To me, Del Naja, although obviously brilliant at what he does, comes across as a rather cold and alienting figure. I think that the warmth of Blue Lines and Protection were especially helped by the presence of Vowles and Marshall. "Mezzanine", on which Del Naja's influence is pronounced, is much darker than the previous albums (although it is universally acclaimed, and rightly so). "100th Window" is positively icy, and moves away decisively away from Massive Attack's early hip-hop influences. It is, in my opinion, rather unwelcoming, which I take to be a sign of the absence of the other two core members. (It is still better than most other music out there, though.)
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