a CD as the biting The Holy Bible, but an admirable step toward it. Ignore the haircuts, enjoy the music.

I don't agree with the people who say that it's the Manic Street Preachers' "polished album" or "American album" whatsoever. I've never heard an American band as good as the Manics- The combination of the potent singer, superb guitarist & one hell of a melodicist James Dean Bradfield is; The powerful drumming, occasional trumpet & the cowriting of the music provided by Sean Moore; But overall the intense lyrics you just can't stay oblivious to written by the now departed Richey James & Nicky Wire are just some things no American band I've heard of has ever managed to combine. No American band would ever mean as much as the Manics mean to me & so the comment referred to above is just irrelevant. I agree that this is the Manics' second weakest album (Know Your Enemy is their really weakest album for me) but even @ their worse the Manics are still the best & Gold Against The Soul still has its share of unsurpassable songs such as "Sleepflower", "Yourself", "Life Becoming A Landslide" & "Symphony Of Tourette", all lyrically intriguing & (For the most part) well written songs. Of course there are some problematic songs such as "Nostalgic Pushead" & the titletrack which could've been magnificent songs if only they had a musical skeleton as strong as their lyrics. Just think of this album as Bsides material or something & you should be fine. So all in all- Not their best but still worth it for the few songs I've mentioned (Even though "La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)" is considered a classic aswell as a fan favourite my personal favourite on this album is "Life Becoming A Landslide" but that's only me so don't let me spoil it for ya hey?).

This is fun. It really is. Easily the Manics' most--dare I say it?--pop-oriented album, but since when was catchiness a bad thing? I really can't stand elitism of that nature. Of course, that's not to say that the album is entirely good, even as far as it goes: it has a tendency to become just loud and annoying at times. Drug Drug Druggy, Roses in the Hospital (great title on that one, though), Sleepflower, the title track--they all feel like they're about to develop into something really great, but then they never do. They're not bad; they're just kind of...there.

On the other hand! We have Life Becoming a Landslide, which has a great groove and really shows what they were trying to do with the whole album. We have Nostalgic Pushead, which works thanks to the indelible chorus. We have Yourself, which is hard and loud in a good way. And of course, we have We have La Tristesse Durera, which is just plain fantastic.

So what are you going to do? Probably not the best choice for your first Manics album, but let's face it: once you're a fan, you're going to buy it, and that's that. Come for the highly comical liner picture of James Dean Bradfield screaming into the microphone (maybe his legs are on fire?); stay for the quality tunes.

After hearing "Everything Must Go" and "This is My Truth...", it is hard to believe that this is how the Manics started out. Like "Generation Terrorists", it is more above average punk rock than anything. The lyrics by Nicky Wire and Richey James are brilliant, while James Dean Bradfield turns in some manacing vocals. Not the best Manics album (if I had to rate them all, I would say that this is their weakest album), but a great one all the same.