Back in 1988, when Dokken was promoting their album “Back for the Attack”, released one year earlier, the band had Metallica as their opening act. The band’s vocalist, Don Dokken, recalled in an interview with Tom Zutaut what it was like to have the Thrash Metal band as a special guest at that time.
Don Dokken recalls what was like to have Metallica as opening act
“(They) kicked our butts. It’s hard to play with Metallica. They’re the biggest band in the world now. I remember on ‘Monsters’, they were going on right before us, and I thought… It is kind of, like, we’re not heavy like them, so I told (our manager). We had the same managers — (Cliff) Burnstein and (Peter) Mensch (of Q Prime) — and I said, ‘Cliff, can you put ’em on after us?’ I go, ‘It’s kind of hard to go on stage and sing ‘In My Dreams’ (after).’
“They crushed us. They were right in the middle of recording the ‘Black Album’ (They were actually in the middle of mixing ‘…And Justice For All’) It took ’em four years with ‘Mutt’ Lange (It was actually Bob Rock). And I remember, the bass player, Jason, came to my hotel room one night and he wanted me to listen to a track and he said, ‘Just give me your opinion, as a producer.”
“‘Do you think the bass is too low?’ And I said, ‘Honestly, I wouldn’t know ’cause I can’t hear any bass.’ I didn’t mean to be mean. And, of course, he told Kirk and (the other guys). And I went, ‘Oh, shit. I shouldn’t have just said nothing.’ But it was true. Metallica doesn’t put a lot of bass (on their albums). It comes from their guitars and their kick drums,” Don Dokken said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Dokken was formed in Los Angeles in 1978, broke up in 1989, and reunited in 1993, remaining active ever since. Over the decades, the group has undergone many lineup changes, and vocalist Don Dokken has been the only constant member since its formation. Their first record was the praised “Breaking the Chains” (1983) and ever since they released 11 more studio albums, the most recent one being “Heaven Comes Down” (2023).