Dokken – Erase The Slate (Indie) (Green Smok is the vinyl pressing collectors of melodic hard rock have been waiting to track down, and we’re pleased to have it here at B Side Vinyl. Released on DEKO and pressed as an indie exclusive on green smoke vinyl, this LP brings one of the more underrated late-period Dokken albums back into physical, analog territory where it genuinely belongs.
The Band Behind the Record
Dokken formed in Los Angeles in the late 1970s and spent the better part of the 1980s becoming one of the defining names in hard rock and heavy metal. Built around vocalist Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch, the band hit commercial and creative peaks with albums like Breaking the Chains, Tooth and Nail, and Under Lock and Key, eventually moving more than 10 million records worldwide. Their ability to balance radio-friendly melodic hooks with genuine metal weight set them apart from a lot of their contemporaries on the Sunset Strip. Hits like “Alone Again,” “In My Dreams,” and “It’s Not Love” weren’t accidents. They were the product of a band that understood songcraft as much as they understood volume.
What Makes Dokken – Erase The Slate (Indie) (Green Smok Worth Your Attention
Originally released in 1999, Erase the Slate represented a genuine turning point for Dokken. George Lynch was out, and Reb Beach, best known at that point for his work with Winger, stepped in as lead guitarist. The swap is significant. Where Lynch leaned into flash and aggression, Beach brought a polished, groove-oriented approach: technically precise, fluid, and focused on serving the song. The result is a record that keeps the melodic metal DNA of classic Dokken intact while absorbing a harder, more modern late-1990s edge. It’s a different beast than Back for the Attack or Tooth and Nail, but it’s a coherent and confident one. Beach’s solos land cleanly, the riffs have weight, and Don Dokken’s emotionally charged vocal delivery remains the anchor throughout.
The Pressing Details
This is the indie exclusive pressing on green smoke vinyl, released through DEKO. Indie exclusives on colored vinyl for catalog titles like this one tend to move quickly and not come back around. Green smoke is a visually distinctive variant, the kind that looks as good sitting in your collection as it does spinning on a turntable. If you’ve followed Dokken across their catalog and skipped Erase the Slate because it wasn’t readily available on wax, this pressing corrects that gap. For collectors building out a complete Dokken collection, or for anyone who appreciates late-90s hard rock done with real craft and a strong lineup change that actually worked, this LP is a solid and specific addition to the shelf.
