This resulted in an out of court settlement that saw Massive Attack shy away from sample use in the future. In one of music historyвЂ™s most costly use of (uncleared) samples, вЂњBlack MilkвЂќ is built entirely around an extended co-opting of Manfred MannвЂ™s вЂњTribute.вЂќ Whereas on the rest of the album, samples are used to embellish moments in a song or form part of its foundation, вЂњBlack MilkвЂќ was a direct lift. The result is, once more, gloomier and borderline menacing. вЂњMan Next DoorвЂќ is a dubbed out cover of Jamaican reggae artist John HoltвЂ™s вЂњIвЂ™ve Got To Get AwayвЂќ and in tune with the rest of Mezzanine shifts the track to a slower trot, painting it in darker hues. Including samples from The Incredible Bongo BandвЂ™s вЂњBongo Rock,вЂќ the track builds in intensity before exploding in a flurry of splashy cymbals, tom fills and reverb a plenty. Deliberately sparse, the song is a bleak reworking/reinvention of guest vocalist Horace AndyвЂ™s own song вЂњYou Are My Angel.вЂќ But whereas his 1973 original is a swaying reggae song of hope and love, this is filled with obsessive dread. Album opener вЂњAngelвЂќ is a brooding mix of heavy, brothy bass and taught snapping beats set against dub distortion and fuzzed out guitars.

The album doesnвЂ™t start in as much as it creeps in through your stereo, invading your space with beautiful doses of menace and hypnotic grooves. For me, Massive AttackвЂ™s Mezzanine (1998) needs to be listened to at night when the darkness and atmospherics held within can induce a mix of chills and excitement.ДЇor a band that had grown in popularity and critical acclaim for their laid back, soulful blend of dub, electronica and hip-hop-captured to thrilling effect on their first two albums Blue Lines (1991) and Protection (1994)- Mezzanine was a decidedly darker adventure, even by trip-hop standards. Happy 20th Anniversary to Massive AttackвЂ™s third studio album Mezzanine, originally released April 20, 1998.Д¬ertain albums demand to be listened to at a certain time.

Massive attack mezzanine