Dream Theater - Awake
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Free Music Notes for Awake
Free Music Review: Extremely Impressive
Hit: 5 Stars
An astonishingly solid album. Dream Theater may very well not appeal to all, and it is hard for me to attempt a recommendation here: rest assured if you enjoy rock and metal and do not feel uncomfortable with a measure of intelligence adhering to music then this band is well worth the time to investigate.This CD is considerably heavier then its predecessors, as well as assuming a more dark, menacing tone which is very welcome. Only 'Innocence Faded' would not seem out of place when viewed beside the material included on 'Images and Words'. The guitar playing is very accomplished technically, although those who prefer more immediacy im music may not enjoy the intricate, lenghty instrumental sections on some of the compositions, or the speed of the halen/Vai esque histrionics. The vocals are decidedly operatic and overwrought in places, yet extremely strong, comprehensible and entirely fitting to the band. The drumming is astounding: Mike Portnoy never ceases to amaze me with the constant level of invention he diplays on his instrument and I speak as a drummer myself. The bass playing and the keyboards both maintain the extremely high level of musicianship.
'6.00' and 'Caught in a web' are both prime slices of hard rock perfection, whilst the extended suite 'A mind beside itself'(including 'Voices') is particularly strong. 'The Mirror' and 'Lie', two of the bands heaviest compositions both evoke strong images of spite and anger throughout, while Petrucci churns out earth shattering riffs effortlessly. 'Lifting shadows off a dream' and 'Space Dye vest' are both more mellow and reflective, unspeakably beautifully in Space Dye vest's case. The 11 minute 'Scarred' provides the albums highlight, including as it does numerous tempo changes and stunning solos.
In conclusion, if you enjoy this type of music, this album is a must buy, if you are new to metal and prog in particular it is still a wonderful starting point, but if your musical views are firmly wrought and you dislike this type of band you should avoid like the plague.
Free Music Review: Heavy, Gut-Wrenching Masterpiece!
Hit: 5 Stars
My introduction to Dream Theater was back in November 2001 when I bought their 1992 breakthrough album IMAGES & WORDS. That record blew me away, and I learned more about the band by visiting their official website. Recently, I just got the 1994 follow-up AWAKE and even though I&W is great, every song on AWAKE blows that album out of the water! AWAKE is truly one of the most perfect records ever made, I'm sure of it. It is notably heavier and harsher than its predecessor, but that's what makes it so phenomenal. In other words, AWAKE can be seen as the antithesis of I&W--while I&W was hopeful and optimistic, AWAKE shows the dark underbelly of life.I won't mention every song this time, since there's nearly 75 minutes worth of material, but I'll try my best. "6:00" is an energetic opener with an excellent drum intro by Mike Portnoy and tons of grooves and riffs churning at every turn, which is quickly followed by the emotional "Caught in a Web." Great singing by James LaBrie, great melody, and nice heavy riff by John Petrucci. The Rush-esque "Innocence Faded" also has a great melody and intricate harmonies with a complex jam tagged at the end of it. Very cool.
The highlight of the album is "A Mind Beside Itself," a 20-minute trilogy hung together by tracks 4, 5, and 6. It begins with "Erotomania," a hyper instrumental with classical guitar work and melodic keyboards; "Voices," thoughtful lyrics, more great singing by James, and lots of power and emotion; and the soft acoustic lament "The Silent Man" ends the epic on a peaceful note. Perfect musicianship throughout.
Tracks 7-11 are also awesome, with John Myung's "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" (which has a U2 feel to it) and the powerful, heart-wrenching closer "Space-Dye Vest" being the highlights, the latter featuring a haunting piano melody by Kevin Moore who left the band after the record was finished.
AWAKE is a progressive hard rock masterpiece.
Free Music Review: Awake
Hit: 5 Stars
first, let me start by saying that people think DT is way heavier than they actually are. they think they are really, very heavy, and even call them metal. im not dissin this CD or DT, cause they're awesome... i think ive been listening to bands like dark tranquillity and meshuggah and children of bodom for too long...who knows? who CARES? i dont. anyway... this albums really good. musicianship is incredible. lyrics are deep and thoughtful. heres the lowdown:
6:00...5/5...when i first bough this album couple years back, this was the only song i could listen to, but then i listened to the rest of the album...
caught in a web...5/5...the next song i could only listen to. became an obsession, almost.
innocence faded...5/5...the last song i listened to over and over again before i picked this album up a couple months ago to really listen to it.
erotomania...5/5...proof of great musicianship. just as good as instrumentals by metallica, if not better.
voices...5/5...i might be a little generous on this song, but i really love it. little too long for this song though.
the silent man...5/5...little quick song thats really cool.
the mirror...3/5...ok, this is where the album goes little down hill for me. this songs ok, but not great.
lie...5/5...this ones good. that solo that john did...crap...that was incredible. gotta learn that one. anyway, another good song.
lifting shadows off a dream...5/5...easily the best song off the album. beautiful.
scarred...3/5...ok. its not that i dont like long songs, but this ones kinda boring.
space dye vest...4/5...another ok one. this is one of those albums where the first or second half is much better than the rest. this ones kinda too slow though. ok for once in a while. it kinda reminds me of schindler's list for some reason...
anyway, thats just my opinian. i HIGHLY recomend this album. i know i make it sound like its kinda boring, but its not. the songs i gave a 5 to make up for the ok ones. believe me on that. it was my first dt album and first of many.
Free Music Review: The Best Album I've ever heard!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've had this CD for 6 months and it contains the best music I've ever heard. It always seems every time I get through listening to this CD I like it better then the last time I listened to it. The album just has that "grow on you"effect that is hard to come by these days. Other bands songs become routine after awhile, they are structured the
same. I also appreciate the music that DT created on this CD more when compared to their other albums. It contains a
variety of songs that I think is unmatched by any other DT album. Songs like Scared, Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
and Voices are DT master pieces. There's also those really heavy songs like Lie and The Mirror, they kick arse by the way. The lyrics are the best in my opinion. The Lyrics are written by more than one band member, one thing I really like
about DT. It's nice to have variety of styles to the lyrics, some of my friends think it's stupid to have a singer who
doesn't write his own lyrics. Most bands don't have a singer like James. Compare James to any other rock vocalist
and they will sound very flat. The melodies that James sings, and the amount of vibrato he uses makes him not
just a singer, but a "vocalist".
I believe the recording is superior to all other DT albums, let me explain. If you look at the picture of the studio in
the album cover, you'll notice how large it is. When listening to the album on high quality speakers the acoustics of
the room become apparent. I think this created more depth in the sound stage because of the airy sounding room.
I think John Prudell & Duane Baron, mixed, produced and recorded the album well. Don't get me wrong SFAM is
recorded well too. But I think Awake's recording has more character and depth too it, even though it's older.
If Mike Portnoy says the new album sounds like a cross between Awake/LTE. You'll hear no complaining out of me.
I can't wait to hear what they've come up with.
Free Music Review: One of the top 10 albums of all-time
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't grade that easily, as I wouldn't give even one album a year a five-star rating. Sometimes you stumble across a gem, and that's what happened to me here. I first bought Falling Into Infinity out of curiosity -- knowing absolutely nothing about the group. Occasionally when you do that, you are rewarded. I was intrigued by Falling after listening to it, and so I got their other albums. But there's no way I was prepared for Awake. This album blew me away. It's a rock and roll odyssey unlike any other. Very edgy and yet at the same time very refined -- how did they do that? It's really quite incredible. The vocals are not overbearing or out-of-place, as can happen with many unskilled hard rock bands. Some of these tracks are pure masterpieces.Somehow I feel a rock band that can't play for more than 5 minutes at a time or go off on a 3-minute guitar solo (at least in the modern era) is hiding behind something. Dream Theater lays it all out and keeps a great tune going for 8-9 minutes (sometimes more) with seeming ease.
I've had an extensive collection, and have listened to music for 30 years. I enjoy practically all forms of pop and rock, having very diverse tastes. Up until five years ago I'd never heard of Dream Theater. Now they're one of my ten favorite artists ever. My musical tastes are all over the map. My #1 band is Pink Floyd, and I like the Beatles, Rush, BTO, R.E.M., Tangerine Dream, Blue Oyster Cult, Alan Parsons Project, Eagles, and Dream Theater. Those are my all-time favorite groups, but I also like bands like Guadalcanal Diary, Little River Band, Electric Light Orchestra, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller Band, Elton John, Chicago . . .
Bottom line is I'm not a hard rock fan per se, but the melodic, hard-driving offerings of Dream Theater make me a DT fan. This is a group that is extremely talented, both lyrically and musically. Thank you, Dream Theater, for giving us a unique brand of rock music that defies hard-rock conventions and transcends genre barriers.