‘Intermission’ is the second of two mainly acoustic numbers on Nine Black Alps’ debut Everything Is from 2005. An album that is a proper onslaught of heavy guitars, thrashing drums and Sam Forrest’s growling vocals, ‘Intermission’ and fellow acoustic track ‘Behind Your Eyes’ arrive at points when the momentum has to be brought down a little before picking back up with a rapid change on the next song.

Because I was so into the intensity of the other ten tracks, it took me a while to get into ‘Intermission’. Anything with an acoustic guitar in I just switched off for. This was when I was eleven. But it didn’t take long to realise how good a song it was. The only track on the album not to be recorded in a proper studio – it was instead recorded in Sam Forrest’s flat in Manchester – ‘Intermission’ is a real downer. The main refrain or hook or whatever you want to call it is led by forlorn slide guitars that weep in both headphones. Like a lot of other songs on the album, the lyrics evokes imagery of war and weaponry with a cynical twist to them. ‘Intermission’ is very much anti-war. It details people who carelessly laugh at it when the misery is going down.

The album could easily have ended here. But the band reel you back in again with a raging closer. That’s for another time.