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Rating:
I begin by saying that the "Dream Theater" are not the perfect band. In fact, I'll go further, there is no perfect band, so this little preamble is for those who think that the "Dream Theater" are the only source of inspiration in this very foggy musical world (speaking of now), but especially I address those of you who spend hours commenting on all the reviews of the "Dream Theater", dispensing judgments as obtuse as they are exhaustive in making everyone understand the very poor musical expertise that envelops them.
Having said that, I hasten to start with the review of this album, which sees the light in 1994, 3 years after the breakthrough of the previous work of the Americans "Images And Words". According to many, this album marks a sharp turn in the musical path previously undertaken by the band, but I limit myself to saying that the choice of a clearer and fresher sound is the only relevant change.
The "awakening" opens with "6:00", the idea of handing the intro over to Portnoy's drums is nice, then the song unfolds with the pressing bass of Myung aided by Mike himself, forming a solid rhythmic base to the "solo" accompaniment (if we can call it that) of a Petrucci in great shape. A fairly pissed off La Brie accompanies the track's melodic line. Moore is a bit subdued (as in several points of the CD). "Caught In A Web" is a great track, nice chorus, and nice solo in the middle in unison between synth and guitar, one of the few in the album, as the group has spoiled us with many. We continue with "Innocence Faded", the first melodic track. The initial guitar of Petrucci is beautiful, then the rest goes into a progressive decline (to stay on theme), with a fairly banal chorus in my opinion. Really uninspired. "A Mind Beside Itself" is the sum of the "Dream Theater thought", instrumental rides of superlative technique ("Erotomania" even if Moore's keyboards are in the background), dramatic ballads with an epic flavor ("Voices"), and soft songs sometimes of fine workmanship like this one ("The Silent Man"), which manage on some occasions to make even the most pessimistic reconsider, those who believe the "Dream" are made only of useless dizzying "frivolities" instrumental. In short, a track among their most successful, truly beautiful. At this point, we come to "The Mirror", which we can easily connect to the following "Lie", tracks blatantly metal in nature, very Metallica in my view, but performed with very good technique and quite appreciable. We proceed with "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream", a track that did not cause much sensation in me, but characterized by a nice singing alternating with Moore's ever-present strings in this album. "Scarred" is an exquisite ballad that somehow connects to "Learning To Live" with an excellent Myung. Petrucci's solo around the seventh minute is grandiose. In conclusion of the work, there is a true gem, as they say last but not least. It is "Space-Dye Vest", dominated by Moore's piano, of truly touching sensitivity, and I emphasize TOUCHING. The intro is wrapped in immense drama rendered such by the cold notes of the piano that at first impact seem almost alien to the context. Excellent La Brie, reaches levels never attained by him, not even in the future.
I conclude by saying that I reviewed this album because Dream Theater has recently entered my musical culture, but they did it with an overwhelming impact, and because I reviewed this CD on the day I bought it, and this probably means something.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Caught in a Web (05:28)
Silence disguised
I watch you
Show me the hurt
That haunts you
Would you despise the thrill
If all you hide were mine?
I can't hold on any longer
These feelings keep growing stronger
Echoes that deafen the mind
Will bury my voice in their wake
Caught in a Web
Removed from the world
Hanging on by a thread
Spinning the lies
Devised in my head
I've seen the path
The one you take
Shows the truth
For you to make
This turn of phrase
We might not see
Is the thirst of desire
Found so easily
Try to push me 'round
The world some more
And make me live in fear
I bare all that I am
Made of now
Attractive I don't care
'Cause even when I danced with life
No one was there to share
Does this voice the wounds of your soul?
Does this voice the wounds of your soul?
Caught in a Web
Removed from the world
Hanging on by a thread
Spinning the lies
Devised in my head
Tried to live the life
You live and saw
It doesn't work for me
I bare all that I am
Made of now
Attractive, I can't be
Inside the Dance of Life is one
I'll never hold to me
You can't heal the wounds of my soul.
You can't heal the wounds of my soul.
Caught in a Web
Refused by the world
Hanging on by a thread
Spinning the lies
Devised in my head
Caught in a Web
Refused by the world
Hanging on by a thread
Spinning a cage
Denied and misread
03 Innocence Faded (05:42)
Animation
Breathes a cloudless mind
Fascination
Leaves the doubting blind
Until the circle breaks
And wisdom lies ahead
The faithful live awake
The rest remain misled
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Callow and vain
Fixed like a fossil, shrouding pain
Passionless stage
Distant like brothers, wearing apathetic displays
Sharing flesh like envy in cages
Condescending
Not intending to end
Some will transcend spinning years
One as if time disappears
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Trinity jaded
I break down walls to find you
Beginnings get complicated
The farther we progress
Opinions are calculated
Immune to openness
Beyond the circle's edge
We're driven by her blessings
Forever hesitating
Caught beneath the wheel
Innocence faded
The mirror falls behind you
Cynically jaded
The child will crawl to find you
05 Voices (09:54)
'Love, just don't stare'
He used to say to me
Every Sunday morning
The spider in the window
The angel in the pool
The old man takes the poison
Now the widow makes the rules
'So speak, I'm right here'
She used to say to me
Not a word, not a word
Judas on the ceiling
The Devil in my bed
I guess Easter's never coming
So I'll just wait inside my head
Like a scream but sort of silent
Living off my nightmares
Voices repeating me
'Feeling threatened? We reflect your hopes and fears.'
Voices discussing me
'Others steal your thoughts
They're not confined within your mind.'
Thought disorder
Dream control
Now they read my mind on the radio
But where was the Garden of Eden?
I feel elated
I feel depressed
Sex is death, Death is sex
Says it right here on my Crucifix
Like a scream but sort of silent
Living off my nightmares
Voices protecting me
'Good behavior brings the Savior to his knees.'
Voices rejecting me
'Others steal your thoughts
They're not confined to your own mind.'
"I don't wanna be here,
'cause of my suffering, 'cause of my illness
Only love is worth having
Only love is what matters
Loving every people on equal terms. "
"You've got to know who you're dealin' with because, like a stranger,
A-heh, just might come in through here with a gun...
And then, what would you do? (Heh.)"
"Everything is immaterial..."
"'n' you know that reality is immaterial."
"This is not reality..."
I'm kneeling on the floor
Staring at the wall
Like the spider in the window
I wish that I could speak
Is there fantasy in refuge?
God in politicians?
Should I turn on my religion?
These demons in my head tell me to
I'm lying here in bed
Swear my skin is inside out
Just another Sunday morning
Seen my diary on the newsstand
Seems we've lost the truth to quicksand
It's a shame no one is praying
'Cause these voices in my head keep saying...
'Love, just don't stare.'
'Reveal the Word when you're supposed to'
Withdrawn and introverted
Infectiously perverted
'Being laughed at and confused
Keeps us pleasantly amused enough to stay.'
Maybe I'm just Cassandra fleeting
Twentieth century Icon bleeding
Willing to risk Salvation
To escape from isolation
I'm witness to redemption
Heard you speak but never listened
Can you rid me of my secrets?
Deliver us from Darkness?
Voices repeating me
'Feeling threatened? We reflect your hopes and fears.'
Voices discussing me
Don't expect your own Messiah
This neverworld which you desire
Is only in your mind
06 The Silent Man (03:48)
A question well served,
Is silence like a fever?
A voice never heard?
Or a message with no receiver?
Pray they won't ask
Behind the stained glass
There's always one more mask
Has man been a victim
Of his woman, of his father?
If he elects not to bother,
Will he suffocate their faith?
Desperate to fall
Behind the Great Wall
That separates us all
When there is reason
Tonight I'm awake
When there's no answer
Arrive the Silent Man
If there is balance
Tonight he's awake
If they have to suffer
There lies the Silent Man
Sin without deceivers
A God with no believers
I could sail by on the Winds of Silence
And maybe they won't notice
But this time I think
It'd be better if I swim
When there is reason
Tonight I'm awake
When there's no answer
Arrive the Silent Man
If there is balance
Tonight he's awake
But if they have to suffer
There lies the Silent Man
There lies the Silent Man
07 The Mirror (06:45)
Temptation
Why won't you leave me alone?
Lurking every corner, everywhere I go
Self Control
Don't turn your back on me now
When I need you the most
Constant pressure tests my will
My will or my won't
My self control escapes from me still...
Hypocrite
How could you be so cruel
And expect my faith in return?
Resistance
Is not as hard as it seems
When you close the door
I spent so long trusting in you
I trust you forgot
Just when I thought I believed in you...
"What're you doing?
What're you doing?"
It's time for me to deal
Becoming all too real
Living in fear
Why did you lie and pretend?
This has come to an end
I'll never trust you again
It's time you made your amends
Look in the mirror my friend
"That I haven't behaved as I should"
"Everything you need is around you.
The only danger is inside you."
"I thought you could control life,
But it's not like that.
There are things you can't control."
Let's stare the problem right in the eye
It's plagued me from coast to coast
Racing the clock to please everyone
All but the one who matters the most
Reflections of reality
Are slowly coming into view
How in the hell could you possibly forgive me?
After all the hell I put you through
It's time for me to deal
Becoming all too real
Living in fear
Why'd I betray my friend?
Lying until the end
Living life so pretend
It's time to make my amends
I'll never hurt you again
08 Lie (06:34)
Daybreak, at the bottom of lake
It's a hundred degrees I can't breathe
And I won't get out 'til I figure it out
Though I'm weak like I can't believe
So you tell me 'trust me' l can trust you
Just let me show you
But I gotta work it out in a shadow of doubt
'cause I don't know if I know you
Doing fine but don't waste my time
Tell me what it is you want to say
You sin, you win, just let me in, hurry
I've been out in the rain all day
So you tell me 'trust me' I can trust you
As far as I can throw you
And I'm trying to get out of a shadow of doubt
'cause I don't know if I know you
Don't tell me you wanted me
Don't tell me you thought of me
I won't, I swear I won't
I'll try, I swear I'll try
Mother Mary quite contrary
Kiss the boys and make them wary
Things are getting just a little bit scary
It's a wonder I can still breathe
Never been much of a doubting Thomas
But nothing breaks like a broken promise
You tell me 'bout your two more coming
But once is just enough for me
Don't tell me you wanted me
Don't tell me you thought of me
I won't, I swear I won't
I'll try, I swear I'll try
I had gotten used to being a soul destroyed
She comes in apparently to fill the void
All dogs need a leash and at least I'll forget it
And she would never hurt me though, she's never said it
But I'm not gonna ask her today
I don't wanna scare her away
Your town, I'm all alone
And I just can't stare at the phone
I wanna talk about lifelong mistakes
And you can tell your stepfather I said so
Don't tell me you wanted me
Don't tell me you thought of me
I won't, I swear I won't
I'll try, I swear I'll try
09 Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (06:05)
He seems alone and silent
Thoughts remain without an answer
Afraid and uninvited
He slowly drifts away
Moved by desire and fear
Breaking delicate wings
Lifting shadows off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water into an ocean
As the rain is pouring down
Tears of sorrow wash his mind
Drifting with the current
This stream of life flows on
He seems alone and silent
Waiting on his hands and knees
The chill of winter's darkness sits quietly
Moved by desire and fear
He takes a few steps away
Lifting shadows off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water into an ocean
And she listens openly
He pours his soul into the water
Reflecting the mystery
She carries him away
And the winds die slowly
And she listens openly
And she listens openly
Lifting shadows off a Dream once broken
She can turn a drop of water into an ocean
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
10 Scarred (10:59)
To rise, to fall
To hurt, to hate
To want, to wait
To heal, to save
Can't hear it, we fear it
Awareness won't come near it
Distractive, reactive
Disguised in spite of time
I never bared my emotion
My passion always strong
I never lost my devotion
But somewhere fate went wrong
Can't let them rape me again
Your venom's not family here
Won't let them fill me with
Fatalistic remedies
What if the rest of the world
Was hopelessly blinded by fear?
Where would my sanctity live?
Suddenly nobody cares
It's never enough
You're wasting your time
Isn't there something I could say?
You don't understand
You're closing me out
How can we live our lives this way?
You tell me I'm wrong
I'm risking my life
Still, I have nothing in return
I show you my hands
You don't see the scars
Maybe you'll leave me here to burn
What if the rest of the world
Was hopelessly drowning in vain?
Where would our self pity run?
Suddenly everyone cares
Blood heal me
Fear change me
Belief will always save me
Blood swearing
Fear staring
Conviction made aware
Give up on misery
Turn your back on dissent
Leave their distrust behind
Wash your hands of regret
Do you feel you don't know me anymore?
And do you feel I'm afraid of your love?
And how come you don't want me asking?
And how come my heart's not invited?
You say you want everyone happy
Well, we're not laughing
And how come you don't understand me?
And how come I don't understand you?
Thirty years say we're in this together
So open your eyes
People in prayer for me
Everyone there for me
Sometimes I feel I should face this alone
My soul exposed
It calms me to know that I won't
Blood heal me
Fear change me
Belief will always save me
Blood swearing
Fear staring
Conviction made aware
Give up on misery
Turn your back on dissent
Leave their distrust behind
Wash your hands of regret
11 Space-Dye Vest (07:29)
Falling through pages of Martens on angels
Feeling my heart pull west
I saw the future dressed as a stranger
Love in a space-dye vest
Love is an act of blood and I'm bleeding
A pool in the shape of a heart
Beauty projection in the reflection
Always the worst way to start
''"But he's the sort who can't know anyone intimately, least of all a woman.
He doesn't know what a woman is.
He wants you for a possession, something to look at like a painting or an ivory box.
Something to own and to display.
He doesn't want you to be real, or to think or to live.
He doesn't love you, but I love you.
I want you to have your own thoughts and ideas and feelings, even when I hold you in my arms.
It's our last chance... It's our last chance..."''
Now that you're gone I'm trying to take it
Learning to swallow the rage
Found a new girl I think we can make it
As long as she stays on the page
This is not how I want it to end
And I'll never be open again
''"...I was gonna move out...ummm...get,
Get a job, get my own place, ummm,
But... I go into the mall where I want to work and they tell me, I'm,
I was too young..."
"Some people, gave advice before, about facing the facts, about facing reality.
And this is, this, without a doubt, is his biggest challenge ever.
He's going to have to face it.
You're gonna have to try, he's gonna to have to try and, uh, and, and, and get some help here.
I mean no one can say they know how he feels."
"That, so they say that, in ya know, like, Houston or something
You'd say it's a hundred and eighty degrees, but it's a dry heat.
In Houston they say that?
Oh, maybe not. I'm all mixed up.
Dry until they hit the swimming pool."
"...I get up with the sun... Listen.
You have your own room to sleep in,
I don't care what you do. I don't care when.
That door gets locked, that door gets locked at night by nine o'clock.
If you're not in this house by nine o'clock,
Then you'd better find some place to sleep.
Because you're not going to be a bum in this house.
Supper is ready..."''
There's no one to take my blame
If they wanted to
There's nothing to keep me sane
And it's all the same to you
There's nowhere to set my aim
So I'm everywhere
Never come near me again
Do you really think I need you?
I'll never be open again,
I could never be open again.
I'll never be open again,
I could never be open again.
And I'll smile and I'll learn to pretend
And I'll never be open again
And I'll have no more dreams to defend
And I'll never be open again
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Other reviews
By GaetansIII
Throughout the album, there is a very gloomy and dark atmosphere, broken only by a few song sections.
Scarred reaches its peak with Petrucci’s solo, which is one of the most beautiful ever.
By BathoryAria
Awake is a sweet (so to speak) awakening for our ears.
One of the band’s most interesting albums, as well as one of the classics of prog-metal.
By R1095852
"Petrucci’s solo towards the end... it’s the most beautiful solo on the CD or I would dare say the most beautiful he has composed."
"Awake is certainly not a CD to listen to every day but tracks 4-6-9 and 11 deserve a lot."
By splinter
"The result is the excellent 'Awake' – an album that confirms all the characteristics that contributed to making 'Images And Words' a big hit: technique, power, and expressive research."
"'The Mirror' is perhaps the most powerful track of the album: obsessive and pounding rhythm, an almost thrash style, but without forgetting the melody."
