Metal Express Radio recently caught up with bassist Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, ex-Dokken) to discuss his new project, The End Machine, featuring former Dokken bandmates George Lynch (guitars) and Mick Brown (drums), and Warrant vocalist Robert Mason. An excerpt is available below.

Q: Did having Robert in the band and the fact that it wasn`t a Dokken record allow you to go into musical areas that you couldn`t go as Dokken?

Pilson: "Perhaps yes. I don`t think it was just because of Robert being there. Robert certainly gives you a wide-open palette but George and I were thinking that we wanted to do something a little deeper. We didn`t want to piss off our fans but we had to be honest with ourselves and do what`s from the heart.  As we got deeper into the music and things started developing, we didn`t stop ourselves. We thought it felt real and inspired. We wanted to be musically adventurous because that`s how it felt. It was the goal to keep it varied and you`re taking a bit of a chance doing something like that but it`s so good to hear that people have responded so positively to what we had intended to create."

Q: With you, George and Mick working together did you ask Don to be part of it?

Pilson: "We did call Don to see if he`d be interested in doing it. He thought it`d just be like a Dokken reunion and that`d be a whole different can of worms. So, we did understand why he didn`t want to do it but we did offer it to him as the other three of us were doing it."

Q: You all last performed together in Dokken along with Don in 2016 for some shows and wrote "It`s Just Another Day" on the Return To The East live album. Was this just a one off or are there plans to work together as a unit sometime?

Pilson: "Again, that`s all down to the scheduling. We`re all friendly now and there`s communication between us so it`s not impossible but it`d have to be the right situation and as far as recording, I`d love to do one last, great Dokken record.  I wish records were a more important part of the equation these days but money and time are hard and because of that it`d be really difficult to do another Dokken record but I really hope that we do some day. The song that we did for the live album was really natural and was one of the most painless Dokken recordings that we`ve done. It was pretty cool. I hope there`s another one. As far as shows, who knows? Let`s hope so."

Read the complete interview here.

Order The End Machine's self-titled album on CD/LP/Digital here. A limited amount of signed CDs & LPs, merch bundles, VIP Packages & more are available here.

Watch a new video for the track "Leap Of Faith" below.

Surely, some fans may be wondering to themselves, isn't this just Dokken without Don Dokken? "Musically, of course there's bound to be moments that will be reminiscent of Dokken. That's only logical," says bassist Jeff Pilson. "But, my guess is there will be less of that than people would expect. Some people who've heard it say they think it's closer to Lynch Mob than Dokken, but really it is pretty much its own thing. We allowed ourselves to get a little deeper than either of those projects really have, while still staying extremely melodic and not being afraid of good old-fashioned guitar rock. Maybe Lynch Mob, a bit of Dokken, but then some 70's guitar rock added in. George [Lynch] is playing fantastic on this... very inspired. Everyone is really, but George covers some new territory here and it's very cool. Plus, the songs as compositions took on their own life, especially adding Robert [Mason] to the writing. That's what I'm most proud of, is the way this stands on its own. It doesn't step on our legacy together one bit, but it has it's own personality and I think that's important."

"This is decidedly not me 'stapled' onto a Dokken record," adds Mason. "I wouldn't have been involved if that was the intent. Fans will hear bits of our styles in this collection of songs, and while reminiscent signatures are undeniable, The End machine was purposely built to stand apart and on its own merit."

Tracklisting:

"Leap Of Faith"
"Hold Me Down"
"No Game"
"Bulletproof"
"Ride It"
"Burn The Truth"
"Hard Road"
"Alive Today"
"Line Of Division"
"Sleeping Voices"
"Life Is Love Is Music"

"Leap Of Faith" video:

"Burn The Truth" lyric video:

"Alive Today" video: