AWAKE

"Awake" was the first Dream Theater album I heard, and this album introduced me into the world of progressive, because I started my prog collection with this CD, almost 10 years ago...

This album can be divided in two sections in my opinion:

One: songs in a very much commercial way and with a more conventional composition and instrumental developement than "Images and Words", with a more hard rocking style and with more modern keyboard playing. These songs can be taken like an advance of the very commercial "Falling Into Infinity". The songs included here are: 6:00 (one of the best of the album), Caught In a Web (a classic), Innocence Faded (the most commercial act of the album, but with a grest LaBrie's singing...), The Silent Man (very beautiful acoustic song) and Lifting Shadows Off A Dream (great song, without a doubt).

Two: very much complex songs, in a similar way of "Images And Words", but with a bit more guitar oriented sound and with powerful guitar riffs, sometimes in a clearly thrash influenced style (the beginning of Lie, for example...) The songs included here are: Erotomania (with the best guitar solo of the album), Voices (the best long song of the album), The Mirror (not very catchy song...), Lie (great rythm keyboards here, a good song...), Scarred (this songs makes this album a little repetitive, because it's very similar of all the other long songs...) and Space-Dye Vest (just a little boring song, sung by Kevin Moore, but it's a good closing of the album...)

Excellent work, but it's not a masterpiece in my opinion because it's a little repetitive sometimes (Voices, The Mirror, Lie and Scarred are too much similar songs...) and it has some weak moments (some parts of The Mirror and Scarred...) And the commercial attempt of songs like Caught In A Web and Innocence Faded it's a little questionable, although there are great tracks in my opinion...

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