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Dream Theater - Awake



8.6 | 1400 votes |
Release date: 4 October 1994
Style: Progressive metal

Owners:

1740 have it
66 want it
3 trade it


01. 6:00
02. Caught In A Web
03. Innocence Faded
04. A Mind Beside Itself: I. Erotomania
05. A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices
06. A Mind Beside Itself: III. The Silent Man
07. The Mirror
08. Lie
09. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
10. Scarred
11. Space-Dye Vest
12. Eve [Japanese bonus]

Top 20 albums of 1994: 8

Additional info
Produced, engineered and mixed by John Purdell and Duane Baron.
Recorded in May-July 1994 at:
One on One Studios, North Hollywood, CA - assisted by Mike Stock;
Devonshire Studios, North Hollywood, CA - assisted by Greg Cathcart.
Mixed in July-August 1994 at:
Larrabee Studios, L.A., CA - assisted by Ryan Arnold;
Unique Studios, NYC, NY - assisted by Ed Miller.
Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC, NY by Ted Jensen.
Pre-production at:
Prince Enterprises, NYC, NY;
Full Blast Rehearsal Studios, L.A., CA.
Programming on "Space-Dye Vest" by Rich Kern.
Dialogue on "Voices" by Prix-mo (Courtesy of "Cultural Revolution").

Staff review by
Dream Taster
Rating:
9.0
Progressive pioneers of New York based combo Dream Theater returned in 1994, with this album entitled "Awake". Following the magnificent "Images And Words", their 1992's highly acclaimed effort, and their first live album 1993's "Live At The Marquee", this record is another important brick in the wall of progressive metal.

Read more ››
published 09.01.2004 | Comments (23)

Staff review by
Herzebeth
Rating:
9.0
We all know what to expect when you buy a Dream Theater album, complex music, incredible guitar solos, enjoyable bass-lines, polished vocals, and well Mike Portnoy (we all know who he is right?). Awake is not an exception, James Labrie gives us an incredible vocal performance, his vocals have all kinds of shapes and cool structures. The Music is exceptional and well Mike Portnoy as always is marvelous.

Read more ››
published 21.01.2005 | Comments (4)

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Comments: 43   Visited by: 1257 users
19.09.2020 - 16:56
Rating: 8
Roman Doez
Hallucigenia
An amazing follow up to I&W, this one just improved and gave us almost only masterpieces of songs. Voices, The Mirror, Scarred, Caught In A Web, it's all amazing. If it wasn't for The Silent Man, it would be a perfect record. High 9.5 leaning towards a 10.
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22.07.2021 - 15:37
kevindebrajne
Account deleted
Saying that "Scarred" is a bad song is the shittiest DT take I've ever heard. Not only the best song on the album, its top 5 song by the band easly. Also I find it incredible how 75 minute album can feel so short, maybe its because of varied songs, or because of their quality, but this album feels shorter than Images & Words.
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21.12.2021 - 09:35
Rating: 9
Robdog
Written by [user id=314970] on 22.07.2021 at 15:37

Saying that "Scarred" is a bad song is the shittiest DT take I've ever heard. Not only the best song on the album, its top 5 song by the band easly. Also I find it incredible how 75 minute album can feel so short, maybe its because of varied songs, or because of their quality, but this album feels shorter than Images & Words.

I was just listening to this album today.. It seemed to start off well but I found that everything after Voices began to drag on, I recall listening to Scarred and thought to myself "is this song still going?" Not really noticing it to be somewhat inspiring..
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21.12.2021 - 09:45
Rating: 9
Robdog
Written by Dr. Strawberry on 19.05.2014 at 20:29

Song 1,2,3 & 4 - are infused with strong 70's blues composition made this album very awkward.
Song 5 - dream theater is back
Song 6 - is a country rock made this album awful. DT is gone again...
Song 7,8.9,10,11 - I pushed stop as there's no point to go on listening...

You have interpreted my mind.
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22.12.2021 - 15:04
Rating: 9
Robdog
I have been trying to enjoy this more since there is a lot of controversy as to which is the best amongst Awake, IAW and M2. The second half of Awake seems to become unpredictable, lost and gloomy. I would prefer to be strapped in for a good progressive ride but in this case I find myself in a dark maze without a destination. This is what troubles me about this album. Although M2 has incredible moments, I find to be over-emotional at times and I don't appreciate the pasted content which stains the musical experience. That only leaves me with IAW of which I find very hard to fault.
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26.02.2022 - 19:49
Rating: 6
F3ynman
Nocturnal Bro
Contributor
I enjoyed "Caught in a Web", "Voices" and "The Mirror". The other songs weren't that interesting for me
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07.07.2022 - 07:19
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
A few good songs, but this is my least fav DT album. Too much of a chore, a few bad songs, and overall forgettable. I still come back and listen again now and then. Definitely overrated.
----
"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

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07.07.2022 - 08:15
Rating: 10
JoHn Doe
Written by 24emd on 07.07.2022 at 07:19

A few good songs, but this is my least fav DT album. Too much of a chore, a few bad songs, and overall forgettable. I still come back and listen again now and then. Definitely overrated.

what are the bad songs here?
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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07.07.2022 - 11:16
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
Written by JoHn Doe on 07.07.2022 at 08:15

Written by 24emd on 07.07.2022 at 07:19

A few good songs, but this is my least fav DT album. Too much of a chore, a few bad songs, and overall forgettable. I still come back and listen again now and then. Definitely overrated.

what are the bad songs here?

Here you go:
6:00 - Meh song, only good for my Christmas morning alarm.
Caught in A Web - Forgettable, fun to play though
Innocence Faded - Great song
Erotomania - Great song
Voices - A bit weird at points but great song
The Silent Man - Meh
The Mirror - Good song, epic riffs at the start, good lyrics but something stopping me from liking it more.
Lie - At this point the album gets very boring and repetitive
Lifting Shadows off a Dream - a welcome change, but a really annoying song
Scarred - Good at points, annoying at points, funner to play than listen to
Space-Dye Vest - Best song on album

So maybe 'bad' was an exaggeration, but I stick by this being my least fav DT album. But I guess most of my opinions regarding DT are unpopular so it's not a big deal to me This album simply didn't 'click'
----
"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

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07.07.2022 - 12:12
Rating: 10
JoHn Doe
Written by 24emd on 07.07.2022 at 11:16

Written by JoHn Doe on 07.07.2022 at 08:15

what are the bad songs here?

Here you go:
6:00 - Meh song, only good for my Christmas morning alarm.
Caught in A Web - Forgettable, fun to play though
Innocence Faded - Great song
Erotomania - Great song
Voices - A bit weird at points but great song
The Silent Man - Meh
The Mirror - Good song, epic riffs at the start, good lyrics but something stopping me from liking it more.
Lie - At this point the album gets very boring and repetitive
Lifting Shadows off a Dream - a welcome change, but a really annoying song
Scarred - Good at points, annoying at points, funner to play than listen to
Space-Dye Vest - Best song on album

So maybe 'bad' was an exaggeration, but I stick by this being my least fav DT album. But I guess most of my opinions regarding DT are unpopular so it's not a big deal to me This album simply didn't 'click'

OK, thanks for explaining.
I fit into unpopular opinion as well, my favorite DT is the Moore era works.
I also like Falling Into Infinity.
I think Distance Over time was their best work since Octavarium.
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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07.07.2022 - 12:30
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
Written by JoHn Doe on 07.07.2022 at 12:12


OK, thanks for explaining.
I fit into unpopular opinion as well, my favorite DT is the Moore era works.
I also like Falling Into Infinity.
I think Distance Over time was their best work since Octavarium.


Yeah that's cool, I think Moore might've been the best lyricist the band had. But from a musical perspective I've always enjoyed what most people say are their more commercial, formula-type albums, I've got a list if you wanted to have a look.
----
"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

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12.09.2023 - 20:51
Rating: 8
thenomad111
This album is great when I try to look at it objectively. The musicianship, performance, the song writing, and the production are quite good. But it just doesn't grab me for some reason. There is some annoying vibe to it that puts me off for reasons I can't pinpoint. Every song has excellent sections, then that weird vibe comes back, I don't know if it is the style of the vocals or something. Lyrics are quite deep though, and of course Space Dye Vest rocks.
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22.01.2024 - 14:11
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
This album has grown on me a lot, probably due to my newfound appreciation of "Lifting Shadows Of A Dream". I also am enjoying the raspiness of the vocals, which I originally couldn't stand.

It's consistent and solid overall, but something still isn't clicking tbh. It's a high 7 that may go up to a low 8.
----
"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

Best 2024 Albums
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