Breaking the Chains

Breaking the Chains is a debut on which, around Don Dokken’s high, soaring singing and George Lynch’s sharp guitar, Dokken powerfully showed its basic form. A vivid record on which the band, emerging from the Los Angeles metal scene, began its full-fledged activity. The songs, while still keeping roughness, already clearly show the later sure strength in the powerful combination of their riffs and choruses. From the speeding title track “Breaking the Chains” and the drama of “In the Middle” to a cut like “Felony,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Nightrider” and the melodic “Paris Is Burning” convey the work’s fullness. In particular, on “Paris Is Burning,” melodic songcraft and aggressive guitar vividly contend. A record on which Don Dokken’s melodic songcraft and George Lynch’s aggressive, outstanding guitar collide powerfully. Precisely because it is a work at the stage before the later refinement, you can vividly savor the band’s young, powerful heat. A powerful, ambitious debut of a band representing the 1980s — the band’s origin here.