Napalm Death
Suffer the Children

It's midnight... I can hear it from the chimes of the bell tower in my village.

Starry night but no moon. Better this way, I will be even less visible; like a fugitive in his own land.

I sneak out of the house; headlamp ready to light my path. No backpack, no poles, just my phone and earphones with me.

The latest ordinance prohibits even hiking near home.

But I won’t give up; tonight I’ll "fight the law"... I Fought the Law as the Clash would say...

The journey is short to ascend in the dark to the hamlet of Prata, through a path I have traversed countless times.

It will take about a dozen minutes; barely a kilometer with a positive elevation of about one hundred and fifty meters.

The EP by Napalm will invade my mind; and it will help me, it will calm me. I won’t be afraid of the dark, I won’t be afraid of anything... I hope.

I pass the gate and am immediately on the old mule track. Now I can start with the Music.

The first few meters are flat, then the challenging slopes begin. I don't turn on the headlamp; it’s visible enough.

I have to suffer and the track Suffer the Children is the right listen, the right start.

Death - Grind... Mark’s tomb-like voice, poorly recorded confused drums. Low-tuned guitars, sawing.

One, two, three switchbacks passed... I enter the woods, I have to turn on the light. I’ve got chills... the track rises, explodes, bursts... I have to turn around to check for any presences.

The humidity envelops me, the path is wet but I proceed keeping my ancient anxieties at bay.

The road flattens; I slow down like the last part of the track; Doom-like passages of chilling heaviness.

Three seconds of silence... it’s time for Siege of Power. Damned, sadistic sounds... The path starts to steepen again; I face the traverse cutting through a beautiful meadow that's blooming... primroses everywhere, I see, I feel them.

Now I’m out in the open again, the woods are behind. I calm down a little and turn off the headlamp.

The track enters its most chaotic part; end-of-the-world speed, Discharge-style Crustcore to get the idea. Crazy minutes... I start to sweat...

I’m on the third track, and I am close to my destination.

Harmony Corruption is a strange, peculiar instrumental, out of context. With the blackest industrial - steel borders. Noises that scratch, that carve.

Luckily, Prata is in sight. I stop near the small Oratory; trembling but not from fatigue.

The song continues in the same repeated way... more noises, but this time it’s a comfort.

Suddenly the Music ends. I remove the earphones; silence around and within me.

In short, I return on my steps; back to the comfort of my home. Making sure not to wake Marina and Elisa.

I will say nothing upon awakening...

Domodossola March 23, 2020.