''Back for the Attack'' is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

, released on November 2, 1987, through Elektra Records. A remastered edition featuring a bonus track was reissued in 2009 through

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records * Elektra Records *Parlophone Records * Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * All Money In * Artist Partners Group * Asylum ...

. It is the band's best-selling album, reaching No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and remaining on that chart for 33 weeks. "Dokken - Chart history" '' Billboard''. Retrieved March 4, 2015. Three singles also charted on ''Billboards

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart: " Dream Warriors" reached No. 22, "

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

" at No. 37, and " Burning Like a Flame" at No. 20 as well as No. 72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Back for the Attack'' was

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

and

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

on January 14, 1988. The single "Dream Warriors" was originally released in February 1987 as the theme song for the horror film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors''. The album title for ''Back for the Attack'' was taken from an earlier Dokken song of the same name, recorded during the sessions for ''

Under Lock and Key ''Under Lock and Key'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on November 22, 1985, through Elektra Records. The album reached No. 32 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and remained on that chart for 67 weeks. "Do ...

'' (1985) and released as the B-side to "Dream Warriors". It was later included in the 2009 remastered edition of the album as a bonus track.

Critical reception

Barry Weber at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that ''Back for the Attack'' "certainly isn't Dokken's greatest album, yet it remains a worthwhile listen". He praised the band for sounding "tighter than they ever have before", with frontman

Don Dokken Donald Maynard Dokken (born June 29, 1953) is an American singer and musician. He's best known for being the lead singer, occasional guitarist, and founder of the glam metal band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style wh ...

and guitarist George Lynch being "at the top of their game." Canadian journalist

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...

praised the album, which "offers length, variation and a sense of ambition as never before", and called it "one of those lost records brimming with bravado" but not so unique to be "one's life soundtrack". He added that the "excruciating" circumstances of its recording took their toll as the band tried to assemble "a more competent, mature, substantial record". The album was ranked number 12 on Metal Rules list of the Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.

Track listing

Personnel

Dokken

– lead vocals * George Lynch –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Jeff Pilson – bass, background vocals * Wild Mick – drums,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Production

Neil Kernon Neil Kernon is an English musician, record producer, mixer and recording engineer from London. He is a Grammy Award winner and has worked on over 100 Gold and Platinum records. Biography Born to a musical family, Kernon's formal musical train ...

– producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Toby Wright Toby Wright is an American record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. Credits Producer * 3rd Strike - '' Lost Angel'' * 8stops7 - ''In Moderation'' *Alice in Chains ...

, Matt Freeman,

Eddie Ashworth Eddie Ashworth (born in Inglewood, California) is a record producer, engineer, mixer, musician, university professor, entrepreneur and writer, best known for his work in the alternative rock and indie rock genres. His primary instrument is mandoli ...

, Andy Udoff, Steve Klein, Stan Katayama – assistant engineers * Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero – mixing at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York * Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk, New York

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back for the Attack Dokken albums 1987 albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Neil Kernon