4. Napalm DeathMentally Murdered
This is another one of these shock things. I knew the name, I think I’d heard them and didn’t like them at first, but then it fitted in with where I was emotionally in my life. I fancied a girl at school. But it was the Easter holidays, so I wasn’t going to see her for two weeks. I never lived where my school was – I went to school in Falkirk, but lived in Glasgow or lived in Larbert. I moved around a lot so I had friends at school but never had many friends where I lived. So holidays were a bit more isolated – maybe that’s why a lot of these are to do with the eve of holidays and long breaks.
Anyway, I got Mentally Murdered and it was like revisiting the Live After Death moment. I got home and I knew it was quite extreme music, so I put the volume right up and lay on the floor, in the sun, in my bedroom. I can’t remember what I had to eat [laughs]. It used to give me great comfort to listen to this noisy music. It’s really well played, you can tell there’s skill there, it’s not just mashing a guitar and playing drums really quickly, it’s to do with the power of it.
Loud music like that, to me, is the only thing that can shut my head up. It can stop your thinking, or your wallowing, or your worrying. It’s escapism. It’s a block. With some music, you can go along with it, you can listen to guitar parts, to vocals and melodies. But not this. It doesn’t leave any room for you to follow anything. You’re blown away.
