Nirvana’s Nevermind became the iconic album of alternative music. When it was released in the States on 24 September 1991, few predicted the impact that the Seattle trio’s sophomore release would have, either on the band or on music.

The trio – main man Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and recently recruited drummer Dave Grohl – just wrote some songs and recorded an album. But the moment it was released, it became much more than that. And not just in terms of popular culture, or because – without warning – it brought music on the fringe right into the mainstream and placed it on an altar of self-sacrifice. Its effect on the band was massive – eventually terminal. It was an introverted, self-destructive black star of self-loathing that simultaneously exploded as it imploded.