Breaking the Chains (album)

Breaking the Chains
First edition cover art
Studio album by Dokken
Released	1981 (Europe) September 18, 1983 (US)
Recorded	Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock
Length	35:01 (1981 version) 36:24 (1983 version)
Label	Carrere (1981) Elektra (1983)
Producer	Michael Wagener, Dokken
Dokken chronology
Back in the Streets (1979) Breaking the Chains (1981/1983) Tooth and Nail (1984)
Singles from Breaking the Chains
"I Can't See You" / "Breaking the Chains" Released: 1981 (Europe only) "Young Girls" / "Paris" Released: 1981 (Europe only) "We're Illegal" / "Paris" Released: 1982 (Europe only) "Breaking the Chains" / "Felony" Released: 1983
Alternative cover
1983 reissue

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10

Breaking the Chains is the debut studio album by heavy metal band Dokken.

The album was originally released in 1981 in Europe as Breakin' the Chains on the French label Carrere Records. This version contains some different mixes and titles of songs from the later US edition. "Paris Is Burning" is called "Paris" and is actually a studio version as opposed to the live recording in Berlin from December 1982. The album also contained a song called "We're Illegal", which was later turned into "Live to Rock".

The album was renamed and released in the US in 1983 by Elektra Records and reached number 136 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was considered a flop by the label, which had the intention to drop the band. However, Dokken management convinced Elektra that they could make a more successful album, which materialized in Tooth and Nail in September 1984. Breaking the Chains title track was named the 62nd greatest hard rock song by VH1. It is featured on the radio station "V-ROCK" in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

In a discussion with George Lynch on January 26, 2011, he mentioned the existence of 500 copies of the Carrere Records Breakin' the Chains version printed with the Don Dokken moniker, instead of Dokken. This version also featured different album cover art.

All tracks written by Don Dokken and George Lynch, except where noted.