Dream Theater - Awake
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Free Music Notes for Awake
Free Music Review: Heavy Heavy Harmony
Hit: 5 Stars
I first got into Dream Theater via my friend, who introduced me to them through "Awake". Actually, the only song I had even heard was "The Mirror", an amazingly good song with a single heavy, sinister guitar riff combined with flowing, melodic keyboard overlays. It was such an incredibly good song that I had to get the CD, so I ran out and got "Awake" the next day.To make matters simple, this album did not disappoint! As another reviewer said, I was hooked from the opening drum rhythm in the first track, "6:00", through the calm outro of the finale, "Space-Dye Vest". The level of talent in all aspects of the music (and vocals) astonished me.
James LaBrie's vocals are more soulful throughout "Awake", in my opinion, than in any other DT album. On guitars, John Petrucci begins to use a 7-string with this album, which allows him to play faster with a wider range of notes (the solos in "Erotomania", "Innocence Faded", and "Scarred"), as well as the possibility for some very heavy music, as showcased by "Caught in a Web", "The Mirror", "Lie", and "Scarred". Mike Portnoy's drums and John Myung's bass are remarkable as usual, and Kevin Moore's keyboards really set the mood in the album, shown by "The Mirror", "Space-Dye Vest", and the almost haunting "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream". Overall, the level of talent is astounding throughout, but so is the songwriting.
The lyrics that LaBrie sings are no let-down, either. Its tough to explain any of it here, but "Innocence Faded", "Voices", and "The Silent Man" deal with some pretty profound and meaningful stuff.
The things that really bring "Awake" together are the subtle little touches scattered throughout the tracks. An example of this is the shared riff between "The Mirror" and "Space-Dye Vest", and the same throughout the trilogy of songs called "A Mind Beside Itself", made up of "Erotomania", "Voices", and "The Silent Man". Speaking of shared riffs, "Erotomania" is made up of riffs from past DT songs and other songs on the album. What all of these touches do is bring a harmony and unity to "Awake" that is lacking in other bands' offerings.
Now that all this spiel is finished, just one more thing to say. If you are a music fan- a real MUSIC fan- you owe it to yourself to give this outstanding and talented album a listen.
Free Music Review: Still DT's Best
Hit: 5 Stars
I have finally got around to writing a review for this album and after 7 subsequent albums up to the newly released Sytematic Chaos, Awake remains in my opinion their best album. But its not just a great album compared to their other body of work, it is a all time great metal/prog album that seems to combine just the right amount of heavy riffing, atmospheric keyboards, technical yet melodic guitar solos, and spot on vocals all wrapped up in great comprehensive song writing that keeps the listener involved.
The mood of the album is undeniably dark and La Brie tends to use his growl voice quite a bit but it seems to work so well within the context of the songs. There are some common musical themes that are interwined throughout varous songs of the album: Erotomania and Silent Man, The Mirror and Space Dyed Vest, yet each song stands quite alone and seems to be somewhat unique from each of the others in the way they are structured and performed. What impresses me so much about this album is how the individual parts within the songs fit into the song as a whole and flow into one another such as the heavy to quiter passages in voices, the classical solo in Erotomania, the way the Mirror and Lie blend into one another, when the heavier part kicks in Lifting Shadows, etc...it seems the transitions come right at the right time and accelerate the listener into a new and exciting moment.
Now, a DT review cannot be properly done without discussing the musicianship and obviously we all know that the band members are all very skilled on their respective instruments. But what's more than that on this album is DT still showed restraint and song craft in those days. Petrucci solos are very thought out and much more interesting than what he performs today. As well the instrumental passges by the band are more creative and fit better in the songs than current DT offerings. Lastly, Kevin Moore is a keboard player that is so skilled at creating tension in a song with his understated layers of atmospheric keyboards unlike Rudess who has butchered this concept since joining DT in favor of continuous solo noodling and corny ragtime breakdowns.
In conclusion, if you want to rock out more to a flurry of notes and incesent riffing then modern DT is probably your best bet but if you like the restrained and focused side of DT where songcraft reigns then AWAKE will absolutely blow your mind. It is pure genius in my book and I still get chills when I listen to it 12 years after it was purchased.
Free Music Review: Slower, More Intense, and Equally Majestic
Hit: 5 Stars
I heard Awake before Images and Words. The album was amazing; it was astounding and absolutely breath-taking. Then I decided to listen to the album as if I were anxiously anticipating it, after having loved their previous release. Under this new light, I thought the album would gather a completely different makeup than its predecessor. In some ways, it does - which is not an altogether bad thing.
Many songs are much darker, namely "Voices" - one of the album's two longer songs, and "The Mirror", the heaviest song on the album, whose melodies recur in its neighboring track, "Lie" and in Moore-written "Space-Dye Vest". All of the aforementioned songs have had dark moods - even "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream", whose very name insinuates a change of mood, is treated with an almost somber tone that never departs. "Erotomania" is very reminiscent of "Ytse Jam" as it is an instrumental romp through spontaneous melodies, guitar/keyboard collaborations, rampant drums and changing rhythms. It's as if the band had an extremely short attention span - they don't stick to a melody for more than tens of seconds before the song changes direction. The 11-minute "Scarred" is not your typical Dream Theater epic - it's not that good. It begins as a neo-jazz piece and escalates into something that sounds like "The Mirror", but without the maddening crunch that made the latter so delectable. The song has its moments, but they're too far into the song to save it. Thankfully, the band has saved the best song for last.
Kevin Moore's "Space-Dye Vest" is the darkest of songs and single-handedly dictates the feel of the whole. It begins with a lonely piano and sung by a choir of James LaBrie's over-dubbed drone(s), accompanied by synthesized static and audio clips, which give the song the tone of a future gone askew. The lyrical interpretations are many, but the guitars roaring in the background and the continuing sadness of the keyboards never permit this song to be uplifting. Even the two "happier" songs ("Innocence Faded" and "The Silent Man") are somewhat gloomy - they are only cheerful melodically, not lyrically.
No matter how I try to view the album, I can't see it as anything else but another masterpiece. Darker than the albums that came before it, Awake is worth any music lover's time - Dream Theater only gets better.
See also: Dream Theater - Train of Thought, Dream Theater - Images and Words, Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
Free Music Review: Great album, possibly their best.
Hit: 5 Stars
In 1994, Dream Theater released their heaviest album to date, "Awake". It's also possibly their best. Well, either way, this album is amazing, and if you're a fan of Dream Theater it's obviously a must. The music is generally heavier and darker than "Images & Words". John Petrucci used a 7 string guitar for several songs on this album, and he does plenty of heavy riffing. His solos are also awesome. He can shred amazingly well, but in my opinion, he's also very lyrical and emotional. His solo on "Voices" is just dripping with emotion. Anyway, as I said, some songs are very heavy, especially "Lie". I swear that riff in the beginning could have been played by Zakk Wylde!
The highlights for me are "6:00", which is a DT classic, with it's awesome keyboard harmonies and heavy riffing, the trilogy, "A Mind Beside Itself", which I will talk about in a minute, the epic "Scarred" and "Space Dye Vest", Kevin Moore's dark, moody piano piece. The trilogy, "A Mind Beside Itself" consists of three sections: "Erotomania", an instrumental that has themes that come later and some insane technical playing by the band, "Voices", which has possibly my favorite John Petrucci solo (it's ultra-emotional and simply incredible) and "The Silent Man", the acoustic guitar ballad, which is quite pretty. I have to say though, I like the version of "The Silent Man" better on "Live Scenes..." where they kick it up and play it with the whole band. This one is still good though. "Scarred" is the longest song on the album at 11 minutes, but it doesn't seem long. John's lyrics are really great. "Space Dye Vest" is maybe my favorite on here. It's a dark piano driven song, with lyrics written by Kevin Moore. I really like his lyrics, and this song is certainly no exception. I can't really explain how much I like this song. When the guitar comes in to do the main melody at the end...Wow...
Anyways, I can't really say much about this album because I'm not terribly good at writing reviews(I like to write them, but I always have trouble), but I can say if you like Dream Theater and you don't have this album, you must buy it. If you like metal, there's a good chance you'll find this interesting, but it's much more progressive than bands like Metallica. If you want to try something new, pick this up. Also, check out "Images & Words" which I like a little better than this one.
Free Music Review: Now that I got it, I will review it
Hit: 5 Stars
I love and worship this band with all my will, heart, and soul and always will, for the following reasons...
1. If you want heavy (but not very heavy) metal that can be melodic and have ballads, then turn off this computer, get off your ass, go to the closest music store, and add every single Dream Theater album to your collection. All of their albums have very heavy songs (Caught In A Web on this one), and have ballads (Silent Man on this one).
2. I know metal, and I have yet to hear a band that sounds like Dream Theater. Sure, Spiral Architect (my second favorite band) is also ultra-talented, and Ivory Tower has made a career of ripping off their "Images & Words" album, but these guys are one of the most original bands out there.
3. James LaBrie is an amazing vocalist. He can have a deep, barritone vocie, then sound like his privates are in a vice. He also writes some good lyrics, too. Also, he's not THAT bad live.
4. John Petrucci is my all-time favorite guitarist! His complex solos and amazing guitar riffs are so awesome they could give Eddie Van Halen an orgasm. Listen to his guitar solo on the live album "Once In A Livetime".
5. John Myung has AMAZING bass-lines, but there's a cache...you can actually HEAR them. Also, he's my favorite bass player; yes, even more so than Les Claypool (Primus), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Cliff Burton (Metallica)(R.I.P.)
6. Mike Portnoy has exellent and complicated drum patterns. IMHO, he's the second best drummer in the world, next to Gene Holgan. His patterns could make Neil Peart (Rush) say "Wow!".
7. Kevin Moore (and later, Derek Sherinian and Jordan Rudess) can produce keyboard solos that sound like messed up guitar solos. He also wrote a lot ofthe band's material before his inevitable leaving.
8. If you do not like this band, you will never be cool like me. Go listen to Linkin Park ya wuss!!!!
"So you tell me 'trust me' I can trust you as far as I can throw you
and I'm trying to get out of a shadow of a doubt 'cause I don't know if I know you."
-Dream Theater, Lie