Dream Theater - Awake

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.

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.

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..

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.

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.

I enjoyed "Caught in a Web", "Voices" and "The Mirror". The other songs weren't that interesting for me

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.

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?

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'

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.

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.

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.

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.

My personal Top 3 songs from the album:

A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices
Innocence Faded
Caught In A Web

I've decided to raise my score from 8 to 9. While I admit this album as a whole doesn't quite reach the level of Images and Words, James LaBrie's best vocal performance and the album's overall cold and melancholic atmosphere are its highlights.
Furthermore, compared to Jordan Rudess's ocean of notes, Kevin Moore's delicate emotional expression is one of the moving factors in his early Dream Theater work, giving it a unique flavor.
Favorite song: Space - Dye Vest

Unpopular opinion: I think this album is a bit overrated. Has the same rating here as "Train Of Thought" that imo is a vastly superior album. That being said, Space-Dye Vest and The Mirror are great songs, on par with the best of their repertoir