DREAM THEATER — Awake (review)

Album · 1994 · Progressive Metal

5/5 · 2024-09-29
UMUR

"Awake" is the third full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Dream Theater. The album was released through East West Records in October 1994. There have been no lineup changes since "Images and Words" (July 1992) but keyboardist Kevin Moore annouched during the mixing process of the album, that he would depart. Moore therefore didn´t tour in support of "Awake", although his keyboard style is an integral part of the sound of the album. Dream Theater hired Derek Sherinian as a touring musician to replace Moore on the tour supporting "Awake" but it took a couple of months before he was announced the official permanent replacement on the keyboard position.

Stylistically "Awake" is quite different to "Images and Words", which is a bit surprising since the predecessor was such a huge artistic and commercial success, but then again Dream Theater already this early on in their career showed that they were not content to release the same album twice and that they were willing to experiment a lot between album releases. It was a gamble considering that they were still not an established act at this point, but it paid off and "Awake" was a big success for them (although the label wasn´t satisfied), although "Images and Words" is still their best-selling release.

While "Images and Words" often featured a light and uplifting mood (although combined with both heaviness and melancholic atmospheres), "Awake" is the darker and heavier brother. The lyrics are darker, James LaBrie´s vocals are more aggressive (although he still sings melodic and hits the high notes when that is needed), the guitars are downtuned (or maybe it´s just a 7-string guitar used), and the rhythm section play some heavy parts too. But while "Awake" can be pretty dark and heavy, the album also features loads of melodic sensibilities and there are as many heavy riffs and rhythms as there are melodic AOR/hard rock influences. The complexity of the compositions and the virtuosic playing are in place too, and "Awake" is a both varied and intriguing release. Heavy tracks like "6:00" and "Lie" sets side by side with melodic inclined tracks like "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream" and "Innocence Faded". "Awake" closes with the atmospheric and melancholic Kevin Moore composition "Space-Dye Vest". A track which points in the direction Moore would take with his solo projects (Chroma Key and OSI) after he left Dream Theater.

Featuring 11 tracks and a total playing time of 75:00 minutes, "Awake" is a long album, but it´s one of the rare cases where a long running time is warranted. The tracks develop naturally and they need to be as long as they are. At no point during the album´s running time do I feel like the album is too long. Everything on the album is just where it´s supposed to be. Personally I don´t have a preference for softer rock/ballad type tracks like "The Silent Man" or "Innocence Faded", but I can´t argue that they don´t serve a function on the tracklist or that they aren´t quality material. The contrast of hearing a track like "Innocence Faded" seque into an increadibly technical instrumental track like "Erotomania" is one of the great strengths of Dream Theater. They master everything they do with what feels like ease.

"Awake" features a heavy, detailed, and powerful sounding production, which suits the new heavier direction of the band´s material. The drums feature a more organic tone than they did on "Images and Words" and that´s a good choice. Moore experiments a little more with his keyboard sounds here than he did on the predecessor and it makes that part of the sound more fresh and modern. It´s interesting to look back at "Awake" in retrospect, because I remember when it was released and the excitement it brought to my ears back then, but it´s aged really well too. It´s a pretty timeless release because of the sound production values and in the terms of Dream Theater´s discography it´s a unique album. It doesn´t sound like the two albums that came before it, and it certainly doesn´t sound like anything Dream Theater have released since. A one of a kind type of release and another seminal progressive metal release from the early- to mid-90s. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.