Risingson

Fraught by doubt and paranoia, Massive Attack struggled to lay down the tracks for their third album as 3D spent hours in the studio "making tracks, tearing them apart, f***ing them up, panicking, then starting again." Such drama ultimately delayed the album's projected December 1997 release by nine months; the gap was plugged by "Risingson," a new single unleashed in July 1997. The song became a monstrous tease, appearing almost a full year before the album's eventual release. It gave an eager audience a hint of what was to come -- although the brooding aura was slightly deflected by the use of a sample from the Velvet Underground's "I Found a Reason." Featuring trademark beats and vocals, the song's lyrics were shot through with danger, in a seemingly scathing commentary of the club scene that had embraced Massive Attack. "Now you're lost and you're lethal" felt like a warning. Further enhanced by the softest gasps and sighs buried deep within the mix, and guitars that sliced through the whole thing, "Risingson" was a monumental vibration, a shift in consciousness for the band. The Singles 90/98 box set featured several remixes of the song, including an interesting turn by Underworld.