Dream Theater - Awake
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Free Music Notes for Awake
Free Music Review: Definitely Darker and Heavier than I&W...
Hit: 5 Stars
...But still just as good.
This was the much anticipted album after Images and Words. I remember reading some articles about this album about how a lot of people were surprised at the metal edge to this record, because John Petrucci plays a 7-string guitar on record for the first time. I have also heard that this record has just as many friends as it does enemies. It was also recorded around the time that Kevin Moore left.
All that considered, Awake is another great DT record. This record, along with 6DOIT, are ones that are always on my iPod rotation.
Here are my favorites:
6:00 - Cool drum intro from Mike Portnoy, awesome song.
Caught In A Web - A 7 string guitar can be heard on this song, lending to its heavy sound. The lyrics deal with how one can be trapped by the "powers that be".
Erotomania - John Petrucci's masterpiece of guitar playing, IMO. This is actually an "Intro" to a 3-song piece called "A Mind Beside Itself".
The Silent Man - A beautiful acoustic ballad, a break from the rest of the album.
The Mirror - I really love the first 1:20 seconds of this song.
Lie - One of the heaviest DT songs I have heard. John Petrucci lays down a wall of guitars here, and plays an awesome guitar solo.
Space Dye Vest - A dark piano ballad. This Kevin Moore penned track was the last song he wrote for the band, therefore it has a very dark, moody feel to it.
The rest of the songs are awesome, and there is not one bad song here. It is a bit long (About 77 min.) but well worth the listen.
Free Music Review: My favourite Dream Theater album
Hit: 5 Stars
Being the Dream Theater fan I am... well, I may sound a bit unobjective... and please notice that all my comments are done on the date.. so I don't know about the album's that'll come next...I'm not in the mood to describe all the songs, so I'll limit myself to say that this is definately Dream Theater's most complex (compositionally and theme-wardly speaking) album... It's also the darkest one. And I'll dare to say, the most colourful. This last because it may be controversial... I can't say it's Dream's best album because other people like Scenes From a Memory or Images and Words best (or even Falling into infinity... wow)... but I can say it's MY favourite.. THIS is the Dream Theater I like, the obscure, powerful, complex yet majestic, varied musically, the heavy and the technically and lirically impressive Dream Theater.
I would say that Images and words is the starter's cd, less complex, perhaps happier and more opne cd... you'll get into it right away. Scenes From a Memory is your standard prog. concept cd, but with very cool ideas and great musical passages... it is after all, my second best Dream cd... I would like it best if it weren't so dense to get into (there are too many heavy songs together, without room for breath, plus it's only really hearable if you take it all at once... I don't think it really accomplishes what it pretends for the listener, if you hear scattered songs). So check those two out, they stand side by side with Awake, at least generally.
Like Prog? Like guitar and drum pyrotechnics? Like Coll and complex albums? Get Awake. Now.
Free Music Review: Dream Theater At Their Darkest
Hit: 5 Stars
After the surprise success of "Images And Words" the band tried to follow it up with an album that appears to be geared a bit more towards radio and MTV airplay. The album is not what I would call commercial, but it does appear that they were trying to move in a particular direction. The music on the disc is significantly heavier than on its predecessor, for the most part and is probably their most metal oriented album until "Train Of Thought" a decade later. The single "Lie" got some airplay, but not nearly as much as "Pull Me Under" had. It would pretty much be the last time Dream Theater would be heard on radio or MTV having been snubbed ever since. Listening to this album again after a long layoff I find that it has really aged quite well. I remember when it came out being somewhat disappointed with it, but it really does contains some outstanding work and it may be more a reflection of my musical taste at the time than the contents of the album. As mentioned previously there is much heaviness to be found here and many of the lyrics are dark "6:00", "Erotomania", "The Mirror" , "Lie" and "Scarred" all rock hard. Lighter moments appear on "Silent Man", "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream". Other highlights include "Caught In A Web", "Voices", and the album closer the creepy "Space Dye Vest". Instrumentally........well this is dream theater so everything is top notch incredible playing. As I have seen some others mention this is probably not the album to purchase if you are looking to explore Dream Theater as a starter, but it is a must own for all fans of the band.Free Music Review: Drives me crazy!
Hit: 5 Stars
To me this is the quintessential Dream Theater album, and the one that is most frequently listened to among fans I know. Some of the songs I am particularly in love with, but like most Dream Theater albums, it really doesn't contain any badly written songs, and like other really great albums, I get into each song at some point or other. I got into this album at age 14 so it has a lot of memories. Erotomania is an amazing instrumental that repeats one guitar part with an unusual rythm while putting in new pieces. Since it is part of "A Mind Beside Itself" it makes me think of someone in a wild mental state, maybe manic-depressive. Voices reminds me of a stormy sea. It used to absolutely drive me crazy (in a good way), especially the part where James sings "love, just don't stare...reveal the word when you're supposed to" because it's so emotional and beautiful. "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" is fantasy-like, seems to be about being healed after losing hope, and it is a very healing song. "Scarred" is long and complex,dramatic and emotional, just the way I like it. "Space Dye Vest" is a slow piano song, and in both lyrics and music is one of the best depressing songs I have ever heard by anyone. These are the songs that really stick out for me but I love all the songs on this album. They all have a lot of imagery and will put pictures in your head (although the gorgeous album cover also helps). If you have never listened to Dream Theater, I recommend this album as a start because it gives you an accurate example of what they are like.Free Music Review: Dream Theater does it again!
Hit: 5 Stars
Probably my favorite Dream Theater album, and the only 70+ minute album by this band that I can actually listen to in one sitting without getting annoyed. Awake is perhaps the band's heaviest outing, but also the album of theirs with the most subtleties. Kevin Moore's keyboard work is more restrained and tasteful than in Images and Words (to say nothing of Jordan Rudess' recent work with the band), and John Petrucci seems to do a little less flailing as well. The album moves from the heavy alterna-rock of the few opening cuts to the delicate (but still interesting) balladry of "The Silent Man" to the crushing progressive metal of "The Mirror" and "Lie". Unfortunately the two 10-minute-plus would-be epics are a little short on ideas, and LaBrie's vocals seem to be the worst in these two cuts, but I have few complaints about the rest of the songs. Of note are the instrumental "Erotomania" (lauded by many for its complexities); the aforementioned ultra-heavy "The Mirror"/"Lie" combo, with its extremely effective and bone-crunching transition between songs; and the closer, "Space-Dye Vest", a repetitive piano-driven atmospheric vocal track that one would think would get boring after just a couple of listens, but for some reason doesn't - if anything it gets better. With the possible exception of the debut album (which I don't like mostly because of the vocalist), Awake is the DT release most likely to please progressive rock fans, I think. Good stuff.