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Massive Attack

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Above, Massive Attack. The original three members (from left to right): Robert Del Naja (3D), Grant Marshall (Daddy G), and Andrew Vowles (Mushroom).

Massive Attack is a popular band from Bristol, England. They have released four full studio albums. Their music is electronic, and combines elements of jazz, hip-hop and other genres; lately the darker, subtler forms of electronica have been dominant influences.

Biography

Massive Attack began as an offshoot of the Bristol art community The Wild Bunch. In 1991, they released their first album, Blue Lines, featuring the hit singles Unfinished Sympathy and Daydreaming.

Unfinished Sympathy has frequently been described as one of the best songs of all time, according to polls produced by MTV2, NME, and various other magazines and reviewers. [1] A reviewer for the BBC has said that: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney."

Blue Lines subsequently became one of the most influential British records of the 1990s, inspiring other projects such as Portishead and Morcheeba. Blue Lines ushered in a new genre of music best referred to as "the Bristol sound", but the press began to use the label "trip hop", which the members of Massive Attack dislike.

During the first Gulf War, several British media channels became anxious to avoid using words suggestive of war and violence, and Massive Attack (then struggling to become established) were forced to temporarily change their name to simply Massive. Lead band member Robert Del Naja makes no secret in interviews of his political objections to what he sees as U.S. aggression against the Third World in the name of democracy, often expressing regret that he ever agreed to the name change.

In 1994 Massive Attack released their second effort Protection. Featuring two string instrumentals arranged by Craig Armstrong, this album featured a more lush, deeper sound than the first. This marked the last collaboration of Wild Bunch member Tricky with Massive Attack, as he afterwards concentrated wholly on his solo career. Two songs ("Protection" and "Better Things") feature Everything But The Girl's vocalist Tracey Thorn.

Massive Attack's third album Mezzanine was released in 1998. Mezzanine showed the band moving towards a dark, distorted guitar-based sound, and, according to many fans and critics, marked a significant evolution. Several songs from this album have been featured in major motion pictures; the opening track, "Angel", appears in Snatch, a film by Guy Ritchie as well as an episode of The West Wing and in the independent film Pi. The fourth track, "Inertia Creeps" is used in Stigmata. The sixth track, "Dissolved Girl" was featured in the films The Matrix and The Jackal. The Japanese release of Mezzanine featured one additional track, "Superpredators", which was also used in the film The Jackal as the opening theme.

A fourth album, 100th Window, was released on February 10, 2003. It entered the Top 10 in the UK charts. Del Naja was charged with possession of drugs that month. While some critics found 100th Window album not up to par with previous offerings, many found it a worthwhile listening experience.

In 2004 the band, now consisting of Del Naja, Neil Davidge and Alex Swift, released an Instrumental Soundtrack for the film Danny the Dog, which was produced by Luc Besson. The film's title was changed to Unleashed prior to the American release, though the album was initially released under the original title as it came out months before the film.

2005 saw the band contribute to the soundtrack for the movie Bullet Boy.They are also working on music for the film adaptation of V For Vendetta due for release in 2006.

Massive Attack originally consisted of three members, Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G") and Andrew Vowles ("Mushroom"). After the recording of Mezzanine, Vowles -- dissatisfied with the change in sound -- left the band. He was replaced by Neil Davidge, who worked in tandem with Del Naja for much of his material on Mezzanine. Marshall elected to sit out during the recording of 100th Window.

Each Massive Attack album features guest vocalists, and so far the band has worked with Mos Def, Tricky, Shara Nelson, Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl, Nicolette, Sara Jay, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins and Sinéad O'Connor. The Jamaican reggae legend Horace Andy is a fixture of Massive Attack albums.

Part of their song Teardrop is being used as the theme music for the American television show House, M.D. in the US (whilst versions of the program aired in other countries, such as the UK, use a generic snippet of music that resembles Teardrop) and part of their song Angel is being used as the theme music for the American television show 24.

Their work has paved the way for groundbreaking artists around the globe such as Carnage and the Fiasco, Hooverphonic, Fischerspooner, and Delerium.

Discography

Albums

Singles

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