AWAKE

One of DT's best albums (but then, they're all good in their own ways.) Darker and edgier than their previous efforts, AWAKE seems to do away I&W's lighter stylings in favor of a more Metal approach. It's still Proggy, but more radio-friendly (at least, for those who like Metal). This an amazing album and remains one of the best Prog-Metal releases to date.

-6:00: Kind of a strange track, riddled with odd time signatures, complex instrument work and howling vocals. Great song. Nice intro by Mike Portnoy.

-Caught in a Web: A heavy, catchy song with some tribal influences. A real foot-stomper.

-Innocence Faded: Not a huge fan of this song, but it's still a great tune and the lyrics by John Petrucci are especially well-written.

-Erotomania: A complex instrumental that ranges from a sort of crawling, spider-y kind of sound to one of pure epicness.

-Voices: A favorite among fans. Great lyrics, great writing, great guitar solo. Great everything.

-The Slient Man: An amazing aucoustic-driven song. JLB & JP work really well together on this song and the miniature guitar solo works perfectly.

-The Mirror: A dark, foreboding song that utilizes haunting keyboard sounds, heavy, chugging guitars and just some generally extreme riffage all around. Great song, and I love how it leads into Lie so perfectly.

-Lie: A great, radio-friendly, guitar-driven song with yet another amazing guitar solo by Petrucci. Good stuff.

-Lifting Shadows off a Dream: A wonderful song with soaring keyboards, thoughtful guitar work and amazing lyrics.

-Scarred: Another great song with some excellent instrument work all around. James' occassionally screaming vocals work really well here.

-Space-Dye Vest: One of DT's only well-known songs that has yet to be played in-concert due to Kevin Moore's departure. Thoughtful, introspective and a great song to listen to when driving alone at night (hell this whole CD is great to listen to when driving alone at night or early in the morning when it's still dark out.)

Overall, one of my favorite CDs. If you haven't heard it yet, make sure you do.