The band who are curators of this year's Meltdown festival emphatically set the standard for the week ahead. Massive Attack's gritty, grandiose comeback was a powerful re-statement of their Bristol sound. Only the heavy dose of unfamiliar material prevented gig perfection.

However, the new songs were confidently executed with Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall leading through a seamless set drawing on dance rhythms, angular guitars and guest vocalists, including reggae singer Horace Andy. It was accompanied by a visual installation combining cutting-edge graphics with sloganeering. Their opposition to 42-day detention during Inertia Creeps was highly popular.

This was also a preview of Massive Attack's first album since 2003, so we got Marshall singing the buzzing All I Want, while Del Naja mumbled about "opium eaters" over the big beats of Marooned.

Although there were no obvious future classics, one of the best was the Radiohead-like Red Light.

But it was the early Nineties tunes that sealed this triumph: Safe From Harm and the majestic Unfinished Sympathy got fans out of their seats.

It's certainly hard to see who at Meltdown will top this - except perhaps Massive Attack themselves when they play again on Sunday.