"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998.[1] "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Angel"
Single by Massive Attack
from the album Mezzanine
B-side	"Group Four" (Remix)
Released	13 July 1998
Recorded	1997–98
Studio	Massive Attack Studios and Christchurch Studios (Bristol)
Genre	Trip hop industrial rock electronica
Length	6:19
Label	Circa Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Robert Del Naja Horace Hinds Grantley Marshall Andrew Vowles
Producer(s)	Neil Davidge Massive Attack
Massive Attack singles chronology
"Teardrop" (1998) "Angel" (1998) "Inertia Creeps" (1998)
Music video
"Angel" on YouTube

Background and composition

"Angel"

30-second sample of "Angel", starting from the entry of the guitar crescendo. "Angel" shows the group's more guitar driven sound that was described in an AllMusic song review as "perhaps the darkest, heaviest song Massive Attack has ever recorded."[2]

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Daddy G, who was the main songwriter on it (along with 3D), described the song as "[starting] something we've got to finish. It was a much bigger thing than any member of the band."[2] The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song "Last Bongo in Belgium".

Music video

The music video for "Angel", directed by Walter A. Stern, features Grant "Daddy G" Marshall in a car park. He is walking to the exit when Robert del Naja, Andrew Vowles and Horace Andy^{[clarification needed]} appear behind him. They gradually get closer to him, causing him to feel intimidated. More and more people start following him, which causes him to run outside the car park until he reaches a fence and therefore cannot go any further. As he turns to face the people chasing him, they stop and face him. He then notices that they seem to be mirroring his movements, as if his body controls them. He suddenly charges towards the people that followed him, which causes them to run away.[3]

The video has had over 47 million views on YouTube (as of November 2022).[3]

Critical reception

Reception for the song was positive. Amy Hanson of AllMusic describes the song thus: "While the beat here is slow, druggy, and deep, what ultimately drives Angel is the wall of guitars that are reminiscent of a very early Cure".[2]

Track listing

Personnel

Massive Attack

• Robert Del Naja – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples, art direction
• Grantley Marshall – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, guitars, samples
• Andrew Vowles – producer, arrangements, programming, samples, percussions

Additional personnel

• Neil Davidge – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
• Horace Andy – vocals
• Angelo Bruschini – guitars
• Jon Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blisset – bass guitars
• Andy Gangadeen – drums
• Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy – additional keyboards

Recording personnel

• Jan Kybert – Pro Tools
• Lee Shepherd – engineer (Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios)
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (Olympic Studios)
• Jan Kybert, Paul "P-Dub" Walton – assistant mixing
• Tim Young – editing, engineer (Metropolis Studios)

In popular culture

• Featured in the 1998 episode "Off Profile" of the series La Femme Nikita.[4]
• Used repeatedly in the 1999 film Best Laid Plans starring Reese Witherspoon and Josh Brolin.
• Used in commercials made by Adidas during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[5]
• Used in 1998 film Pi when Max's landlord is interrogating him.
• Used in 1999 film Go when Ronna goes to buy Ecstasy off Todd.
• Used in the 2000 film Snatch during the caravan park fire scene.
• Used in the 2001 film Antitrust when Milo is being served dinner by Alice (Rebecca).[6]
• Featured in the 2003 episode "Commencement" of the series The West Wing.[7]
• An instrumental track based on the song was used as the title theme in the 2004 game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.[8]
• It was used in Far Cry 2 E3 2008 trailer.[9]
• In the 2005 psychological thriller Stay, "Angel" was used in a strip club scene.[10]
• The song was used in the 2004 movie Flight of the Phoenix, in a tense standoff scene between the main characters and a band of smugglers.
• Used in the Pilot episode of Person of Interest, during a standoff inside an apartment building.
• Used in the opening credits of the movie "Firewall" (2006) with Harrison Ford
• Featured in the 2012 episode "Island of Dreams" of the series Grimm
• "Angel" has been covered by mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, for their iTunes only EP, Plagiarism, and also by Brazilian metal band Sepultura on their EP Revolusongs and on the special edition of their 2003 album Roorback.[11] Sepultura's cover was featured in the second episode of the Fox series The Following. It has also been covered live by Australian psychedelic group Tame Impala and Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous, which released their version as a single in 2019.
• Featured in the opening credits of Brazilian telenovela Verdades Secretas.
• The song was used in the Hugo Boss perfume of men by the actor "Ryan Reynolds" in 2009
• The song was used in the E3 2018 Gameplay Trailer for Metro Exodus.[12]
• Used in an episode of Third Watch[13]
• Featured in first episode of Season 2 of Good Girls.
• Featured in season 7 episode 6 "All or Nothing" of Burn Notice
• Featured in the ads of Watchmen
• Used in Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2018 fashion show opening theme
• Used in the 2021 play 2:22 A Ghost Story

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17]	Silver	200,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

На других языках

[ru] Angel (песня Massive Attack)