Stain is the third studio album by American rock band Living Colour, released on March 2, 1993, by Epic Records. The album marked a significant transition for the band, being the first to feature bassist Doug Wimbish following the departure of original bassist Muzz Skillings in 1992. This lineup change contributed to a notably darker and heavier sound that distinguished Stain from the band's previous work.
The album represented Living Colour's exploration of more pessimistic themes and aggressive musical territory. As vocalist Corey Glover later explained in 2015: Stain was a darker turn for us... we kind of got really dark. I think about songs like Postman, and just how menacing and dark that song is... we were sort of worn out by the world that we lived in. This weariness and jadedness permeated the album's 13 tracks, which ranged across various genres while maintaining a consistently heavy approach.
Stain tackled serious social and political issues, most notably on This Little Pig, which opened with a sample of Bill Bradley discussing the beating of Rodney King by police officers. The album's cover art, featuring model Mouri Mbonika wearing a scold's bridle (a historical torture device used to silence women), visually reinforced the themes of oppression and social commentary that ran throughout the record.
The album achieved moderate commercial success, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard 200, though this represented a decline from their previous albums. The single Leave It Alone earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1994, losing to Stone Temple Pilots' Plush.
