Published on Mar 9, 2004
There are things in our past which we try desperately to put
behind us. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see such things as high
school yearbooks, old photos and outdated clothes buried deep
within our garages — only to be discovered at an inopportune
moment by some member of our family. (Fortunately, our garage is
enough of a deathtrap that my 7-year-old daughter doesn’t dare go
spelunking.)
Also belonging to this pile of hopefully-repressed memories is a
lot of the hair metal that we used to listen to when we were
younger. Now, I happen to like Dokken, though I admit that they had
to grow on me when I was in my teens. I’ve seen their live show,
and they have truly impressed me.
But when I go back and listen to an album like
Breaking The Chains, Dokken’s debut effort from 1983, I have
to wonder just what people saw in them at all. Horribly lacking in
any musical muscle and delivered with half-hearted vocals, this
disc has been forgotten in time — and rightfully so.
Granted, the title track is worth the effort, even if Don
Dokken’s vocals seem like they could have been amped up a bit more
and delivered with some fire. But once you get past that
three-minute blast, there really isn’t much more worth celebrating
on this disc.
Tracks such as “In The Middle,” “Felony,” “Seven Thunders” and
“Nightrider” all fail to demonstrate why Dokken was deserving of a
chance in the world of heavy metal (though to be fair, Dokken could
well have been one of those bands who were mis-labeled as metal
when they really were more rock). It often sounds like the band was
still coming together as a group, with some beats coming in
slightly off-tempo on occasion. And while George Lynch is regarded
by some as a guitar hero, he doesn’t offer the kind of pyrotechnics
on the six-stringer that you would expect. Even the opening moments
of “Paris Is Burning,” which is supposed to be a showcase for
Lynch, fails to spark any real interest.
So what went wrong with
Breaking The Chains? In the end, it was a series of small
problems which, when added up, turned into a big mess. Dokken would
eventually find their musical voice and niche, and the overall
groove would tighten up to the point of implosion (which,
regrettably, Dokken has a history of). While they would go on to
make some solid music,
Breaking The Chains is undoubtedly the weakest link in their
discography.