'Promos' a massive sucess on DVD

Massive Attack -- Eleven Promos\nMassive Attack's way of working has always represented a rebellious middle finger in the face of conventional wisdom. The revolutionary music of the Bristol, England-based group managed to fuse hip-hop, dub, psychedelic and a dozen other genres that haven't even been invented yet into one consistently engaging whole on albums like their landmark debut Blue Lines (1991) and their most recent Mezzanine (1998). \nSo it should be no surprise that their iconoclasm extends even to their recent video collection. The DVD comes in a clear plastic case -- no cover art, completely unadorned except for a small sticker identifying the title. The disc's contents consist of a single-screen black and white menu listing the 11 videos the band has made in its 12 years of existence and the promos themselves. There are no self-congratulatory "Behind the Scenes" featurettes and no inane commentary tracks detailing what the group ate for breakfast the morning they filmed the video. This isn't an act of apathy on the group's part, but rather one of supreme confidence. They want the work to stand on its own, without the packaging and bonus overkill that accompanies most DVDs these days.\nLuckily, Massive Attack's visuals are frequently as groundbreaking as their music, and they're as potent a singles group as album artists. "Eleven Promos" has much to offer. There are some big names in the video world here, notably Michel Gondry (possibly the finest music video director ever -- his portfolio includes Bjork's "Human Behaviour," the Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be" and Radiohead's "Knives Out") and Jonathan Glazer (Radiohead's "Karma Police" and the recent feature film "Sexy Beast"). All the promos are suffused with the Massive crew's unmistakable reefer-laced aura -- dark, brooding and slooooow. There's more slow motion footage in these videos than the climax of a John Woo film.\nEleven Promos is in many ways cold comfort as Massive fans wait and see if the troubled group can hold it together long enough to release the long-awaited follow-up to Mezzanine. But it's also essential viewing from one of the most important groups of the 1990s.\n

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