| Back for the Attack | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Dokken |
| Cover: | Dokken - Back for the Attack.jpg |
| Recorded: | December 1986,[1] August 1987 |
| Genre: |
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| 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 |
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.[2] The album sold about 1,5 million records worldwide.[3]
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[4] and remaining on that chart for 33 weeks.[5]
Three singles also charted on Billboards 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.[6]
The single "Dream Warriors" was originally released in February 10, 1987, as the theme song for the horror film .
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.
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".[7]
The album was ranked number 12 on Metal Rules list of the Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.[8]
All Credits adapted from the original LP.[9]
All credits adapted from the original LP.
| Chart (1987-1988) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[10] | 18 | |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] | 21 | |
| US Billboard 200[12] |