In a recent interview with  Cassius Morris, Dokken’s Don Dokken talked about the effects of the neck and spine surgery the vocalist underwent in 2019. Don Dokken also mentioned how these health effects affected the release of Dokken’s new album, which will be out on October 27th:

“My right arm got paralyzed, so I couldn’t play guitar anymore, so I couldn’t compose. That sucked… I mean, when you can’t play guitar, how am I gonna finish the songs? And I waited and waited, going to the gym three days a week and physical therapy. My left hand’s normal. My right hand (is) f**ked. It’s over.

”The whole arm is paralyzed. I can hold a cup, that’s about it. So that was depressing after surgery. And they kept saying, ‘Give it a year. Give it a year. Give it a year.’ It’s been three years. It didn’t come back. So that was a bummer.

“I made a joke when I was going to the operating room. I told the surgeon, ‘Just do me two favors. Don’t kill me and don’t paralyze me.’ So, I got half. I’m paralyzed. It took me a year just to be able to (lift my right arm above my head) one year. I was (using) a walker and a cane, and I still have a cane. I don’t try to use it too much. But that just took the wind out of the band’s sail.”