Massive Attack

Massive Attack was a British hip-hop fusion group who sold over 11 million albums over the course of their 25-plus year career. The group's beginnings began in the early 1980s in England's thriving club scene, when a collective of English D.J.'s known as The Wild Bunch were packing crowds in clubs all across Bristol. It was at one of these club parties that Massive Attack's core members, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall and Andy "Mushroom" Vowles, would meet and find that they all had similar musical tastes. Once The Wild Bunch ended in the late-80s, the three friends decided to form their own multi-genre group called Massive Attack. As Massive Attack the group quickly earned a loyal and devoted following, performing before sold out audiences both in their hometown of Bristol, as well as various other cities across England. In 1991 the group released their first album, Blue Lines, which although critically acclaimed, was somewhat of a commercial disappointment. However, 1991 was also the year Massive Attack released the single "Unfinished Sympathy." Despite the lack of success of Blue Lines, "Unfinished Sympathy" was a hit in the U.K., thus propelling the group into the mainstream. It would be another three year's before Massive Attack's follow-up album, 1994's Protection, was released. Protection reached No. 4 on the U.K. charts, while furthering the group's popularity. In 1998 Massive Attack released their most commercial album to date, Mezzanine, which topped the charts in England and received a wave of critical praise. With the group's popularity at an all time high, however, internal friction conflicts within group members, as well as a constant touring schedule, caused Vowles to leave the group. Del Naja and Marshall continued as Massive Attack without him, but the group's popularity had never returned to its late 90s peak. Over the next 18 years the group released only two more full-length albums, 100th Window (2003) and Heligoland (2010), both of which sold modestly. Then, after a five year hiatus, Massive Attack put out a new EP called Ritual Spirit in early 2016. The album received good reviews, with the band embarking on a summer European tour to support it.