Editing Massive Attack (section)

===''Protection'' and Melankolic (1994–1997)===
{{Main|Protection (Massive Attack album)}}
For their second album, the band brought in [[Everything but the Girl]]'s [[Tracey Thorn]]<ref name="allmusicbio" /> and [[Nicolette (musician)|Nicolette]] as vocalists and released "Protection" on 26 September 1994.

With McVey out of the picture,{{clarify|reason=Why was McVey 'out of the picture'|date=September 2024}} Massive Attack enlisted the production talents of former Wild Bunch [[Nellee Hooper]] to co-produce some songs on it, with Mushroom. Other tracks were co-produced by [[the Insects]] and 3D. A dub version, ''[[No Protection (Massive Attack album)|No Protection]]'', was released the following year by [[Mad Professor]]. ''Protection'' won a [[Brit Awards|Brit award]] for Best Dance Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/massive_attack/|title=Massive Attack presented in Music section|website=Newsfinder.org|access-date=22 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605081654/http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/massive_attack/|archive-date=5 June 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The other collaborators on ''Protection'' were [[Marius de Vries]] and [[Craig Armstrong (composer)|Craig Armstrong]],<ref name="lynskey">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/feb/06/popandrock.features11|title=Massive Attack talk to Dorian Lynskey|work=The Guardian|date=6 February 2007|access-date=20 May 2009|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian| location=London}}</ref> a Scottish classical pianist.

In 1995, Tricky decided to end his involvement with the band in order to pursue a solo career.<ref name="allmusicbio" /> The crediting of Tricky's contribution for ''Blue Lines'' was also a source of friction.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Hagan |first1=Sean |last2=O’Hagan |first2=Sean |date=27 October 2012 |title=Blue Lines: Massive Attack's blueprint for UK pop's future |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/28/massive-attack-blue-lines-remaster |access-date=22 September 2024 |work=The Observer |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> This was also the period of the release of Tricky's ''[[Maxinquaye]]'' and [[Portishead (band)|Portishead]]'s ''[[Dummy (album)|Dummy]]''. The term "trip hop" was coined and was referred to by the media as part of the "[[Bristol underground scene|Bristol scene]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/28/arts/pop-view-another-city-another-new-sound.html|title=POP VIEW; Another City, Another New Sound|work=The New York Times|date=28 May 1995|access-date=22 May 2009|last=Reynolds|first=Simon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs/bristol.shtml|title=Bristol: Rise Up|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 May 2009|last=Slinger|first=Benjamin}}</ref>

In 1995, Massive Attack started a label distributed by Virgin/EMI, Melankolic, and signed Craig Armstrong and a number of other artists such as Horace Andy, [[Lewis Parker (band)|Lewis Parker]], [[Alpha (band)|Alpha]], [[Sunna (band)|Sunna]], and [[Day One (band)|Day One]]. The group espoused a non-interference philosophy that allowed the artists to make their albums in the way they wanted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://melankolic.astralwerks.com/ |title=This is melankolic records |access-date=22 May 2009|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20030210154818/http://melankolic.astralwerks.com/ |archive-date = 10 February 2003}}</ref>

The same year the Insects became unavailable for co-production and having parted ways with Nellee Hooper, the band were introduced to [[Neil Davidge]],<ref name="bbcinterview">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A963542|title=BBC&nbsp;– collective&nbsp;– Massive Attack interview transcript part 3|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 May 2009}}</ref> a relatively unknown producer who had an association with anonymous dance-pop outfit [[The DNA Disciples|DNA]]. The first track they worked on was "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", a cover version sung by Tracey Thorn for the [[Batman Forever (soundtrack)|''Batman Forever'' soundtrack]]. Initially, Davidge was brought in as engineer, but soon became producer.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Humberstone |first1=Nigel |title=Neil Davidge: Recording 100th Window |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/neil-davidge-recording-100th-window |magazine=Sound on Sound |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref>

The group increasingly fractured in the lead-up to the third album, Davidge having to co-produce the three producers' ideas separately. Mushroom was reported to be unhappy with the degree of the post-punk direction in which 3D, increasingly filling the production vacuum, was taking the band.<ref name="bbcinterview" />

In 1997, the group contributed to the [[The Jackal (soundtrack)|film soundtrack]] of ''[[The Jackal (1997 film)|The Jackal]]'', recording "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", a song containing a sample of [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]]' "[[Mittageisen]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inflightdata.com/superpredators.html|title=Massive Attack|website=Inflightdata.com|access-date=17 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030438/http://www.inflightdata.com/superpredators.html|archive-date=13 July 2011}}</ref> and "Dissolved Girl", a new song with vocals by Sarah Jay (that was later remixed for the next album), which was featured at the beginning of the 1999 film ''[[The Matrix]]'', although it was not on the official soundtrack.

Later that year they released a single, "[[Risingson]]", from what would be their third album, ''[[Mezzanine (album)|Mezzanine]]''.<ref name="AllMusic-mezzanine">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r348738|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic ((( Mezzanine > Overview )))|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=22 May 2009|last=Bush|first=John}}</ref>