AS STRANGE as it sounds, Massive Attack began a five-night, sold-out stint at Brixton Academy with plenty to prove. The band’s latest album, 100th Window, may have topped the charts on its release last month, but its sales have since slumped. Throw in the fact that 100th Window was a solo project from 3D (Robert Del Naja) and there was a sense that the crowd had come to see whether Massive Attack could be as good as the trio that made Blue Lines more than a decade ago.

The answer was . . . well, they were certainly different. While other bands still try to sound like the old Massive Attack, the new Massive have moved on. Their current incarnation definitely belongs in the digital age and, as though to prove the point, a huge computer screen was the visual focus for the show. Sometimes, it flashed up lines of lyrics and slogans. Sometimes, it was simply a disco accessory.

While the visuals had an alienating effect on the audience — they were easier to watch than the band, who were often obscured by dry ice — the sound sucked everyone in. It was awesome — not just loud, but an aural assault that pinned fans to the spot. The bass hit you in the body, the rhythms went straight for your head and soft synths washed over the top. Inevitably, the set-up worked best for songs from 100th Window, which was largely recorded on computers. The opener, Future Proof, and Butterfly Caught, with vocals from 3D, and the Horace Andy-fronted Everywhen and Name Taken crept to life live. They weren’t songs you could sing along to, rather atmospheric soundscapes to soak up.

Older material came as light relief. The dry ice cleared briefly (and revealed a line-up of two guitarists, a drummer and keyboard player) when Grant Marshall joined 3D for Risingson, from the Mezzanine album, and the crowd began bobbing up and down. Dot Allison stood in for Liz Fraser to sing Teardrop and for Sinead O’Connor, who was supposed to show but had hurt her back, on Special Cases. But it was another singer, Debbie Marshall, who finally started a singalong by duetting with Andy on Big Wheel, with 3D on a stunning version of Safe from Harm, and by mesmerising the crowd with an encore of Unfinished Sympathy.

As good as they once were? In some ways, but while the new songs were impressive, it’s unlikely they will have a long shelf life.