Mezzanine

`Mezzanine' is Trip Hop's logical conclusion, and this new sound is harder and more confrontational than before. It's closest relative in the music world is The Prodigy's `The Fat of the Land', although whereas that album fused heavy punk with dance music, `Mezzanine' fuses Radiohead-esque prog Rock with hip-hop. Opener `Angel' is a brooding, moody track, illuminated only by Horace Andy's androgynous crooning. It is a fine introduction to this schizophrenic, guitar heavy new sound, as Led Zeppelin-esque guitars come crashing down in the climax. `Risingson' was the track Massive Attack chose to release in September 1997 to preview the new album. Built around a looping bass line over which 3d and Daddy G rap, the track is vaguely psychedelic, what with 3d's talk of `clicking shines on foreheads' and samples of The Velvet Underground. Massive Attack are actually more similar to Reed's crew than you may think; both are (or were) fiercely experimental, yet never take fore granted the ability to construct a decent song.

The next track, `Teardrop' is many people's favourite track (myself included). A sublime and simple song built around a stuttering drum beat and harpsichord riff, it also introduces us to Liz Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins) and her soothing, impossibly high vocals. The accompanying video to the track was that of a baby in the womb, and the song does have the effect of rendering the listener to an embryonic state. The addition of sombre piano chords and subtle overdubs creates a stark, mesmerising and beautiful track, proof (if any were needed) that `Unfinished Sympathy' was not a one off. After cradling us with `Teardrop', we are severely awoken by `Inertia Creeps, an Eastern tinged rap track that uses its electric guitars to full effect. It also helps one understand why The Clash were thanked in the sleeve notes.

`Exchange' is probably the albums weakest moment, an instrumental that actually has little to do with Massive Attack, and seems too retro and backward looking in the midst of these thrilling new soundscapes. `Dissolved Girl' is much better, featuring Sara Jay who whispers and purrs where others might full-bloodedly sing. It is also the albums `chestburster' moment, as no sooner have we gotten used to the relatively sparse and soulful composition, a thunderous guitar with its amp on max invades the track, mimicking the previously discrete bass line. The fact that it was featured on `The Matrix' should have been a clue to this; other artists on it were Rage Against The Machine and Marilyn Manson. `Man Next Door' is initially reminiscent of `Exchange' and that track's shortcomings, in that it again is not a Massive Attack song and is similarly retro. But, in the context of the album, it works fine, what with its themes of suburban paranoia, Horace Andy's almost rude pronunciation of `fight' and the fact that it's very melodicism is welcome after the nuclear bomb of sound that was `Dissolved Girl'. `Black Milk' is the album's most danceable track, a hip-hoppy song that utilises Fraser's lolloping vocals and fuses it with a deep grooving bass line and synths to provide the album with the closest thing it has to bombast. `Mezzanine' and `Group Four' are the albums landmark progressive tracks, and should be taken as one epic 14-minute track, as they both share the new found heavily electric sounds that are the album's trademark. With their dark, vicious intensity, they could certainly teach Korn or Slipknot a thing or two about the fusion of rap and electric guitars. Whereas those groups are just axes, coming down on you in one fell swoop, Massive Attack is a shower of acid rain, permeating the melody constantly. Although this makes the album sound depressing, it is not (moody is the word), and Fraser's psychedelic interplay with 3d on `Group Four' is quietly exhilarating. `Group Four' is progressive rock, and I don't mean that in the derogatory manner with which it is usually intended. An eight minute epic, it is a perfect climax for the album. Except, in a magnificent coup, the album does not end there, but reprises `Exchange'. As with the previous albums, Horace Andy reappears for the final track, and he sings delicately and soulfully over the vamped up `Exchange', which has a heavier bass and several elements stripped away. The album ends not on fade out, nor a big epic blow out, but the sound of vinyl scratching. It seems strangely fitting, and I can't help but feel that this is the only version of `Exchange' that is required. `Mezzanine' is true heavy metal, an industrial strength hulk of steel, jamming out conversely fragile and brilliant melodies over its finely tuned sonic barrage.


multileveled magic   August 2, 2002
Christine Menendez (St. Andreu de Llavaneres, Barcelona Spain)
61 out of 65 found this review helpful

Mezzanine was fixed, almost permanently in my car for two years. Now, it shares space with Morcheeba and Hooverphonic and Portishead, who also enjoyed semi-permanent status. Thing with Mezzanine is, there are so many levels of sound that every time you listen to it, you hear something new. That in itself is a wonder, but the vocals are simply gorgeous, the beats are hypnotic...bone conductive...and the lyrics are completely incomprehensible. With this album, it's all in the sound, which just wraps you up and takes you away. Massive Attack is a an eclectic mix of genres: jazz, pop, folk, rap, blues, even classical. They take what they need from each and create their own, unique sound. One of the best things about this album is the unique style of each cut: different vocalists, different styles, totally different sounds, but all absolutely Massive. I could not rate this album higher. I'm not a kid, I'm well past the half-century mark but always searching for really good new music and Mezzanine delivers in spades. The very first song on the album, Angel, has been in five films that I know of, including The Matrix! Why these movie guys never got past the first song is anybody's guess, but the rest of the album is just as good as the beginning. It just keeps getting better. I know Massive has a new album coming out and I'm almost afraid to hear it; equalling Mezzanine would be an amazing feat, but to best it seems impossible. Mezzanine just may be my favourite album of all time, ever, but be warned: you need a very good sound system to hear it all. There is nothing simple here.


Dark, brooding, phenomenal genius (now with big guitars!)   June 1, 1998
27 out of 29 found this review helpful

With their third album, Massive Attack reclaim the "trip hop" (see Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba, et al) throne while taking the music in a darker direction than their previous efforts (none of which are exactly "Walking on Sunshine," knowwotImean?). The core rapping duo of 3-D (sinister whispers) and Daddy Gee (deep-voiced nonsequiturs) really stand out here, especially on the title track and "Risingson." Frequent guest Horace Andy also gives a pair of great vocal contributions on the haunting opener "Angel" (which boasts some of the deepest sounding bass ever recorded)and the dubby "Man Next Door." Personally, I find myself lacking any strong reaction to Elizabeth Frasier's (ex(?)-Cocteau Twin) presence; her vocals are certainly good, but surprisingly more "there" than standing out. The main differences between this and previous Massive Attack albums are the "bigger" (read: louder!) beats (especially on the latter half of "Angel") and the greater use of guitar -- where previous songs like "Protection" found the guitar riding along rhythmically, it frequently breaks through into some great leads/breaks, as on "Group Four." So far, this is the best album of 1998.


Inertia Creeps, baby!   September 24, 2001
Clarissa (Ontario, California)
19 out of 22 found this review helpful

I don't know whay but one day I just felt compelled to buy something by Massive Attack. Other than hearing a few samples on the radio once and obtaining their song "Teardrop" from the Pure Moods 2 compilation I didn't know much, if anything about this band. So warily I took my chances and decided on their latest release, Mezzanine. I usually don't buy things on a whim but for some reason this seemed an exception to the rule. So despite the ugly cover art I purchased, took it home, and then popped it into my CD player and let it sit there on repeat until I came to a baffled conclusion... I wasn't sure WHAT to make of this. It's not like I threw it across the room in disgust or anything but at first I felt uncertain... Then suddenly, like lightning it just struck me and on contact I loved it. From the smooth, heavy bassline of "Angel" to the sassy eroticism of "Inertia Creeps" and "Group Four," featuring Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins, I could no longer resist their funky undertones of hip-hop and electronic soundwaves with the additional trip-hop flava thanks in part to the guest vocalists of Sara Jay and Tricky-esqued Horace Andy.

Other than that, though, I really don't know what else to say about this incredible album. I'm not saying that everything on Mezzanine hasn't been done before and that it's flawless but it's still a treat to the ears. So if you don't already own this than I advice you do so - and soon - For the sake of yourself.


A Dark Ocean Of Ambient Beauty   April 26, 2005
Busy Body (London, England)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

There are some albums that, even if you don't own them, you are familiar with because they have built up a reputation over the years. Massive Attack's "Mezzanine" is one such album; I think from the time of this album's release in 1998, I have always known - just from looking at the cover - just who it was by. I never really had any desire to buy it, either, but five months ago I did. I'm not going to hail this album as one of my all-time favourites, because I don't think it is, but it certainly is an amazing album. If you can appreciate truly dark music (we're talking darker than dark) then this album is for you, most definitely.

I suppose this is the kind of album you could lay on your bed to in the pitch dark, with your eyes closed, and just unfolding, letting the sound seep into your brain. The beats are deep and penetrating, the bass is pounding, reverberating like sound waves through water; at once near, then a million miles away. The sounds echo around you before drawing closer, disappearing, and then expanding all the time, closing in on themselves and crumpling under their own lead-heaviness. Imagine this album in Surround Sound. I bet it's incredible...

The album opens with the moody "Angel." This haunting and epic ballad begins with a distant bass which draws closer and louder, before the vocals of a mysterious female draw you in. "You...are my angel," she whispers, before telling us she loves us, then letting the really magic begin. From that small particle of sound that opened the song grows a monster of a song, powered by a chugging beat that is relentless until the song's outro. "Risington" is an incredible piece of work, and was the first song to be debuted from the album in 1997. This song opens like echoes through water leading to the sooty vocals of a deep male voice. The chorus is incredible, and the dizzy but tranquil serenity before it is perfectly chilled. Clicks and bleeps reverberate in the background like a helicopter growing closer. The beat is twisted and primal at time, mixing perfectly with the lyrics, "Toy-like people make me boy-like." Unquestionably the greatest song on the album follows, in the form of the absolute classic "Teardrop." This is definitely one of my favourites songs of all time, because I am just in awe at its construction. The way the haunting vocals of Liz Fraser weave a sparkling web around the pounding heartbeat of a bass is awe-inspiring. Such a simple yet complex song. The first minute is incredible, as we gradually hear the bass getting louder before those sunlit vocals shine light into the immense darkness created by the piano. As the voice of that Goddess teeters on the edge around the fourth minute, before tumbling into the darkness, you'll experience something profoundly moving. Trust me.

"Inertia Creeps" is a song that has an unnerving quality to it and has the ability to make me rather paranoid. I'm not sure why, but I just get a strange chill whenever I hear this! The bass is deep and pounding, as the beat bounces off the walls of your headphones and crashes into your brain. "Exchange" is probably the nearest you'll get to relative happiness on this album. The beat is rather soothing and relaxing, and there's a feeling of serenity about the whole four minutes of this instrumental. "Dissolved Girl" is one of my favourite songs from the album. It's also one of the catchiest songs on the album. It opens with a bass that will make your head spin due to the dizzy, repetitive nature of it. The vocals by the mysterious female work amazingly, bringing out a rather vulnerable and confused woman amongst the smothering darkness. "Man Next Door" opens brilliantly with a beat that sounds distant, with further-distant beats bouncing off from it. This is also one of my favourite songs from the album, because the story that is created is rather spooky, but with a humorous tone. The vocals seem a little unusual with a slight giggle in them, as the man sings of a strange men next door and of the things he gets up to.

"Black Milk" has a distant intro before a static buzz filters in. This song sounds like the soundtrack to an alternative club in the middle of space, floating around. You could imagine this song being in an advert, as a man stares at a woman in a club, no speaking from anyone, only body language. The song has that edge to intimidate you, and I think you can't help but visualise a scenario if you close your eyes. The album's title track, "Mezzanine," has a deep and pulsating throb that courses through the blood stream of this euphoric song. The darkness of this album is at its peak here, with whispered vocals and chattering beats clicking on and off in the background. The longest song on the album is "Group Four," at over 8 minutes in length. This is a really great song that creeps into your ears with the stark contrast between whispered male vocals and angelic, sparse female vocals. The man mumbles effectively as the woman expresses herself so beautifully with an almost operatic vocal style. The album closes with "(Exchange)" which is a great outro track for this album. The job of this song, in my opinion, is to gently bring you back down to earth after the amazing high that the previous ten songs put you on. Something is needed to ground you safely, and this song is the perfect antidote. A beautiful end to an incredibly dark masterpiece.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

This is by far the darkest album I own. This is not particularly true in lyrical content, but it is most definitely true in the case of the music you actually hear. Because this album is so profound, it has managed to almost create a genre for itself; think of visually dark music and this album will come out top nearly every time, I can guarantee it. The blend of trip-hop, electronica and dance is rather incredible, and something I am accustomed to being such a huge Bjoerk and Radiohead fan. Granted, this album isn't for everyone, and it took me these five months to truly appreciate everything on offer, but once you get into it you won't be able to stop listening. The darkness on this album is the temptation in your soul, and you will give in every time; you're putty in this album's hands.