Dream Theater's third studio release, Awake, marks a definite change in the band's tone.
From the moment the guitars enter on "6:00," the first track, a darker sound is immediately evident, and it continues through the entire 75 minutes of the disc.
The complex song structures, marked by arrangements that would give many good players fits, are very impressive.
Drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci, in particular, reach new heights with their instruments, but keyboardist Kevin Moore and bassist John Myung hold up quite well, adding to the prog metal sound with their own contributions.
There are several good tracks here, but the best are the crunch-heavy "Lie," the 11-minute "Scarred," the thought-provoking "Caught in a Web," and the deeply personal, moving "Space-Dye Vest." This disc also marks keyboardist Moore's last recording with the band; he left not long after to pursue other musical directions.
The heavy guitar sound may turn some off, but Dream Theater's musical ability can't be denied.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:00James LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 42 MB |
| 2 | Caught in a WebJames LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 05:28 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 3 | Innocence FadedJames LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 4 | The MirrorJames LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 50 MB |
| 5 | LieJames LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 48 MB |
| 6 | Lifting Shadows off a DreamJames LaBrie, Kevin Moore, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 43 MB |
| 7 | ScarredJohn Petrucci, Dream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 10:59 | 25 MB | 82 MB |
| 8 | Space-Dye VestKevin Moore | Dream Theater | Play | 07:29 | 17 MB | 47 MB |
| 9 | A Mind Beside Itself - i - Erotomania | Dream Theater | Play | 06:44 | 15 MB | 49 MB |
| 10 | A Mind Beside Itself - ii - Voices | Dream Theater | Play | 09:53 | 22 MB | 71 MB |
| 11 | A Mind Beside Itself - iii - The Silent Man | Dream Theater | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 75 mins | 171 MB | |||||
| 75 mins | 543 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Arnold | Mixing, Mixing Assistant |
| 2 | Duane Baron | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 3 | Greg Cathcart | Assistant Engineer, Assistant Producer, Mixing Assistant |
| 4 | Dream Theater | Composer, Cover Art Concept, Group, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Larry Freemantle | Art Direction |
| 6 | Ted Jensen | Mastering |
| 7 | Dennis Keeley | Photography |
| 8 | Rich Kern | Programming |
| 9 | James LaBrie | Composer, Voices |
| 10 | Donald May | Art Direction |
| 11 | Ed Miller | Mixing, Mixing Assistant |
| 12 | Kevin Moore | Composer, Keyboards |
| 13 | Dan Muro | Cover Art Concept |
| 14 | John Myung | Bass, Composer |
| 15 | John Petrucci | Composer, Guitar |
| 16 | Mike Portnoy | Composer, Drums, Percussion |
| 17 | John Purdell | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 18 | Mike Stock | Assistant Engineer, Assistant Producer, Mixing Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |