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Massive Attack began as an offshoot of the Bristol art community The Wild Bunch. Although their lineup has shifted over the years, they originally had three members, Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G") and Andrew Vowles ("Mushroom"). In 1988 they released their first single "Any Love," followed in 1991 by their first album, Blue Lines, featuring the hit singles "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Daydreaming." The album was well-received both critically and commercially, with some polls calling "Unfinished Sympathy" one of the best songs of all time. Blue Lines subsequently became one of the most influential British records of the 1990s, ushering in a new genre of music sometimes referred to as the "Bristol sound," but more often labelled trip hop, which Massive Attack have said they dislike.
In 1994, Massive Attack released their follow-up, Protection, an album that featured two string instrumentals arranged by Craig Armstrong and a deeper, more lush 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 vocalist Tracey Thorn.
Massive Attack's third album, Mezzanine, was released in 1998. Mezzanine showed the band moving towards an extremely dark, tense sound filled with distorted guitars and a combination of drum machines and live percussion that lacked the laid-back, jazzy nature they had occassionally shown in their previous albums. Original member Vowles, dissatisfied with this change in sound, left the band. He was replaced by Neil Davidge, who worked with Del Naja for much of his material on Mezzanine. The release of Mezzanine also led to a change in Massive Attack's live show. In addition to their previous simple set up of a few mics and turntables, the group began incorporating more and more live instrumentation into their shows. In addition to their usual numerous guest vocalists, the trio were now being joined on stage by a live guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboard player, as well as a video screen and lighting effects.
Massive Attack's fourth album, 100th Window, which was recorded without Marshall, was released in early 2003. It entered the Top 10 in the UK charts. While some critics found 100th Window not up to par with previous offerings, many found it a worthwhile listening experience.
In 2004, the band, now consisting of Del Naja, Davidge, and programmer Alex Swift, released an instrumental soundtrack for the feature 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 another soundtrack, this time for the feature film Bullet Boy. The group had also been slated to work on music for the film V for Vendetta with past collaborator Craig Armstrong but had to bow out of the project due to scheduling problems.
In 2006 the band released a greatest hits compilation, Collected. The two-disc set includes selected tracks from their studio albums, some rare singles, and two new tracks, "Live with Me" and "False Flags." The DVD layer of the second disc also contains all the group’s music videos to date. Massive Attack also returned to the studios to record a new album, Weather Underground. Of the three original members, Del Naja and Marshall have returned to record the group’s fifth studio album. However, they will not be collaborating with each other extensively. Del Naja will be in one studio with producer Neil Davidge, and Marshall will be working from his own studio on the other side of Bristol. Presumably the pair will work more closely on a finished album after their respective batches of tracks are completed. Dot Allison, Horace Andy, Mike Patton, and Mos Def are expected to contribute vocals.
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. 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 2003, Del Naja was arrested and questioned "in connection with allegations of the possession of class A drugs and Internet pornography offences," as a part of Operation Ore, a nation-wide crackdown on child pornography. Del Naja never admitted to the crime, saying that he has never looked at child pornography in his life, and some fans have claimed that the government was running a smear campaign on him for his views on the war in Iraq. He was released on bail after six hours in jail.
