Before we start: A lot of changes have been occurring for me both personally and professionally as of late, which are taking up a good chunk of my time. This is necessitating I pull my focus away from things I'd rather be doing, such as this blog. While I hope to keep up with daily Retro Spins, the reality is that this may not be a feasible goal. If you see a sudden drop off in posts, it's not because I wanted to stop, but rather that other matters simply took over my time.
Following a tour with Scorpions to support their 1985 released Under Lock And Key, Dokken returned to the studio to record the single, Dream Warriors (1986) for the third installment in the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. It would help them to finally garner some attention in the UK. This would be followed by a six-month break before they began work on what would become their final 80's album, 1987's Back For The Attack. The aforementioned single would be among the tracks included on the album.
Back For The Attack would become their third and final platinum album, peaking at number thirteen on the Billboard 200. Further, it would be their first, and only album, to peak in Sweeden, Switzerland, and the UK, reaching nineteen, twenty-five, and ninety-six, respectively.
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Let's just jump into this and get it done and over with. Yes, it's another mediocre Dokken album, with the exception of one standout track, Heaven Sent.
You know, I should have seen this coming. When I told a co-worker of mine, who's a massive metal fan, that I would be listening to Dokken, he gave me a funny look. He would state that he didn't know much about the band, and in hindsight, I can see why. They never really made all that big a wave to garner the attention of most heavy metal fans.
At the end of it all, I'll say that their music was okay, but as I've relatively said over and over since going through their 80's discography, nothing spectacular. The biggest takeaway from all of their albums continues to be the thunderous guitar solos of George Lynch. Even then, when it's all said and done, I doubt I'll be going back to any of their tunes.
Dokken signed on to be one of the headliners at the 1988 Monsters Of Rock festival. However, this would prove to be the final nail in the coffin for them. The band would be overshadowed each night by Metallica, who took the stage before them, leaving Don to proclaim that he felt like his band was The Monkees in comparison, outdated, outplayed.
Internal fighting ballooned, with bandmates bickering over egos, control, and finances. Though they would professionally complete their tour on July 30, 1988, by March of 1989, they formally broke up. As people went on to other projects, Don planned to record and release the next Dokken album, Up From The Ashes. That is until all the other band members sued him. A judge would rule that neither side could use the name "Dokken" without each other, forcing Don to release the album as Don Dokken.
Don began work on his second solo album in 1994. However, somehow be convinced to work with George Lynch, Jeff Pilson, and Mick Brown to release a new Dokken album. This came with a deal from Columbia Records who released 1995's Dysfunction. Unfortunately, tensions between Don and George immediately resurfaced, and after a botched live event where Lynch walked out prior to it, forcing rehearsal footage to be broadcast instead, Columbia dropped them.
Dokken would manage to stay together, and even obtain a new label, CMC International. However, for their 1997 released Shadowlife, Lynch would take complete control of the project, change their musical style, and even change the band's logo. It's considered the bands worst album among fans, and Don would go on to state that he felt George was actively trying to destroy the band with the album. Lynch would ultimately be fired for this, replaced by Reb Beach for 1999's Erase The Slate.
Reb would be unable to commit to the band long term and be replaced by John Norum for 2002's Long Way Home. However, by this point, Pilson had also departed, sick of the ongoing internal tensions of the band, and simply tired of playing the same music over and over. He would be replaced by Barry Sparks.
Norum wouldn't last long either. Suffering a hand injury which impeded his playing, he'd be replaced on tour by Alex De Rosso. Unfortuantely, Rosso would lose his Visa and be forced to return to Italy. Jon Levin would then step in for 2004's Hell To Pay. The lineup of Don, Levin, Sparks and Brown would also release 2008's Lightning Strikes Again.
Sparks would leave in 2009 to focus on other projects, with Sean McNabb taking up base for 2012's Broken Bones. What's interesting to note is that while Mick Brown is credited on this album, he actually didn't play on it. Rather, drumming was handled by Jimmy DeGrasso. Though Brown would continue to tour with the band, he retired in 2019.
Prior to this, the lineup of Don, Lynch, Pilson, and Brown partook in a series of reunion shows throughout 2016. However, none, other than Don, would appear on Dokken's forthcoming, and last studio album to date, Heaven Comes Down (2023). While Levin returned for guitars, Chris McCarvill would be added on bass, and BJ Zampa on drums. This is the lineup which remains on tour to date.
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