Breaking the Chains

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 U.S. in 1983. It reached number 136 on the Billboard 200. The album was considered a flop by the Elektra label, which had the intention to drop the band. However, Dokken management convinced the label 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.