Pick Your Poison: Dokken or Ratt?

[Tommy2Tone84]

Two of the most insanely talented and about the most dysfunctional bands of the genre. Who is your favorite and why?

Were you rokken w/Dokken or Ratt N’ Rollin?

[pieceofme]

Ratt. Just had a bit more about them.

I like Dokken a lot to but they came across a bit samey for me. Or at least not as much variety as Ratt which says a lot!

[SW]

Poll is your friend.

There really is no competition as Ratt is on a different level. I'm pretty sure all the sludge village idiots pick Dokken tho.

[aznsquirt]

Dokken.

I've slowly warmed to Ratt, but Don and Jeff ust wrote some great songs. That's the bottom line for me,

[Psychobolia.com]

Going with Ratt, more consistent catalogue (aside from that weird self-titled album)...

Back for the Attack is overrated, aside from Mr. Scary and Kiss of Death, all of the songs sound the same.

[Love_Industry]

Going with Ratt, more consistent catalogue (aside from that weird self-titled album)...

Back for the Attack is overrated, aside from Mr. Scary and Kiss of Death, all of the songs sound the same.

Agree with most of this but the best Dokken album UL&K is better than any Ratt album. The problem with Dokken is that there's a big drop from their 2nd best Tooth and Nail and the rest. Ratt are indeed more consistent even if they never surpassed Cellar and Invasion.

[Nobodyspecial]

Dokken. They had better songs and less filler on albums IMHO.

[TBONESBURDEN]

I love Dokken but, I'm going with Ratt. They had a longer, more consistent run.

[Black Stuff]

Raton!

[RogerWaters]

Only one band has Mr. Don Dokken. Therefore the better band by miles is Ratt.

[StateOfShock]

RATT.

I never really connected with Dokken.

[dmbrocker]

Both awesome classic 80's bands, but Ratt are in my top five of all-time based on the greatness of OOTC alone, so I gotta go with Pearcy and the Rodents here.

[FreddyFender]

Both - couldn't pick one or the other.

[CrankerBait]

Ratt. I like a few of their songs from their first couple of albums. Down and dirty rock, a little like LA Guns, or a poor man's GnR.

I don't like anything by Dokken. The only song of theirs that I can recall off the top of my head is that shitty "Dream Warriors" song. I realize George Lynch is reputed to be a great guitar player, but the band made almost no impression on me.

[daveg]

RATT.

I never really connected with Dokken.

Pretty much this. I never hated Dokken, just never felt the need to buy anything from them.

[Spongie]

I was just saying to my wife a couple days ago that Ratt and Dokken were the two best from that era.

Very tough choice. Gun to my head… Ratt by a whisker. See what I did there? Probably because I got into them first. In fact, Out of the Cellar was the first cassette I ever bought.

[DemonFilth2001]

Dokken. Not close. RATT is damn good, but the filler is too thick.

[unclejoshc]

Dokken up until Beast from the East and it isn't close. I still listen to tracks from that era regularly. I cannot recall the last time I listened to a Ratt song that wasn't in a movie or playing in the background at a party or something.

[Van Ailin']

Going with Ratt, more consistent catalogue (aside from that weird self-titled album)...

Back for the Attack is overrated, aside from Mr. Scary and Kiss of Death, all of the songs sound the same.

Really? Heaven Sent vs. Standing In the Shadows? Not even remotely like those first two (but those first two are some of the best of the album).

I remember thinking BFTA was probably 1-2 songs too long so it just didn't quite flow. But I liked the tougher sound they got from Thompson & Barbiero vs. what Neil Kernon had brought.

Ratt was cooler to me, but they started running out of songs on the 3rd album and were really running out on the fourth and fifth (aside from 2-3 good ones on each).

Dokken was way better live until Don succumbed to the drink. Ratt was never all that good live, for the reasons we all know.

[VinnieStJohn]

If I were to rank the albums between the two, it would look like:

1. Out of the Cellar
2. Under Lock and Key
3. Tooth and Nail
4. Back for the Attack
5. Side 1 of Invasion
6. Detonator
7. Everything else

Based on that, I guess Dokken by a nose. Although I would go see Ratt over Dokken any day of the week in 2024

[LAglamrocker]

I would never pick Dokken for anything band is C- hair metal
Ratt big reason why my life is so awesome..it is lifestyle like Motley -GNR- Faster P and Poison

Arcade cd #1 is way better than. Dokken greatest hits cd

[The Sacred Cowman]

Two of my all time favorite bands. For me it's Dokken. Dokken has better songs and their deep cuts are really good. Ratt has good songs but they have good amount of fillers.

[pieceofme]

I would never pick Dokken for anything band is C- hair metal
Ratt big reason why my life is so awesome..it is lifestyle like Motley -GNR- Faster P and Poison

Arcade cd #1 is way better than. Dokken greatest hits cd

You enjoyed dokken day all those years ago with fellow sludgers. 7 out of 10 day scoring for dokken

[LAglamrocker]

The unofficial Dokken Day II is October 24 2024 at
Hollywood Palladium with Paris Hilton

Dokken Day I- B-
Dokken Day II- A+

Pearcy doing maybe Shame Shame Shame & Cry No More at Whisky few days after Santa comes -A

[Tommy2Tone84]

A mighty sludgy thank you for all the responses. It fascinating to read all the diehard opinions out there.

I tend to agree that Dokken had the stronger catalog of only by a scosh, but Ratt had a groove and nastiness that Dokken did not. Ratt were also better performers. I have grown to appreciate Stephen as a frontman. He was never high energy but he was and still is way cooler than Don. Warren was as good as George ever was and a better performer. Robbin was no slouch and a good songwriter. King was very fitting.

Ratt outsold Dokken by alot.

Arcade was awesome

[DangerZone]

this would have to be a tie.
Warren & lynch are equal.
Closer to my heart is better than any Dokken ballad though Don is a better crooner/singer.

Albums:
Ratt > breaking the chains
Cellar > tooth & nail
Under lock & key > invasion
Attack is better than dancing, reach & detonator combined.

Dokken had a great double live album but Ratt had a killer single, nobody rides for free

Dokken had good albums after which Ratt really didn’t

Dokken wins

[Van Ailin']

I don't like anything by Dokken. The only song of theirs that I can recall off the top of my head is that shitty "Dream Warriors" song. I realize George Lynch is reputed to be a great guitar player, but the band made almost no impression on me.

That's literally one of their worst songs from the Elektra era - certainly the worst single. By far. I edit it out of an Dokken playlist. They have plenty of good tunes in that area, back before Don wrecked his voice with alcohol and cigarettes.

[pieceofme]

Going with Ratt, more consistent catalogue (aside from that weird self-titled album)...

Back for the Attack is overrated, aside from Mr. Scary and Kiss of Death, all of the songs sound the same.

I'm surprised. I thought you would love back for the attack !

It is their best album imo. Although it does tail off at the end a bit.

[crowkiss]

I like Ratt a little bit better. I just like the sound of Robbin and Warren playing together more.

[Psychobolia.com]

Going with Ratt, more consistent catalogue (aside from that weird self-titled album)...

Back for the Attack is overrated, aside from Mr. Scary and Kiss of Death, all of the songs sound the same.

I'm surprised. I thought you would love back for the attack !

It is their best album imo. Although it does tail off at the end a bit.

I like the production on it...and George's solos are kickass, but overall the album is too long, no one needed 13 songs on that thing. I prefer Tooth and Nail, and Under Lock and Key, each song stood out from the next one. On Back for the Attack a lot of those songs are just a blur, they all sound the same!