01	6:00						05:31
	02	Caught In A Web						05:28
	03	Innocence Faded						05:42
	04	Erotomania						06:44
	05	Voices						09:53
	06	The Silent Man						03:47
	07	The Mirror						06:45
	08	Lie						06:33
	09	Lifting Shadows Off A Dream						06:05
	10	Scarred						10:59
	11	Space-Dye Vest						07:29

submission by barry shteiman

Dream Theater
Awake
Eastwest (90126-2)
USA 1994

James LaBrie, vocals;
John Myung, bass;
John Petrucci, guitars, vocals;
Mike Portnoy, drums, percussion, vocals;
Kevin Moore, keyboards

Tracklist:
1. 6: 00 - 5:31
2. Caught in a Web - 5:28
3. Innocence Faded - 5:43
4. Erotomania - 6:45
5. Voices - 9:53
6. The Silent Man - 3:48
7. The Mirror - 6:45
8. Lie - 6:34
9. Lifting Shadows Off a Dream - 6:05
10. Scarred - 11:00
11. Space-Dye Vest - 7:29

total time 75:01


bob

There's not much I can add to Brandon's review other than to say that I pretty much completely agree with him. Awake is the heaviest thing I've heard from Dream Theater so far (although I haven't heard the last two albums), and for my money it's also their most interesting CD from a prog point of view. It was the very first prog-metal album I ever heard, and I've been waiting ever since to hear another one I like this much.
When I first picked the disc up, I had no idea Dream Theater was a metal band. I had heard the name, and the cover looked interesting, and the store was having a "if you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund" promotion, so I decided to take a chance. Given the band's name, I was expecting something a little more atmospheric and "dreamy". From the opening blast of "6:00", I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into. But after a couple listens, this album really grew on me.

My favorite bits are that opening song, plus the "Erotomania/Voices/Silent Man" trilogy. LaBrie's voice actually sounds pretty good when he keeps it laid-back and controlled, as on "Silent Man". When he goes into overdrive though, he sounds like a wounded howler monkey. So it's not surprising that the instrumental "Erotomania" is possibly my single favorite DT song. I had heard that the band once considered being all instrumental. Too bad that didn't come to pass.


sean

Two years after igniting the prog-metal world with Images and Words, Dream Theater returned with this release. A long haul at over seventy-five minutes of material, the album is, as one might expect, a mixed bag.
On the one hand you have some very tight ensemble playing, such as in "6:00" and "Mirror/Lie". The band does occasionally extend into wankery, such as with "Erotomania", but manage to avoid it on the whole. (And besides, that might be your thing, which is cool). While Dream Theater has never been a band whose lyrics spoke to me, there are also some nice efforts in that department, particularly with "Voices" and "Scarred".

So where are the flaws on what could be quite a gem? Well, there's the aforementioned "Erotomania", an example in chops as an end unto themselves. Then there's the rather melodramatic "Space-Dye Vest"; on the one hand, it's good to see the band try different things. On the other hand, this isn't really what I had in mind.

This album shows Dream Theater in a progression towards a more commercial metal sound. The prominence of the keyboards has gone down in direct proportion to the increased presence of the guitar. Vocalist James LaBrie's voice is not as clear, as he attempts a more earthy, metallic growl. I'm not sure he's terribly successful in that regard, and the reader can conclude for themselves whether they think this evolution of the band's sound is a good thing or not.

On the whole, a pretty solid album. While prog-metal bands were starting to spring up on Magna Carta to sing about Dungeons and Dragons and produce some really cheesy coasters, the band who inspired them was moving a bit into different areas. Those who dislike progressive metal are still advised to stay away, but I think there's much to like here.


brandon

Probably my favorite Dream Theater album, and the only 70+ minute album by this band that I can actually listen to in one sitting without getting annoyed. Awake is perhaps the band's heaviest outing, but also the album of theirs with the most subtleties. Kevin Moore's keyboard work is more restrained and tasteful than in Images and Words (to say nothing of Jordan Rudess' recent work with the band), and John Petrucci seems to do a little less flailing as well. The album moves from the heavy alterna-rock of the few opening cuts to the delicate (but still interesting) balladry of "The Silent Man" to the crushing progressive metal of "The Mirror" and "Lie". Unfortunately the two 10-minute-plus would-be epics are a little short on ideas, and LaBrie's vocals seem to be the worst in these two cuts, but I have few complaints about the rest of the songs. Of note are the instrumental "Erotomania" (lauded by many for its complexities); the aforementioned ultra-heavy "The Mirror"/"Lie" combo, with its extremely effective and bone-crunching transition between songs; and the closer, "Space-Dye Vest", a repetitive piano-driven atmospheric vocal track that one would think would get boring after just a couple of listens, but for some reason doesn't - if anything it gets better. With the possible exception of the debut album (which I don't like mostly because of the vocalist), Awake is the DT release most likely to please progressive rock fans, I think. Good stuff.