During a newly released three-part video interview with former Geffen A&R executive Tom Zutaut, Don Dokken looked back on Dokken‘s run on the massive 1988 “Monsters Of Rock” stadium tour. The legendary trek, which spanned 28 dates from May to July of that year, featured a heavy-hitting lineup of Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken, and Kingdom Come.
According to the frontman, following Metallica on stage every night was a near-impossible task for a melodic rock band.
“[Metallica] kicked our butts. It’s hard to play with Metallica. They’re the biggest band in the world now. And 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 Metallica‘s set],'” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Don also shared a humorous anecdote regarding the famously absent bass frequencies on Metallica‘s 1988 album, …And Justice For All. While Don incorrectly recalled the band working on the Black Album with producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange (the band was actually mixing …And Justice For All at the time, and the Black Album was produced later by Bob Rock), he clearly remembered a late-night hotel encounter with bassist Jason Newsted.
“They crushed us,” Don continued. “They were right in the middle of recording the Black Album. It took ’em four years with [mega producer Robert [John] ‘Mutt‘ Lange. And I remember, the [Metallica] bass player [at the time], Jason [Newsted], came to my hotel room one night and he wanted me to listen to a track [from the album that turned out to be …And Justice For All], 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 [Hammett, Metallica guitarist] and [the other guys in the band]. And I went, ‘Oh, s**t. 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.”
The singer also reflected on seeing Metallica during their early club days at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. His manager, Cliff Burnstein, was considering signing the young thrashers to Q Prime, a move that Don initially questioned.
“They were playing the Troubadour. And Cliff Burnstein was our manager. And I picked him up at the [Sunset] Marquis [hotel in West Hollywood]] and drove him to the Troubadour to see Metallica — before he had signed them, he was thinking about signing them. And I have to be honest, I saw ’em and I said, ‘You’re gonna sign these guys?’ I go, ‘They’re good. But…’ At that time, it was Aerosmith and Loverboy — it was more hard rock — and these guys came out like a machine gun firing. They were just in your face, over the top. I think they still had the guy that ended up leaving, the guitar player. I can’t remember his name. The blonde [guy that ended up forming] Megadeth. Dave Mustaine. And I said to Cliff… I said, ‘Really? You’re really into it?’ At that time he had Dokken and just melodic rock. And he says, and I’ll never forget it, he goes, ‘These guys are gonna be huge.’ He goes, ‘They’re gonna be huge.’ And fast forward 10 years — this was way before the Black Album. He saw it, and that was it. And then they got signed [to Elektra]. And now they’re probably the biggest band in the world.”
Later in the interview, Zutaut weighed in on Metallica‘s signing to Elektra Records, addressing the long-standing industry debate regarding Michael Alago‘s role in the acquisition.
“Don … knows I signed Metallica,” Zutaut said. “There’s always this controversy with Michael Alago. But I was leaving Elektra, so I turned the band over to Michael Alago, and it’s kind of a complicated story and I won’t get into all that right now.”
