Awake is still better than every other Dream Theater record

[?]

Lie is a darn good metal song, with good lyrics and two wicked ass solos by JP.

[Dream Team]

Lie is a darn good metal song, with good lyrics and two wicked ass solos by JP.

I agree on "metal" and "solos" but "mother mary quite contrary" is my most disliked lyric in their catalogue.

[Dublagent66]

Lie has great riffs and the solos are nothing short of stellar.  I'm not one to care too much about lyrics as long as the music is good, but I would have to say some of the lyrical content does slightly detract from the song's otherwise greatness.

[?]

I think the lyrics are pretty clever and interesting and miles better than the comic book stories of SC and the overly straightforward stories of BC&SL. But then again, I really enjoy KM's style of writing (both on DT albums and Chroma Key/OSI releases) - if he had stayed in DT, I bet some of his later lyrics would've been disliked just as much as Lie, if not more

[CodyWanKenobi]

Speaking of Awake, this video is awesome. Plus Mangini singing is priceless. xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MYYkf6jlUt4

[MoraWintersoul]

I think the lyrics are pretty clever and interesting and miles better than the comic book stories of SC and the overly straightforward stories of BC&SL. But then again, I really enjoy KM's style of writing (both on DT albums and Chroma Key/OSI releases) - if he had stayed in DT, I bet some of his later lyrics would've been disliked just as much as Lie, if not more

I can only imagine how would people react to Subway or Nice To Know

[?]

I can only imagine how would people react to Subway or Nice To Know

Or Be the Hero or Better

[robwebster]

Lie is a darn good metal song, with good lyrics and two wicked ass solos by JP.

I agree on "metal" and "solos" but "mother mary quite contrary" is my most disliked lyric in their catalogue.

See, you're not in any way alone in this - loads of people hate that bit - but, again, I'm completely against the grain of DTF on this one. I think it's great, it's one of the lyrical highlights of the album. Loads of worse lyrics. UaGM's a brilliant song, top ten most days, but the lyrics are utter nonsense.

[Dublagent66]

Speaking of Awake, this video is awesome. Plus Mangini singing is priceless. xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MYYkf6jlUt4

Yeah, I remember seeing that.  Fuckin' hilarious!

[TheGreatPretender]

I think it's great, it's one of the lyrical highlights of the album.

Agreed.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

So my interest in DT almost completely disappeared the past while, but I decided to spin Awake right now. Really makes me remember why I loved them so much in the first place. This album will always be perfect to me.

[Mister Gold]

Currently relistening to Awake and it's just blowing my mind how great this album is. It's between this album and Six Degrees for the best DT album, IMO.

[gmillerdrake]

AWAKE will be the album I spin during the drive to my 'Tough Mudder' run tomorrow morning. Just a beautiful album....

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Compared to most of DT's work, Awake is a pretty mediocre album -- a few filler pieces (6:00, CIAW, LSOAD) drag it down.

I agree it's actually pretty mediocre and a pale follow up to a ground breaking album like Images. I think the only real fillers are 6:00 and Lie and that the album is pretty consistent...consistently mediocre.

[Super Dude]

Awake is my definite number one, I&W my definite number two, and FII a close runner-up from there. What a powerhouse decade for the band. I definitely prefer their crunchy, grungy sound to their current one.

[fllnsprrw]

Close. Awake is my second favorite DT album, after IAW/SFAM/SDOIT

[Yoshi Yogurt]

What is with the hate on Lie? My favorite song off that album and a in my top 10 for DT.

[Tom Bombadil]

I think Lie is a bit of a weak point on the album, but it's still a great song.  Awake is just that good. It would be the best song on SC IMO.

[BlobVanDam]

What is with the hate on Lie? My favorite song off that album and a in my top 10 for DT.

The riffing is bland and simple, the lyrics are cringeworthy and don't fit, and the verse vocals sound phoned in and not very good. Completely unremarkable song on every level imo.
The best parts of the song are the parts leeched from The Mirror.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

What is with the hate on Lie? My favorite song off that album and a in my top 10 for DT.

The hate is because it's a lousy song due to the aforementioned reasons

[Orthogonal]

I'm curious if the folks that are ragging on a lot of the Awake songs are in general bigger fans of DT's newer material or long time fans getting in during the early days.

Personally, I love Awake. For some reason I'm always surprised by how heavy it is, it's the most heavy album until ToT. Lie is awesome, LSOAD is beautiful, Scarred kicks ass and SDV is one of those out-of-left-field charming and endearing songs that add a new wrinkle to their already diverse catalog of songs.

[Ravenfoul]

What is with the hate on Lie? My favorite song off that album and a in my top 10 for DT.

I love Lie. Personally I think the only weak lyrical tidbit would be 'mother mary quite contrary'

[Viking of the Sagas]

I pretty much like all of the songs except Innocence Faded and Lie.

[jayvee3]

What is with the hate on Lie? My favorite song off that album and a in my top 10 for DT.

The hate is because it's a lousy song due to the aforementioned reasons

Now that really is a seriously BOOLsheet statement.. 

I actually love Lie - I enjoy it in full, but the solo at the end is worthy of the price of admission alone. Awake is my top album easily. Scarred and the Mirror (love the SDV harmonies within the Mirror) would be in my top 5 in the entire DT catalogue, and there are some other bits of absolute brilliance (6:00, Innocence Faded, Erotomania, Voices - i'm looking at you..). To me there is very little filler, but how the entire album blends together, and sounds as a whole, is what brings it to the very top in my books. FII is another fave bar a few songs and issues, and I very much like 6 degrees - but I don't feel 6 Degrees is as cohesive as Awake, and some of the songs - while I enjoy them - seem a little disjointed in the sense of listening as an album. I&W is still only midway in their catalogue for me..

[Ħ]

I'm curious if the folks that are ragging on a lot of the Awake songs are in general bigger fans of DT's newer material or long time fans getting in during the early days.

Personally, I love Awake. For some reason I'm always surprised by how heavy it is, it's the most heavy album until ToT. Lie is awesome, LSOAD is beautiful, Scarred kicks ass and SDV is one of those out-of-left-field charming and endearing songs that add a new wrinkle to their already diverse catalog of songs.

I don't think Awake is that great, and I'm a fan of their FII/SFAM/SDOIT era.

[TL]

Speaking of Awake, this video is awesome. Plus Mangini singing is priceless. xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MYYkf6jlUt4

So as if I needed a reason to see DT live again, I now have one, because I need to see them live with Mike Mangini (I last saw them on the progressive nation tour in 2009).

Come to think of it, a friend of mine has moved out to Ontario, so I actually have a good excuse to head out there beyond a concert now (which would have been a good reason, but not a 'fly out and spend airfare and hotel cost' reason.

[Outcrier]

Awake = One of the indisputable classic DT albums.

[?]

Lie is a badass song with great lyrics

[Bertielee]

Awake is my all-time favorite. So, it's a big "YES" to the OP. I just can't remember how many times my brother and I burned it while in his car to the beach.

B.Lee

[adastra]

Great album, but I think that the keyboard work on Caught In A Web isn't too good

[Thematt202]

Awake is my least favourite DT album.  I find it very cold and harsh, whereas the rest of the stuff feels warm and inviting.

[Öxölklöfför]

Translation: People like an album more than I do, so there must be some crazy reason why.

It's an overrated album is all.

Hardly. To my ears, at the very least. Simply put, "Awake" showcases Dream Theater's best blend of proggy and metal-ish influences. They really got it down to a T on "Awake". Nothing sounds forced or contrived and the music just breathes naturally. Like they didn't over think anything and just went with their guts. DT kind of lost this winning recipe in the following years and never really released anything as organic as this record. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed (loved even!) many of the albums they released after Awake (and I absolutely think "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" displays a much improved and re-energized DT) but they all pale in comparison to "Awake".

And I think I misplaced my nostalgia goggles many, many moons ago so that can't be it. 

This!

(And our agreement on this shouldn't relate to the fact tha we both are swedish )

[wasteland]

I've grown to like Awake much more in the past few month. Well, it was already my #2 album, but now I'm starting to think it's unfair to even try to rank it against Images, and Images against it, though even then I think I will always retain the personal soft spot I have for that magnificence that is Images And Words.

[SeRoX]

It is if self-titled album will not shock us.

[Öxölklöfför]

I'm curious if the folks that are ragging on a lot of the Awake songs are in general bigger fans of DT's newer material or long time fans getting in during the early days.

Personally, I love Awake. For some reason I'm always surprised by how heavy it is, it's the most heavy album until ToT. Lie is awesome, LSOAD is beautiful, Scarred kicks ass and SDV is one of those out-of-left-field charming and endearing songs that add a new wrinkle to their already diverse catalog of songs.

I don't think Awake is that great, and I'm a fan of their FII/SFAM/SDOIT era.

...which may be considered "newer material".