Massive Attack (GB)

About

Also known as: Massiv Attack, Massive

Few records reshaped a decade the way Massive Attack's 1991 debut Blue Lines did. The Bristol collective, built around Robert '3D' Del Naja and Grant 'Daddy G' Marshall, essentially invented trip hop by fusing hip hop, soul, reggae and dub into something that felt entirely new. 'Unfinished Sympathy', with its sweeping strings recorded at Abbey Road, hit number one on the Dutch Top 40 and later landed at number 63 on NME's greatest songs poll. Their 1998 album Mezzanine pushed things darker and more visceral, delivering 'Teardrop' sung by Elizabeth Fraser, and giving the group their first UK number one album. Over the years they have worked with a remarkable roster of guest vocalists including Horace Andy, Tracey Thorn, Sinéad O'Connor, Damon Albarn and Hope Sandoval, each collaboration pulling the sound somewhere slightly different. Both Blue Lines and Mezzanine appear on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list. With five studio albums and over 13 million copies sold, Del Naja and Marshall, who have carried the group as a duo since 1999, remain one of the most influential acts to ever come out of the UK.