Personnel: Horace Andy, Elizabeth Fraser, Sara Jay, Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshal (vocals); Angelo Bruschini (guitar); Neil Davidge (keyboards, samples); Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy (keyboards); John Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blissett (bass); Andy Gangadeen (drums).

Recorded at Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios, Bristol, England.

Personnel: Massive Attack (keyboards, programming, sampler); Elizabeth Fraser, Sara Jay, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Grant Marshall, Horace Andy, Robert "3D" del Naja (vocals); Angelo Bruschini (guitar); Neil Davidge (keyboards, programming, sampler); Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy (keyboards); Bob Locke, John Mark Harris, Robert Locke, Winston Blissett, John Harris (bass guitar); Andy Gangadeen (drums); Tim Young (scratches).

Audio Mixer: Mark "Spike" Stent.

Recording information: Christchurch Studio, Bristol, England; Massive Attack Studio.

Photographer: Nick Knight.

Arrangers: Massive Attack; Neil Davidge.

Increasingly ignored amidst the exploding trip-hop scene, Massive Attack finally returned in 1998 with Mezzanine, a record immediately announcing not only that the group was back, but that they'd recorded a set of songs just as singular and revelatory as on their debut, almost a decade back. It all begins with a stunning one-two-three-four punch: "Angel," "Risingson," "Teardrop," and "Inertia Creeps." Augmenting their samples and keyboards with a studio band, Massive Attack open with "Angel," a stark production featuring pointed beats and a distorted bassline that frames the vocal (by group regular Horace Andy) and a two-minute flame-out with raging guitars. "Risingson" is a dense, dark feature for Massive Attack themselves (on production as well as vocals), with a kitchen sink's worth of dubby effects and reverb. "Teardrop" introduces another genius collaboration -- with Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins -- from a production unit with a knack for recruiting gifted performers. The blend of earthy with ethereal shouldn't work at all, but Massive Attack pull it off in fine fashion. "Inertia Creeps" could well be the highlight, another feature for just the core threesome. With eerie atmospherics, fuzz-tone guitars, and a wealth of effects, the song could well be the best production from the best team of producers the electronic world had ever seen. Obviously, the rest of the album can't compete, but there's certainly no sign of the side-two slump heard on Protection, as both Andy and Fraser return for excellent, mid-tempo tracks ("Man Next Door" and "Black Milk," respectively). ~ John Bush

What do you do when you've already changed the face of music once in a decade? If you're Bristol, UK sonic architects Massive Attack, you refine the model for the times. MEZZANINE, the third album from the producer/DJ crew who, for all intents and purposes, created the genre of trip-hop, is thicker, less spacious and far more guitar-heavy than their previous efforts. Then again, the blue-print remains: hip-hop beats, behemoth bass underpinnings and spare melodic overtones still control Massive Attack's drive. After all, one doesn't expect the inventors to abandon their discoveries just because every pop new jack is onto their gold mine.