Massive Attack Returns with Tom Waits Collab: 'Boots on the Ground'
Massive Attack breaks their six-year silence with 'Boots on the Ground,' featuring a rare appearance from Tom Waits and a B-side with Waits' solo track 'The Fly.'
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After a six-year hiatus, Massive Attack has emerged with new music, a single titled “Boots on the Ground.” This marks their first release since the Eutopia EP in 2020. The track features a rare collaboration with Tom Waits, who delivers potent socio-political commentary on America.
"Now who the hell are these federal pricks? Hiding in the Senate like a bloated-ass tick,” Waits declares in his signature gravelly voice. The song is accompanied by a short film showcasing the photography of thefinaleye, capturing scenes from Black Lives Matter protests and ICE raids during the pandemic era.
An eco-friendly 12" vinyl release will feature “The Fly” as the B-side—Waits’ first standalone, solo original in 15 years. "One day many years ago I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate," Waits shared in a press release. "Way back then, we sent them ‘Boots on the Ground.’ Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this song will never go out of style. Man’s fiasco folly is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B-side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12-inch ‘The Fly’ features my appreciation for the winged nuisance."
Massive Attack: Boots on the Ground
Massive Attack’s Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshal stated, “It’s a career honour to collaborate with an artist of the magnitude, originality and integrity of Tom, but this track is arriving in an atmosphere of chaos. Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. Seen within the American emergency, at home and overseas, this track contains pulses of callous impulse & abandoned mind.” Notably, on April 11, Del Naja was arrested at a Palestine Action protest.
In 2025, Massive Attack voiced their concerns about Spotify, requesting their music be removed, citing ethical issues tied to funding "lethal, dystopian technologies." The duo is set to embark on a short European tour, concluding in Niigata, Japan. See full dates below.
Waits’ last album, Bad as Me, was released in 2011. Since then, he has focused on acting, with recent roles in 2025’s Father Mother Sister Brother and 2023’s The Absence of Eden.
Massive Attack:
05-27 Helsinki, Finland - Veikkaus Arena
05-30 Rättvik, Sweden - Dalhalla
06-01 Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
06-04 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound
06-07 Berlin, Berlin - Zitadelle
06-08 Brussels, Belgium - Forest National
07-26 Niigata, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
Massive Attack xLive 2026
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