Living Colour's THE CHAIR IN THE DOORWAY is a frenetic and fortuitous ode to overcoming obstacles! Heralding from New York City, Living Colour (Corey Glover-vocals, Vernon Reid-guitar, Doug Wimbish-bass and Will Calhoun-drums) formed in the 80's. Living Colour's unique urban rock blended free-form jazz, funk, hip-hop, metal and punk. Their lyrics were often caustic and cautionary in pointing out injustice and racism in America. Their latest record The Chair In The Doorway - released in September of 2009 on Megaforce Records - echoes their legacy yet is current and cutting edge.

At first, The Chair In The Doorway just hits you with it's power but dig deeper and the songs are dynamic lyrically and musically. The tracks are divided between metal tinged tunes with hypnotic hooks and more vibrantly visual pieces that are molded with the band's trademarked melody and multi-part harmonies. The opening track "Burned Bridges" is bold with brash build ups and edgy effects. Potent is the title track propelled by pulsing rhythms and pointed prose. "DecaDance" is fiery with crashing chord structures and a warning that "all empires must fall". "Young Man" is a rocking rant with feisty funky instrumentation countered by "Method" - a more methodical and moody piece.

"Behind The Sun" has lighter musical tones but the dialogue and harmonies are tense. "Bless Those" is reflective and robust with a catchy repeating refrain. "Hard Times" starts off delicate but quickly turns defiant and dynamic. "Taught Me" is a mid-tempo melodic muse followed by "Out of Mind" with its thunderous time-keeping, tenacious metal guitar tones and threatening bass lines and lyrics. "Not Tomorrow" has a slightly swamp feel to it with soulful singing, saucy string work from Vernon and smoky rhythms.

The Chair In The Doorway is an energizing and engaging record. It has plenty of dark daunting moments but its muse is a hopeful message of overcoming obstacles.

• Info: -- USA/PA 2009: www.livingcolour.com (Laura Turner Lynch/SoundPress.net)