Back for the Attack
{{for|the wrestling pay-per-view event|NWA Back for the Attack}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Back for the Attack
| type = studio
| artist = Dokken
| cover = Dokken - Back for the Attack.jpg
| released = {{start date|1987|11|2}}
| recorded = December 1986,{{cite web |url=http://www.dokkencentral.com/index.php/biography |title=Bio - Dokken |publisher=Dokken Official Website |access-date=January 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407135014/http://www.dokkencentral.com/index.php/biography |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}
August 1987
| studio = {{flatlist|
- One on One, North Hollywood
- Music Grinder, Hollywood
- Total Access, Redondo Beach, California
- Rumbo, Canoga Park, Los Angeles
- Can-Am, Reseda, Los Angeles
}}
| genre = *Glam metal
| length = 63:02
| label = Elektra
| producer = Neil Kernon
| prev_title = Under Lock and Key
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = Beast from the East
| next_year = 1988
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Back for the Attack
| type = studio
| single1 = Dream Warriors
| single1date = February 18, 1987{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/FMQB-Album/1987/FMQB-1987-01-30.pdf|title=FMQB|page=45}}
| single2 = Burning Like a Flame
| single2date = December 1987{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/230/mode/2up|title=The Great Rock Discography|year=1995|page=230 |isbn=9780862415419 |last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles }}
| single3 = Heaven Sent
| single3date = March 25, 1988{{cite web |title=Dokken — Heaven Sent |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Dokken&titel=Heaven+Sent&cat=s |access-date=2023-08-05}}
| single4 = So Many Tears
}}
}}
Back for the Attack is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on November 2, 1987, through Elektra Records.
Back for the Attack was certified Gold and Platinum on January 14, 1988.{{cite web |url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database |title=RIAA Searchable Database: search for Dokken |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=September 28, 2015}} The album sold about 1,5 million records worldwide.{{Cite web |title=Why Don Dokken owns the band name Dokken | website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwmSDBEKM4 |date=2023-10-11 |access-date=2023-10-15 |language=en}}
A remastered edition featuring a bonus track was reissued in 2009 through Warner Music Japan. It is the band's best-selling album, reaching No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-for-the-attack-mw0000193818/awards |title=Back for the Attack Billboard Almums |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=October 8, 2015 }} and remaining on that chart for 33 weeks.[{{BillboardURLbyName |artist=dokken |chart=all}} "Dokken - Chart history"]. Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
Three singles also charted on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart: "Dream Warriors" reached No. 22, "Prisoner" at No. 37, and "Burning Like a Flame" at No. 20 as well as No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-for-the-attack-mw0000193818/awards |title=Back for the Attack Billboard Singles |work=AllMusic |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=October 8, 2015 }}
The single "Dream Warriors" was originally released in February 10, 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 (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
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/back-for-the-attack-mr0003133288 |title=Back for the Attack - Dokken {{!}} Release Info |language=en |website=AllMusic |access-date=2023-08-05}}
| rev2 =The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal
| rev2score = 8/10{{cite book |author= Martin Popoff |title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties |publisher=Collector's Guide Publishing |date=November 1, 2005 |location=Burlington, Ontario, Canada |isbn=978-1-894959-31-5}}
| rev3 = Rock Hard
}}
Barry Weber at AllMusic 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 and guitarist George Lynch being "at the top of their game."
Canadian journalist Martin Popoff 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".
Paul Elliott at Classic Rock called it "arena rock with a heavy metal edge" and "an album filled with anthems", while remarking that "it was with this album that their glory days ended".Elliott, Paul (June 12, 2015). [https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/dokken-back-for-the-attack "Dokken: Back For The Attack"]. Classic Rock. Future. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
The album was ranked number 12 on Metal Rules list of the Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.{{Cite web |title=METAL RULES |url=http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=8 |date=2017-11-26 |access-date=2021-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126083532/http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=8 |archive-date=November 26, 2017}}
Track listing
All Credits adapted from the original LP.{{cite AV media notes |title=Back for the Attack |others=Dokken |year=1987 |type=LP sleeve |publisher=Elektra Records |id=9 60735-1 |location=Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Kiss of Death
| writer1 = George Lynch, Don Dokken, Jeff Pilson
| length1 = 5:51
| title2 = Prisoner
| writer2 = Lynch, Pilson, Mick Brown
| length2 = 4:20
| title3 = Night by Night
| writer3 = Pilson, Lynch, Brown, Dokken
| length3 = 5:23
| title4 = Standing in the Shadows
| writer4 = Dokken, Lynch, Pilson
| length4 = 5:07
| title5 = Heaven Sent
| writer5 = Dokken, Lynch, Pilson
| length5 = 4:52
| title6 = Mr. Scary
| note6 = instrumental
| writer6 = Lynch, Pilson
| length6 = 4:31
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title7 = So Many Tears
| writer7 = Dokken, Lynch, Pilson
| length7 = 4:56
| title8 = Burning Like a Flame
| writer8 = Lynch, Pilson, Dokken, Brown
| length8 = 4:46
| title9 = Lost Behind the Wall
| writer9 = Lynch, Brown, Dokken, Pilson
| length9 = 4:19
| title10 = Stop Fighting Love
| writer10 = Pilson, Lynch, Dokken, Brown
| length10 = 4:52
| title11 = Cry of the Gypsy
| writer11 = Dokken, Pilson, Lynch
| length11 = 4:51
| title12 = Sleepless Night
| writer12 = Lynch, Brown, Pilson
| length12 = 4:32
| title13 = Dream Warriors
| writer13 = Lynch, Pilson
| length13 = 4:42
| total_length = 63:02
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Remastered edition bonus track
| title14 = Back for the Attack
| writer14 = Dokken
| length14 = 3:51
| total_length = 66:53
}}
Personnel
=Dokken=
- Don Dokken – lead vocals
- George Lynch – guitar
- Jeff Pilson – bass, backing vocals
- Wild Mick – drums, backing vocals
=Production=
- Neil Kernon – producer, engineer
- Toby Wright, Matt Freeman, Eddie Ashworth, 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
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry |region=United States |artist=Dokken |title=Back for the Attack |award=Platinum |type=album |relyear=1987 |certyear=1988}}
{{Certification Table Bottom |nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Dokken}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Back For The Attack}}