JEFF PILSON Is 'Angry' And 'Pissed Off' About DOKKEN's 2023 Box Set 'The Elektra Albums 1983 - 1987'

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, former DOKKEN bassist Jeff Pilson spoke about the 40th anniversary of the band's second album, 1984's "Tooth And Nail", which marked his first recorded appearance with the group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There was something very inspired about it. There was a powerful chemistry. I mean, George [Lynch, then-DOKKEN guitarist] and I just sparked on that record. The initial writing sessions we did while we were touring 'Breaking The Chains', the previous record. George and I would set up in hotels and we started writing a bunch of the songs then. And then when we came home, I spent a solid month going down to George's house every day and night, and we worked our asses off to start the writing process. And we just built a chemistry that exists to this day. And then Don [Dokken, DOKKEN frontman] came in and added some really powerful stuff to the record, and it just came out amazing. We were a hungry band that were on fire, and we were very motivated, and we were pretty damn focused. So, yeah, that record and then 'Under Lock And Key', the next one, were the creative peak of DOKKEN."

Asked if there are any plans to re-release "Tooth And Nail" to mark the album's 40th anniversary, Pilson said: "I don't know, because we have very, very little to do with all that now. It's a complicated business thing, but I don't know. I know I was disappointed in the box set ['The Elektra Albums 1983 - 1987', containing 'Breaking The Chains', 'Tooth And Nail', 'Under Lock And Key' and 'Back For The Attack'] that came out last year. I just thought it was plain. There's no extras whatsoever. And, see, that's corporate people making decisions not based on anything artistic or anything fan-oriented, and that pisses me off, frankly. I mean, I'd love people to buy it because I think they should buy it, but it kind of pisses me off that they put out a product with so little thought behind it. I've got shit lying around that could have been great extra stuff. And I offered, by the way, and nobody listened. And that makes me angry… And they didn't remaster the vinyl correctly. I would love to see it done correctly, and there are companies that do it, but now they're not gonna be interested because it just came out So, I don't know. I don't think we're gonna get a good re-release of that, unfortunately, because I think it should happen too. But such is life."

Hailing from Los Angeles, DOKKEN released a string of platinum albums throughout the 1980s, and toured the globe with the biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal, including VAN HALEN, AEROSMITH, METALLICA, SCORPIONS and KISS. The band had several hit singles on the Mainstream Rock and Billboard Hot 100 charts, and were all over MTV with their videos for "Breaking The Chains", "Alone Again", "Into The Fire", "In My Dreams", "It's Not Love", "Burning Like A Flame" and especially the theme from "Nightmare On Elm Street 3", "Dream Warriors", where the DOKKEN members starred alongside Freddy Krueger.

In October 2016, the classic lineup of DOKKEN — Don, George, Jeff and drummer Mick Brown — reunited to play the Loud Park festival in Japan. Fortunately for fans outside of Japan, cameras were there to capture the performance and Frontiers Music Srl issued "Return To The East Live 2016" in April 2018. In addition to the Japanese performance, the set featured footage from the classic lineup's only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The package also included a new song called "It's Another Day", the first DOKKEN track featuring the group's classic lineup since 1997's "Shadowlife", and two acoustic re-workings of classic tracks.

Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill, guitarist Jon Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

DOKKEN's 13th studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", came out last October via Silver Lining Music. The follow-up to 2012's "Broken Bones" was produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken and was mixed by Kevin Shirley (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN).