''III'' is an EP released by the techno duo Orbital. The title has a double meaning, referring to it being their third single release, and having three tracks. Two of the group's best known tracks, "Satan" and "Belfast", made their first appearances on the EP. "Belfast" was first discovered by David Holmes and Alan Simms when they booked Orbital to play the Art College,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

on 12 May 1990. Orbital left a demo tape which included the track that was subsequently named "Belfast" in recognition of the positive experience they'd had in the city.

Samples

"Satan" features samples from "Sweat Loaf" by punk band

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

. "Belfast" uses a sample of

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

Emily Van Evera Emily Van Evera is an American soprano who specializes in early music and Baroque music in historically informed performance. Born in Minnesota, she has collaborated in Europe and the US with ensembles such as the Hilliard Ensemble, the London S ...

performing "O Euchari" from the

Gothic Voices Gothic Voices is a United Kingdom-based vocal ensemble specialising in repertoire from the 11th to the 15th century but also performing contemporary music, particularly pieces with medieval associations. The group was originally formed in 1980 ...

album ''A Feather on the Breath of God''. The same sample had appeared on The Beloved's hit "The Sun Rising" a year earlier, but had not been credited. "LC1" includes a sample of television presenter

Fred Dinenage Frederick Edgar Dinenage MBE (born 8 June 1942) is an English author and retired broadcaster and television presenter. His television career spanned nearly 60 years, including the long-running children's programme ''How'' and ITV's regional pr ...

reading a report of an alleged alien abduction.

Other versions

Orbital's 1996 single '' Satan Live'' includes a version of "Satan" called "Satan (Industry Standard Edit)", as well as live versions recorded at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Irving Plaza and at the V96 Festival in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

. In 1997, Orbital re-recorded ''Satan'' with

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

guitarist

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

, for the ''

Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: A ...

'' movie soundtrack. In 1999, Orbital released "Belfast ( Sasha vs The Light Remix)" and "Nothing Left" as a double-A side 12 inch vinyl, and a rejected remix, "Belfunk", was released on Sasha's ''

Xpander EP ''Xpander'' is an extended play (EP) by Welsh DJ Sasha. It was released on 5 July 1999 through Deconstruction Records, and features co-production from Charlie May, Andy Page and Gaëtan Schurrer. The EP charted on release, peaking at number 1 ...

''. In 2015, Paul Hartnoll shared a 4 track demo version of "Belfast" from 1990 on his blog, along with "The Other One", an unfinished demo made with elements of "Chime" and "Belfast". In December of 2021, during the promotion of their then upcoming 2022 remix/rework compilation album "30 Something" duo released the
30 Something Years Later"
Mix of the track, based around the current live iteration of the song.

Accolades

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'' chose "Belfast" as one of its 1001 Best Songs ever.Q Magazine - 1001 Bet Songs Ever - Rocklist.net
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Track listing

CD and 12" vinyl version

:"Satan" :"LC1" :"Belfast"

7" vinyl version

:"Satan" :"Belfast"

12" remix version

:"Satan (The Rhyme & Reason Vocal Mix)" :"LC2 (Outer Limits Mix)" :"Chime"

30 Something Years Later Mix version

"Satan (30 Something Years Later Mix)" "Satan (30 Something Years Later Mix - Edit)"

References

{{Authority control 1991 debut EPs Orbital (band) EPs FFRR Records EPs