AWAKE

I believe Dream Theater's story has a great wall which splits their life in two parts, which can be named pre- and after- Kevin Moore. KM's departure during the mixing of Awake set a change in DT's music depth and development. What we can hear is the last witness of a dark deep talent in DT's mood. This album is dark, deep, complex, disquieting. Most detractors label it as cold and hypertechnical. I believe this album IS cold, but its coldness is the sound of a sharping razor, the feeling of pain and despair, the voice of a mind forever trembling and aching. Most dretactors label it as the sound of nails on glass. I believe this is more like the sound of nails on the soul. The refrain of 6.00 gives the perfect feeling of the solitude of the every-man. Voices, one the most-beautiful songs of the band, is a journey through passions and memories throbbling in the mind of a man. We could go on, but I don't want to write a review song by song: the essential is that we will never listen such a great symphony of technical and disturbing music. The hypertechnical musical effort is devoted to depicture this great concept. DT will never repeat it again, passing on a more-easy-listening kind of music, less original and more derived from the 70s melodic prog. I believe that Kevin Moore's touch is what could make DT able to create this unique and original masterpiece (a side note: you can still hear Moore's dark touches in the last Fates Warning records, or in OSI). The prove of it is the final Space-Dye Vest, a short work of piano and sampling which cuts your breath, bringing in your mind all your memories of forlorn-love. I still shiver listening to this CD, and I will always mark it as one of the essential masterpieces of prog everytime.