‘Ironside’ opens the second half of Nine Black Alps’ 2005 album Everything Is. Coming right after the acoustic track ‘Behind Your Eyes’, it’s a bit of a smack in the face and something just to say ‘right, back to what we were doing for the first five numbers’.

This album is a 10/10 for me. It really hasn’t lost its effect on me after thirteen years of owning it and listening to it. I’ve seen in places that people feel that the band where the Nirvana influence on their sleeves. I don’t get that. Nirvana has never come to mind when I’ve listen through. I’m sure there is a band from the past they sound like. And even if they do, there’s nothing wrong with that. Nine Black Alps do their own thing very well, and I don’t think they ever got better than their first record. I don’t have much to say about the song itself which is why I’m rambling on a bit. I think it may be about self-harming and having a bleak outlook on life in general. It’s a real rocker though. Quite intense.