AWAKE

Awake was the last of their albums with keyboardist Kevin Moore and the darker 'haunting' quality he brought to the bands music. Derek Sherinian and then Jordan Rudess would bring a more flamboyant approach.

The album is hit and miss, some tracks definitely hit the mark more than others, but it is the during the time when the band was still on their way up and maturing while displaying their creativity to push to new levels. At times the compositions and song writing are a little raw but there are flashes of brilliance on almost all of the songs.

Highlights would be 'Scarred', (now my favorite track after listening for many years), 'Voices' is the big epic track, and segments of 'Caught in a Web' and 'Lie' still give me chills from the instrumentation.

Overall it is the darker, heavier album of DT's fantastic early work.