Massive Attack

Essential Albums

  • Blue Lines (2012 Mix / Master)

Artist Playlists

More To Hear

About Massive Attack

With their moody, bass-heavy mix of hip-hop, reggae, and soul, the UK band Massive Attack pioneered the sound of trip-hop in the late ’80s and early ’90s. • Massive Attack grew out of The Wild Bunch, a popular ’80s-era DJ collective and soundsystem in Bristol, England. • The group’s hugely influential 1991 debut album, Blue Lines, features sample-rich production and guest vocals from reggae great Horace Andy and British singer Shara Nelson. • Blue Lines includes the Top 20 UK hit “Unfinished Sympathy,” which The Guardian called “the greatest British soul record ever made.” • Massive Attack enlisted producer Nellee Hooper, formerly of The Wild Bunch, for 1994’s Protection, featuring vocals from Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl. • Massive Attack achieved their greatest commercial success with 1998’s Mezzanine. The dark and claustrophobic album reached No. 1 on the UK charts and spawned the Top 10 single “Teardrop,” featuring Cocteau Twins frontwoman Elizabeth Fraser. • With Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles gone from the group and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall on a permanent break, lone remaining member Robert del Naja collaborated with producer Neil Davidge on 2003’s 100th Window, Massive Attack’s second consecutive No. 1 UK album. • Massive Attack returned in 2010 with Heliogland, whose impressive list of guest vocalists includes Damon Albarn of Blur, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, and Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. • In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Massive Attack released Eutopia, a three-song audio-visual EP highlighting the need for global systemic changes.

ORIGIN
Bristol, England
GENRE
Electronic

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