DOKKEN
Dokken is an American metal band which was formed in 1978. The group became one of the classic metal bands from that era, joining contemporaries like Ratt, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot and Def Leppard. Dokken's music consists of traditional metal characterized by extravagant use of lead guitars and soaring melodic vocals backed by a heavy thumping bass. Although their image was somewhat "glam," their music was traditionally heavy with technical expertise. Dokken was comprised of founder Don Dokken on vocals, George Lynch on lead guitars, Jeff Pilson on bass, and Mick Brown on drums. Currently the band consists of Don Dokken on vocals, Jon Levin on guitar, Barry Sparks on bass, and Mick Brown on drums. Dokken was born in the late 1970s when guitarist George Lynch and drummer Mick Brown from the group Xciter teamed up with Don Dokken on vocals and Peter Baltes as a temporary bassist to record Back in the Streets with Carerre Records. Lynch replaced earlier Dokken guitarist Greg Leon who was also a replacement for Randy Rhodes in Quiet Riot. In 1978 Juan Croucier replaced Peter Baltes as another temporary bassist; that same year the band released the singles "Hard Rock Woman," and "Paris is Burning." In 1981 the band released the album Breaking the Chains in Europe, which was re-mastered and re-released by Elektra Records in the US on September 18, 1983. While the band was very popular in Europe by then, they had not yet made the charts in the US. Juan Croucier left Dokken in 1982 to join the band Ratt and was replaced by Jeff Pilson who became their first official bassist. 1984 was Dokken's breakout year in the US with the release of the album Tooth and Nail on September 13th. The album contained several hit songs: "Just Got Lucky" (#27) and Dokken's first #1 hits "Alone Again" and "Into The Fire". The album sold over one million copies in the US alone and peaked at #13. On November 9, 1985 the album Under Lock and Key was released. It also sold over a million copies with hits like "In My Dreams" (#24), "The Hunter" (#25) and "It's Not Love." Following a successful tour with the Scorpions, Dokken returned to the studio in December 1986 to record Dream Warriors. A song for the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. the song was released as a single (Dream Warriors / Back For The Attack) on February 10, 1987. They took nearly half a year off before returning to the studio to record the album Back for the Attack. The album was released on November 27, 1987. it spawned the hits "Burning Like A Flame" (#20) and "Heaven Sent" became the band's most popular release, reaching #8 on U.S. charts. It included a remixed version of the single "Dream Warriors" (#22), The accompanying music video, which featured band members interacting with the film's characters, was the band's most popular video. Back for the Attack became Dokken's third record to reach platinum status. Sculptor Steve Fiorilla's customized writhing skeleton guitar was the highlight of another Dokken video. Recordings from their tour in Japan led to November 16, 1988's release of Beast from the East just before the band broke up due to creative differences between Don and George. During this hiatus, Lynch and Brown formed Lynch Mob and recorded two albums. Wicked Sensation 1990 and Lynch Mob 1992 Don Dokken also recorded a solo album, Up From The Ashes 1990. Jeff Pilson fronted the band, War and Peace, while George Lynch also released a solo album. Lynch's first solo effort, Sacred Groove reunited him with Don Dokken for the writing of the track We Don't Own This World. However at the last moment, Don was unable to attend the studio session and was replaced by Matthew and Gunnar Nelson. The band reunited in 1993, but didn't release an album until Dysfunctional in 1995 with Columbia Records. One Live Night (a live acoustical album) was released in 1996 by CMC, along with Shadowlife in 1997. In 1998 Lynch left the band and was replaced by Reb Beach of the band Winger. They released Erase the Slate in 1999 and Live from the Sun in 2000. In 2001, Beach was replaced by John Norum (formerly with the band Europe), and Jeff Pilson was replaced by Barry Sparks on bass. 2002 also saw the release of the album Long Way Home. That year, they were also featured in the Rock Never Stops Tour. In 2004, John Norum left to join a reunited Europe and was replaced by Jon Levin (who formerly played guitar on Doro's Force Majeure), and they released the album Hell to Pay. Currently, the band is touring lightly, and has scheduled some concert dates with fellow 1980s metal band Great White. In addition, they are also working on new songs of what will become their tenth studio album, tentatively named "Lightning Strikes Again" named after the song in the album "Under Lock and Key". According to Don, Dokken will release 2 albums in 2007 along with another solo album from himself.
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