Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Doors' first album and you can expect a big bash. The party kicks off in earnest Nov. 21 with the release of 'Perception,' a six-CD, six -DVD box set featuring all of the original albums re-mastered, with additional audio tracks, and an accompanying DVD in 5.1 Surround Sound.

"I feel the box set to be the culmination of our career. Forty years of rock 'n' roll, forty years of the Doors music," keyboardist Ray Manzarek tells AOL Music News. "I was blown away when I sat in Bruce Botnick's studio and listened to the 5.1 stereo surround mix that our grand alchemical engineer had concocted out of his infernal machines. I especially love the little unreleased gems that you will hear for the very first time. Like some of the great outtakes of 'Roadhouse Blues,' and our crazy Latin jamming on 'Push Push' -- after a dinner of margaritas, enchiladas, and tacos at Casa Escobar on La Cienega Blvd."

Drummer John Densmore also says he's very happy with producer Botnick's work. "Botnick's remixes have brought up the drums quite a bit, so I'm very pleased," he cracks. "Very proud, actually. Proud to have been in a band that really wanted to say something. We were happy to get our rent paid (and beyond!), and to have an impact on the culture."
 

That they clearly did. In an essay to be released in the upcoming Doors Anthology, 'The Doors in Their Own Words,' several of today's greats, including Scott Weiland, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, and Daron Malakian of System of a Down talk about the band's influence. "It's something that will always be timeless," Bennington says. "If it came out today it would be amazing, just as amazing as it was when it came out then. Certain types of music and certain groups will go on forever."