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Heligoland
 
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Heligoland

Massive Attack
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews) More about this product

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Biography

Massive Attack are an electronic band from England formed by 3D, Daddy G, Mushroom and Tricky, who combine soul, jazz and hip-hop to produce their distinctive trip-hop sound.

Their debut album was the classic Blue Lines (1991). A fusion of hip-hop and dub, it pioneered trip-hop and gave meaning to the description 'the Bristol sound'. It included the much acclaimed single "Unfinished Sympathy", and… Read more in Amazon's Massive Attack Store

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (February 9, 2010)
  • Original Release Date: 2010
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Virgin Records
  • ASIN: B002ZPIC1M
  • In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #2 in  Music > Dance & Electronic > Electronica
    #9 in  Music > Pop > Dance Pop

1. Pray For Rain
2. Babel
3. Splitting The Atom
4. Girl I Love You
5. Psyche
6. Flat Of The Blade
7. Paradise Circus
8. Rush Minute
9. Saturday Come Slow
10. Atlas Air

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

HELIGOLAND is the much anticipated fifth studio album from legendary trip-hop duo MASSIVE ATTACK and the first new studio album since 2003's critically-acclaimed 100TH WINDOW. HELIGOLAND features an all-star cast of guest vocals from DAMON ALBARN, HOPE SANDOVAL, MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD, GUY GARVEY and TUNDE ADEBIMPE. Long time cohort HORACE ANDY makes a return alongside Massive Attack founding members ROBERT DEL NAJA (3D) and GRAND MARSHALL (DADDY G). Damon also plays bass on `Flat Of The Blade' and keyboards on `Splitting The Atom' while PORTISHEAD's ADRIAN UTLEY plays guitar on `Saturday Come Slow'. The band also collaborated with DFA's TIM GOLDSWORTHY on selected tracks. The cover artwork features an original image by ROBERT DEL NAJA. Over the last three years Robert Del Naja has written and produced soundtracks for a number of films and documentaries, including `Trouble In The Water', '44 Inch Chest', `In Prison My Whole Life' and `Gomorra', the latter for which he won the David Di Donatello Award for Best Song. Massive Attack also won the Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award at the Ivor Novello Awards.

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Customer Reviews

45 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult, but much more rewarding than it sounds at first., February 9, 2010
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Massive Attack albums are rarely immediate. Same with Heligoland: at first, the synths at the beginning of "Splitting The Atom" and "Flat Of The Blade" sound off-key and simplistic. I heard the three-note lead in "Paradise Circus" and wondered how on earth that simple sound could sustain a five-minute song.

But when I listened to "Paradise Circus" a few times, my perception started to change. The clattering, echoing drum track combined with the lead to create an eerie atmosphere. Above all, the song has possibly the most intimate vocal performance of any Massive Attack song. Hope Sandoval's voice is scratchy, but the way you can hear every minute shift in her throat, together with the deliberately slow pace of the vocal, gives an impression of a wide-awake, intensely focused late-night rumination. It's a remarkably sexy song, but it also expresses uncomfortable qualms: the lyrics say that "the devil makes us sin," and that's exactly how the song sounds, like someone giving in to temptation, but feeling uneasy about possible divine repercussions.

The entire album is characterized by this subtle feeling, like constantly looking back over one's shoulder. Heligoland sounds softer and more electronic than, say, Mezzanine, without those overdriven guitars. But it also sounds much more swampy and dissonant (maybe "sullen" might be a good word to describe the tone of the drums in "Pray For Rain") than Protection. This makes it difficult to like the album on the first listen, but at some point, one starts to appreciate the spooky, off-kilter atmosphere. The haunted-house keyboards and strings are somewhat reminiscent of The Knife's Silent Shout, one of the best albums of the past decade.

And just when you think that the music sounds too simple, there's some kind of twist. Toward the end of "Paradise Circus," there is a break with soft strings, and after that, some dark, reverberating piano chords come in to very strong effect. The downtuned echo of the chimes opening "Pray For Rain" is both pretty and creepy. It is soon strangled by the overbearing drums; halfway through the song quiets down, then builds back up in a loud, dark drone, and then unexpectedly breaks into a more gentle-sounding plateau. Once you register everything that's going on, you see how original it is. The keyboard lead in "Splitting The Atom" eventually sinks into a dreamy ambient outro. Many songs don't end the way you expect them to.

"Girl I Love You" is also a lot more interesting than you might expect from the requisite Horace Andy song (especially one with such a generic title). It is similar to the classic "Angel," it's got the dub bass line, the reverb in the background, and the crashing, loud crescendo -- but, incredibly, it does all of those things better than "Angel." It's a lot more energetic, with a fast dance beat. Instead of the grinding guitars (which were powerful, but honestly a bit plodding), there is what sounds like a brass section in a haunted circus. And it also helps that Horace Andy turns in his best, smoothest Massive Attack vocal yet -- not bad for a guy who's pushing sixty!

Unexpectedly, "Atlas Air" is Massive Attack's most danceable song, with a bracing house beat and an awesome echoing, multi-layered keyboard hook. Even more unexpectedly, Robert Del Naja finally puts a new spin on his mumbling vocal style and sort of speak-sings to the rhythm. In the process, he gets backed by these amazing reverberating electronic chimes that contrast his voice perfectly and give it an ominous edge. Eventually, there's a blaring noise breakdown. This song should be a hit.

I should say that Heligoland moves very far from Massive Attack's hip-hop roots. Robert Del Naja only takes the lead on two songs, probably to compensate for hogging the limelight on 100th Window. Even then, he does no rapping, and instead prefers the restrained speak-singing style that I mentioned above. Grant Marshall gets one verse on "Splitting The Atom," but even there he sort of recites the words without really rapping per se. As if to underscore the departure from rap, Heligoland brings in a bunch of other male singers, including Damon Albarn, who gives a reliably good, plaintive vocal performance on "Saturday Comes Slow," which is good, but sounds a bit like a Blur ballad.

But then, we expect every Massive Attack album to be a departure, don't we? The originality of Heligoland is more subtle than, say, the difference between Mezzanine and Protection, and takes time to really sink in. However, though the sullen, stifling production and deceptively simple melodies may throw one off at first, they actually conceal surprising, multi-segmented song structures and pinprick-inducing atmosphere.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Only Time will give us a Better Understanding, March 12, 2010
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this album. This has somewhat turned into a Curveball or Changeup that, Now that I've figured out it's not what I orginally thought it was, I have time to recollect and wait on it.
Out of 10 songs, there are 6 that I immediately bite on. The other 4 are still up in the air (for me).

1.) The biggest thing I've noticed about Reviewers thus far, is the complete Lack of ANYTHING, Like or Dislike, for the #6 song "Flat On The Blade." For me, there's something very Awe-Inspiring and Powerful in the latter-half of the song once the Brass and Strings kick in along with the combination of the lyrics with Guy Garvey's voice. I think the lyrics here are the strongest of the Entire album, and at least for me, EPITOMIZE what Massive Attack means to me. Very straight-forward lyrics (that aren't that straight-forward once you really think about it) with very Confident (almost Cocky) delivery.
"I'm not good in a crowd - I've got Skills I can't speak of - Things I've seen will Chase me to the Grave - How does it feel? The weight of the Steel? The Flat of the Blade? How does it feel to Kneel in Defeat to the choices you've made?- Take it they give it, and Rivet for Rivet, I will Build for my Family a Bulletprooof Love."
I guess call me crazy, but those aren't lyrics that I can just TOSS to the side and be like "Ehh, dull, next song." Anybody who does that, is FAR more simplistic and simple-minded than they give themselves credit for. I've been thinking about these lyrics alone for 3 DAYS now.
I think the reason I like this song so much is because it feels VERY reminiscent of Radiohead's "Pyramid Song." The obvious highlight there is Thom Yorke's slowly elevating voice overtop the rest of the music until his voice is the biggest highlight of the song. EXACT same effect here with Guy Garvey's vocals... The song elevates to the point it gives me goosebumps and makes my hair stand up.
I guess I interpret the Lyrics so strongly because the First-half of "Flat of the Blade" gives off this Condemned feeling of being stuck in place; Cannot remove yourself from the situation you've been bred in to (i.e. How does it feel to Kneel in Defeat?)..... Then after the first 2min, the song elevates from this Hopeless feeling into an Iron-Willed Personal Strength that will not back down (i.e. Rivet for Rivet I will BUILD for my Family a BULLETPROOF Love). It's like we're listening to an EPIC story of "Zero to Hero" right before our eyes.
I cannot understand how so many people can straight-up Skip-over and Neglect a Lyrical TIDALWAVE that song has revealed itself as. You guys out there Jump-Ship way too quickly.

2.) I can already tell this is one of those Albums that needs 2 or 3 years of music to pop-up around it, so we can be like "OH Yeah, that's what Massive Attack was doing. That's the direction it was moving. Ok."
And odds are we'll (Once Again!) realize that Massive Attack was Farther ahead than we could give them credit for in 2010.

3.) I could always use more Rob Del Naja. He's got one of the sickest Lead Vocal deliveries out there. Jack of All Trades-type voice. So cool.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed in this album, March 15, 2010
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In the past I have greatly enjoyed the work of Massive Attack. However, and perhaps I am hanging on to the old "sound" here, this album ventures too far and leaves little of the original sound that I have loved in the past. Some of the other reviews have described the album as difficult, and I fully agree. I am hoping that if I give it a few more listens at least some of the songs will grow on me. I really wish I had previewed the album but I pre-ordered it instead (expecting great things). Personally, I wouldn't recommend this album and would instead point anyone interested in this band to their earlier efforts.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Introspective. Getting older, is he.
He's not so young and energetic, any more! You would expect this sort of down-tempo, slightly more laid-back effort at this point. Read more
Published 8 hours ago by Hammer-Y

3.0 out of 5 stars Bad lyrics on the soundtrack to Dead Horse, beaten mid-tempo.
some sample lyrics to pique your interests:

Show without showing
What you know without knowing
Twigs snap eye / I catch no canoe only you and me... Read more
Published 7 days ago by techside

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Album!
Simply put, it's been far too long since Massive Attack's last release and this doesn't disappoint. I was a little unimpressed the first time I listened to it. Read more
Published 9 days ago by P. Carter

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very good
Time once was when these cats could do little wrong. Seems like a long time ago now. This is just dull.
Published 9 days ago by Dread

4.0 out of 5 stars A great first album for me, for 2010
I'm a late bloomer when it comes electronic music, having only discovered Massive Attack (and their unique interpretation of the genre)in 2006. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Bobby Wells

5.0 out of 5 stars Sonic Abuse
Long time Massive fan. Can't say how much it means for the duo to reunite on this album. We got all Del Naja on 100th Window, I loved it, and it revealed exactly what he brings to... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Ryan Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise!
I purchase and listen to a lot of electronica music. It seems to be my genre of choice in recent years. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Gary Peterson

5.0 out of 5 stars Give it a couple listens, and you'll love it.
Nearly flawless. I didn't care much for "Psyche", but the rest of the album is perfect.
Published 18 days ago by Rogelio Castro III

3.0 out of 5 stars Heligoland 2010
2010 torniamo a parlare dei Massive Attack, il loro atteso album si puņ finalmente ascoltare.
Tornano insieme a timonare Robert Del Naja e Daddy G. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Del maro Maurizio

2.0 out of 5 stars Sub-performance production.
I love MA. I love them so much I went to a few of their live shows. This album, on the other hand, seemed rushed. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Justin Spencer

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