Band:	Dokken
Album:	Under Lock And Key
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	April 30, 1985
Guest review by:	DayFly

01. Unchain The Night
02. The Hunter
03. In My Dreams
04. Slippin' Away
05. Lightnin' Strikes Again
06. It's Not Love
07. Jaded Heart
08. Don't Lie To Me
09. Will The Sun Rise?
10. Till The Livin' End

On Under Lock And Key Dokken broadened their sound an admittedly tiny bit, offering both songs that matched if not even exceeded the heaviness of Tooth And Nail and softer, obviously chart-leering ballads. The majority however is still made up by the familiar mid-paced energetic rockers one has come to expect and hope for and if anything on Under Lock And Key sounds different, it's probably the slicker production rather than the song writing. Whether that is a detriment is ultimately subject to the listeners personal preference and there is not too much of a point complaining as the new production did manage to fully break the band into the mainstream along with some crucial and, if one can believe the interviews, unwilling "adjustments" to the band's image.

Song-wise, there are a number of tracks that hold their own against the classics on Tooth And Nail while the remaining tracks up the former album in terms of consistency. The laid back swagger of "It's Not Love" is a first for the band and one of the most fun tracks in the band's lyrically darker catalogue. An oddly empowering (don't hope for power metal though) "Will The Sun Rise" has some great interplay between guitarist Lynch and vocalist Dokken in the verses which makes it another winner. But the album's premature highpoint is the opening trilogy even if one could have done without the layered vocals in the chorus of "In My Dreams". Simply put, Dokken were very quickly moving from strength to strength as opposed to their more famous peers who were more often than not barely managing to hold onto their initial success.