Dream Warriors (song)

"Dream Warriors"
Single by Dokken
from the album Back for the Attack
Released	February 18, 1987[1]
Recorded	1986
Genre	Glam metal[2][3]
Length	4:42
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	George Lynch & Jeff Pilson
Dokken singles chronology
"It's Not Love" (1986) "Dream Warriors" (1987) "Burning Like a Flame" (1987)

"Dream Warriors" is a song by American band Dokken, that was written by members George Lynch & Jeff Pilson for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The song was released as a single in 1987, charting at number 22 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was also released on Dokken's fourth album, Back for the Attack, as the closing track to that album.

Music video

The music video used clips from the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and primarily featured actress Patricia Arquette, and Robert Englund in the role of Freddy Krueger. The video featured various scenes from the film, combined with a small amount of original footage of Arquette's character Kristen being menaced by Freddy Krueger before being rescued by Dokken who drives Freddy off with the power of rock 'n' roll. At the end of the video Freddy wakes up in bed screaming revealing that the video was his nightmare and exclaims, "What a nightmare! Who were those guys?"

The video was ranked as the #1 "Killer '80s Heavy Metal Horror Movie Music [Video]" by VH1 in 2015.^[4]

Track listing

In addition to "Dream Warriors," the single contained the songs "Back for the Attack" - a previously unreleased track from the Under Lock and Key album sessions, and "Paris Is Burning," from the album Breaking the Chains.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dream Warriors"	4:42
2.	"Back for the Attack"	3:51
3.	"Paris Is Burning"	3:37

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
US AOR Tracks (Radio & Records)[5]	26
US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[6]	22

Legacy and cover versions

Don Dokken performed the song acoustically at the 30th anniversary event for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3.^[7]

In 2018, the song was covered in the episode "Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Midnight Club" from the third season of the television series Riverdale, performed by K.J. Apa, Ashleigh Murray, Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart.^[8]

The song is used as the entrance music for the Saito Brothers in All Japan Pro Wrestling

References

1. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 45.
2. Sleazegrinder (December 4, 2015). "The 20 Best Hair Metal Anthems Of All Time Ever". loudersound. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
3. Anderson, Kyle. "The 'Nightmare On Elm Street' Trailer Is Missing One Thing: Dokken!". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
4. McPadden, Mike (October 24, 2015). "8 Killer '80s Heavy Metal Horror Movie Music Videos". VH1 News. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
5. "AOR Tracks" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. March 27, 1987. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
6. "Billboard Top Album Rock Tracks - April 11, 1987" (PDF). Billboard. Billboard. April 11, 1987. p. 15. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
7. Blabbermouth (2017-06-05). "DON DOKKEN Performs Acoustically At 'A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' 30th-Anniversary Event". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
8. "The "Riverdale" Characters Made Their Own 'Dream Warriors' Music Video Last Night!". Bloody Disgusting. 8 November 2018.