Dream Theater – Awake

After the live EP “Live at the Marquee” finally a new album of the Prog-Rock/Metal Gods.
The cover design alone shows what you should adjust to. Atmospheric and rather gloomy mood compared to “Images & Words”. Here, both technically and temporally everything was exhausted. 11 tracks with a total running time of 75 minutes.
Fast and rocking it starts already with Track 1 "6:00”. Wherein I find that the first 3 tracks somewhat resemble from the structure. In my opinion, the first melodic highlight is “Innoncence Faded”. After the slightly bulky (but blessed with an ingenious refrain) “Caught In A Web” the track seems almost like a salvation and you realize that it's actually just starting.
Then follows the 3 divider “A Mind Beside Itself” which consists of the songs “Erotomania” (Ein Instrumental), “Voices” (rather restrained song with hard ages) and “The Silent Man” (damn melancholy and calm song, the first real relaxation song on the album).
But after a relatively short break of 3:47 minutes the next hammer stroke follows. “The Mirror.” Probably one of the highlights of the album with an extremely hard reef thunderstorm at the beginning. I'm not exaggerating when I say that “The Mirror” is probably one of the best pieces of DT's. The following “Lie” runs on a similar track, but without reaching the class of its predecessor.
Extremely atmospheric in the last part of the CD. The melodic “Lifting Schados Off A Dream” has some beautiful ages and increases the relaxation factor a little bit.
The following “Scarred” comes very distorted and “mysterious”. An 11 minute hammer that is more likely to settle in the slow range. Very convincing!.
And finally, a real feast of the ears. With “The Mirror” & “Innocence Faded” the definitive highlight of “Awake”.
“ Space-Dye Vest” is probably the melodiously saddest thing I've ever heard (meaning positive). Kevin Moore shows us what's inside him and his keyboard. Only if you take the time and study the 7:29 minutes exactly alone in the darkness will you get behind the genius of the song. A true masterpiece presented to us at the end. Also one of the best songs DT ever made.
Conclusion: Finally, it can be said that the Dream Theater with “Awake” sured my opinion in “Images & Words”. Anyone who is more interested in gloomy mood is right here. A definitive masterpiece has become “Awake”.
Probably the best album from Dream Theater.

Chill as a winter night: this is Awake. Third Dream Theater album is the dark side of its successful predecessor. Impenetrable because of its complexity, Awake icy atmosphere and melancholic melodies are in contrast with warm and hope of Images and Words. Cerebral, nervous, heavy but also mysterious and meditative, Awake is a cobweb of hyper-technical metal, difficult to penetrate, with a monolithic guitar distortion (Pantera influence is evident, also in riff composition) and a clean and refined sound production (John Purdell and Duane Baron generate a stratified and detailed sonic universe). Space Dye-Vest, close to Pink Floyd atmospheres, is Kevin Moore farewell. Fundamental in Dream Theater development, Moore compositional contribution will be an irreparable loss for melodic evolution of the band.