Futurology is the twelfth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 July 2014 by Columbia Records.

The album features collaborations with Green Gartside, Nina Hoss, Georgia Ruth, Cian Ciaran and Cate Le Bon.

[1] The album was recorded in Germany with Alex Silva, with whom the band worked on The Holy Bible in 1994, and at Faster Studios, Wales.

The album was described to be inspired by modern art and the sense of motion that the band experienced touring the heart of Europe in 2011 in support of National Treasures – The Complete Singles.

"[3] Bradfield also tackled the subject of the many guest that have appeared on the last two Manic Street Preachers records, Rewind the Film and Futurology: "I'm 12 albums in - I know my voice can only do certain things, and if I can't take other people singing on the track then I really have got a Napoleon complex.

[7] In an interview with Gigwise when asked what influence The Holy Bible had on Futurology, frontman and singer James Dean Bradfield replied: "That we could still trade in a language that is still exclusively ours, that we could still want to write songs that other people are just never going to go near.

The album reached number 8 in Ireland and also charted within the Top 40 in Finland, Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, Denmark and Japan.

and Kraftwerk or Public Image Ltd, but these jagged, difficult sounds are filtered through the trio's now instinctual arena-filling gestures and that tension is what gives Futurology a resonant richness.

"[1] Gareth James of Clash magazine described the album as "Manics doing what they do best, with added krautrock, Georgia Ruth and Green Gartside.

"[24] The Independent critic Kevin Harley commented that "Elsewhere, the Manics' band identity proves robust enough to withstand the tweaking.

"[2] The Telegraph declared: "...the dark pulse of that krautrock influence gives the songs a steely sleekness of purpose (and real cohesion), while the band layer a vigorous variety of sounds and tempos on top to keep things interesting.

"[30] Sputnikmusic staff reviewer Joseph Viney stated that the album "wraps up the ideals of what has come before it, mixed it with their present experience and forged ahead with songs that demonstrate a group with a lot more life in them yet.

"[31] MusicOMH awarded the album four out of five stars, saying that "[...] Futurology is full of glam-pop hits that demonstrate the Preachers' ability to write good songs with a distinct sense of Britishness", finishing with: "Futurology is a welcome return by Manic Street Preachers to the forefront of pop, featuring no lack of technical prowess or instrumental capabilities.

In the end of the year lists, the album achieved the following accolades: Reflecting on the album XFM stated that Futurology was very different from their last year's effort: "After the acoustic experimentation of Rewind the Film, here's classic rabble rousing Manics, with massive choruses",[38] while Q said that the album was "Exhilaratingly dense with new sounds" and it had " deas and conflicting emotions..."[40] On the other hand, talking about the title track, NME stated that: "The title track serves as a manifesto for all that follows: a declaration of positivity to tee-up the rest of the LP and a reminder that right can trump wrong in the end.