Fun fact (and controversial comment): Don Dokken wasn’t the best singer in Dokken, Jeff Pilson was.
People have called this project Dokken without Don, and that is very unfair, as the music is a lot harder and stranger than Dokken ever did. George has been super active of late, and has released a ton of projects – some of them great, others not so. This is definitely one of the awesome ones. I am a huge fan of George’s playing, and I think Jeff is a great singer and bass player – so it’s a winner all the way for me.
Opening track, Breath And Scream, is a monster of a tune and is really heavy in places but never loses the melody. Beast In The Bo is a freakin’ amazing tune, complete with a killer riff and a stunning melody and chorus. Add some blinding licks from George, and we have a winner. When You Bleed closes out Side 1 and it’s fat riff D-tune city with a superb solo that only George could play.
Side 2 opener, Vaccine, is one of the best melodic tracks I have heard in a very long time. This song has all the ingredients in all of the right places. Monster riff and groove, a superb melody and chorus, and a great breakdown. If this was 1985, this would top the charts for sure. The acoustic vibes of Ever Higher are next up, and Jeff’s voice was made for tunes like this. He has such a great voice and the song really takes off around the middle. Zero The End is the first song I would say resembles Dokken, especially the opening main riff. Again, the melody and hook are fantastic.
Side 3 kicks off with The Evil That You Are, and the quality of the tunes just keeps going. Again, the main riff and groove are superb, plus the melody and hook are top drawer. You’d think that this was their first album they had ever recorded. Definitely not short of tunes here – awesome stuff! Awaken is the slow chill track of the album. It has some cool atmospheric effects from George, and has the big rock fade out. Cromanic is next up and it’s an instrumental – it’s all about George. Very heavy D-tuned riffage with George employing all the toys from his toolbox. Goodbye Utopia is the last track on Side 3 and the riff is so freakin’ cool. The songs are so strong throughout this album that tucked away at the end of Side 3 is something this good.
Side 4 here we come with Inner View. It is an acoustic based track and lower on the intensity, but there is a lot going on musically within the song. Closer To None is the penultimate track and starts with an almost 60’s hippy vibe, until the power is turned on and the riffs are applied. Top Of The World is the last track on the record, and is also a bonus track for the vinyl.
This is one of the best rock albums I have heard in a while, and I have to say it – Dokken doesn’t even come close to this.
10/10 from The Grooveman.
