This would turn out to be the last of the classic albums for 'Dokken' as inner tensions final boiled over and they spilt shortly after this release. One thing for sure is they certainly went out with a bang as 'The Beast from the East' is a superb live album that captures the classic line-up on stellar form as they rip through most of their finest tracks in front of a lively Japanese audience. Personally I would have liked to of heard 'Don't Close your Eyes', 'Lightin' Strikes Again', and, 'Til the Livin' End, as they are overlooked jewels but the set list is still excellent and complimented by a decent production. The vinyl version of this album which I own contains 16 live tracks but three songs 'Standing In The Shadows', 'Sleepless Night', & 'Turn on the Action' were dropped for the CD format, this is shame as these are all excellent renditions.

'The Beast from the East' opens up with 'Unchain the Night', a surprising choice for a live opener, I would have thought one of their brisker numbers would have been better, all said it comes off extremely well, with great guitar licks and 'Don' in fine form. The tempo is lifted further for a brisk run through of 'Tooth and Nail' which outdoes the studio counterpart with it's thunderous pace and stunning 'George Lynch' fret work. Following strongly is a precise rendition of 'Standing in the Shadows' and although it stays very close to the original it's splendidly performed with great vocal harmonies on the chorus. The tempo drops for a 'Lynch' driven version of 'Sleepless Night' while 'Dream Warriors' makes a surprise appearance and ebbs and flows just like the original. The pace is restored with the blistering 'Kiss of Death' and while some of the fine touches of the studio counterpart are lost this hard rocker shows 'Dokken' could really rock out with the best. Following in fine form is a faultlessly performed 'When Heaven comes Down' while 'Into the Fire' is pulsating and lively. 'George Lynch' then steals the show with some magnificent shredding on the cracking instrumental 'Mr. Scary' and although it sticks pretty close to the original it's still a treat live. The second half of the album features more of 'Dokken's' slower material and starts with the balladsy 'Heaven Sent', not really one of my favourites from 'Back for the Attack' and although it's performed very well it still fails to excite me. Back on track is a superb working of 'It's not Love', always one of my favourites and this rawer version fails to disappoint with effective backing vocals, strong instrumentation and divine 'Lynch' guitar licks. The pace again drops for the ballad 'Alone Again' and anyone who doubts 'Don Dokken's' vocal talents should checkout his faultless contribution on this sublime cut. The tempo is restored with the carefree rocker 'Just got Lucky' which is performed energetically, while 'Breaking the Chains' is a solid run through of a trademark 'Dokken' classic. The momentum falls for a superb rendition of 'In my Dreams' which betters the studio counterpart whilst the closing track 'Turn on Action' is a great version of one of their briskest numbers and incorporates more stunning fret work. The final track 'Walk Away' is a studio cut, similar in vein to earlier power ballads and probably just as good, very melodic and passionately performed, would have been nice to hear it live though.

In my opinion the best live album by a Hair Metal band and just shows how talented these guys were, no fan of there's or their genre should overlook this album.