Jon Levin est quand même un guitariste sous-estimé.
An unapologetic celebration of everything Dokken do best, yet now through a wiser and richer lens, Heaven Comes Down, the 13th studio album from the legendary American rockers, will be released on October 27 via Silver Lining Music.
“The long anticipated new Dokken album, Heaven Comes Down, is finally done and the first single is titled ‘Fugitive’!,” declares Don Dokken. “The inspiration for the lyrics came from what seems to me to be an uncertain world these days. It’s an up-tempo rokker as are many on the album. I don't know what the future holds for our world, so I decided to take a step back and watch it all unfold… Yes, I guess I've become like many these days a fugitive from life. Hence the title!”
“The song rocks and the lyrics are self-explanatory,” continues Don, “like many songs I've written, it came to me late at night. Inspiration and pure stream of consciousness have always been the best formula for me when composing. It has that classic Dokken sound… A great song to blast when driving down the highway.”
Watch the "Fugivte" video, directed by Chris Eyre (Dark Winds, Smoke Signals) at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico below. Video by Tom Strickfaden.
Exchange the urban heat of the Sunset Strip for the warm wilderness of New Mexico, as Dokken bring their timeless convertible Ferrari rock’n’roll power to the table with some key modifications along the creative path. Working with engineer Bill Palmer over the course of a year at his studio in Santa Fe, the Dokken flavours remain as potent as ever, yet they’re also sprinkled with some desert seasoning which gives Heaven Comes Down a richness hitherto unseen on a Dokken album.
You want to rock? Sink your teeth into "Fugitive", which rides some shimmering guitar work courtesy of 20+ year member Jon Levin, and if you want ballads, head on over to "I’ll Never Give Up", hanging on that Coliseum chorus, Levin laying down a landmark solo. The pattern of Heaven Comes Down never falters in delivering the goods on both sides of the fence. "Just Like A Rose" brings the Pacific Coast Highway to desert plains with its smooth, effortlessly-driven gears, and "Saving Grace" carries a mystical malevolence. But "Santa Fe" is perhaps the most revealing with Don Dokken opening up with what amounts to a ‘life-moment biography’: a spartan acoustic arrangement allowing the rich yet road-driven vocals to frame what might well prove to be the defining moment of Dokken’s career.
Don Dokken makes one thing abundantly clear: he is excited about his new record and the future, and wholly uninterested in revisiting a Dokken past which has centered too much on the off-stage and out-of-studio swirl.
“I’m so tired of hearing about the fighting and the ‘this’ and ‘that’… this is about a new record,” he declares, “a new record with my new band. It’s been a long process, but at the end of the day, I think we have lightning in a bottle.”
Mixed by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa) and produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken, fans will love it, neutrals will be wonderfully surprised by some of the ingredients within Heaven Comes Down.
