Another album from the grey-mustached veteran of American rock. Stylistically, "Hell To Pay" represents yet another attempt to resurrect the immortal spirit of the '70s: not the most successful, but far from hopeless. Some will rejoice upon stumbling across the trail of DEEP PURPLE in this maze of songs; others will shed a tear for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal; for some, the album will recall the early works of Glenn Danzig -- that bluesy costume jewelry woven into a heavy rock collage. In any case, Don Dokken's new effort will appeal primarily to rock pioneers who lovingly preserve their first reel-to-reel tape recorder. Thoroughly permeated with wholesome Americanism, "Hell To Pay" is armed with painfully familiar Stratocaster shredding, belted with a bandolier of major-key anthems, and supplemented with a proper quota of radio hits: "Care For You," "Better Off Before," and others capable of giving even the laurel-resting LINKIN PARK a run for their money. "The Last Goodbye" shows us how old-school rock has learned to coexist with computers; "Escape" delights with an excellent chorus. "Haunted" opens with a country sketch: guitar versus banjo. As for the album's main drawbacks, I would point to the tedious "Letter To You" with its three chords and yawning vocals, as well as the blatantly filler "Prozac Nation."
