First attempt at writing a review. it is almost 4 in the morning here, so I am not sure how it turned out. but I was bored. tell me what you think.
Dream Theater’s third album, awake, was a landmark for Dream Theater. An overall dark album, it covered topics such as madness and schizophrenia, and was also the last album that the former keyboardist Kevin Moore would be a part of.
The album opens with the fast-paced song 6:00, written by Kevin Moore. The song begins with a drumroll, leading into one of Mike Portnoy’s most famous drum parts. The song then introduces samples from the film "The Dead", an adaptation of James Joyce's short story from his book. While there is no confirmed meaning to the song lyrics, many believe it is about Kevin Moore wanting to leave the band. The chorus hints at Kevin Moore struggling to decide on whether to leave the band or not. Moore has not given a statement on what the lyrics are really about.
The next interesting part of the album is the suite A Mind Beside Itself, All of which was written by Guitarist John Petrucci. The suite consisted of three songs: Erotomania, Voices, and The Silent Man. Many look at this suite as the highlight of the album. The songs are about the different stages of schizophrenia. Erotomania is a mental disorder, and a sign of schizophrenia, that causes one to feel as if someone is in love with them, or obsessed with them, when they may not be at all. Erotomania is the only instrumental track on the album, and transitions into Voices as if it were really one song. Voices is about the main character having conflicting thoughts regarding religion. He is being talked to by the voices in his head, which is the main symptom of Schizophrenia. The song clocks in at 9:53, making it the second longest on the album. The final part of A Mind Beside It’s Self, is The Silent Man. Many Dream Theater fans believe that The Silent Man is unrelated to the other two songs, while still keeping the same theme. Those fans see the song as an somewhat of an alternate ending, being what could happen instead of what happened in Voices, if you stay with your faith. Musically, this song is much simpler than the other two songs in the suite, and is the only acoustic song on the album.
The final interesting part of the album, Space-Dye Vest, is the final track on the album, and also the final track that Kevin Moore wrote before he left the band. Kevin Moore stated that "I was looking through a clothing catalog and saw a picture of a girl modeling this piece of clothing called a space-dye vest. And, so, I fell in love with her for some strange reason and so the minute I did that, the minute I was just like obsessed with this person, I was like, 'why am I doing that?' and I noticed that I was doing it a lot lately. And I think the prime reason that I was doing that, and this is what I figured out at the time, was that I had just come out of a relationship where I'd gotten dumped, basically, and so I think the situation was that I wasn't finished giving all that I was ready to give, so I was just, like, throwing it around, you know, just aiming it in different directions. It was a total case of projection. And this song is just trying to sort it out and just kind of admitting that I'm just kind of lost. So it's kind of a dark song. It was very cathartic though."
Space-Dye Vest has had many different opinions over the years. Some fans adore the song, while others feel it is cheesy and do not like the song.
Awake was a milestone for Dream Theater for more than one reason. One reason was because Kevin Moore left shortly before the album was mixed to pursue his own musical career, and moved to Istanbul, Turkey. He was replaced by Derek Sherinian for the tour. Derek stayed with Dream Theater until 1999 when he was replaced by current keyboardist Jordan Rudess.
Shortly before the tour, James LaBrie had gotten food poisoning and ruptured his vocal chords due to vomiting. James told the rest of the band that they could replace him, because his voice would never be the same as it was before. The band refused to let him go, because he is a part of the “family” that is Dream Theater, and can’t be replaced. Doctors told James he should take it easy, but James didn’t listen and played on the upcoming tour. James has since recovered, and many think his performance on Dream Theater’s 20th anniversary tour title Score is his best vocal performance to date.
In conclusion, Awake was an excellent album by Dream Theater, and is truly a masterpiece in many fans eyes. More importantly, it marked the beginning of a new era of Dream Theater to come.