### Dream Theater: Awake

#### 02/07/10 || Smalley

I hate it when a bunch of people like a certain thing, and you, wanting to be one of the cool kids, try to like that same thing, but utterly fail at it over and over and over. For me, Dream Theater is one of those things; I’ve tried like hell to like these guys, to see what so many people say is the big deal about ‘em, but at some point, you realize that you just have to face reality, and the simple fact of the matter is, I just don’t like Dream Theater at all. And, in that context, 1994’s “Awake” is yet another release from a band that’s utterly failed to capture me at every turn.

One of my problems with Dream Theater is that, generally-speaking, their music isn’t very heavy, a problem which definitely applies to “Awake”. Of course, not every band in the world should be heavy, but if I could get some kind of headbang action going with Theater’s music, I’d almost certainly like them better. But anyway, they’re a progressive band, so they don’t really need to be heavy, right? After all, they still have their highly complex songwriting…

which unfortunately, isn’t very good. While I don’t dislike every progressive band out there, prog bands still need to be able to write interesting music, with some sort of entertainment value. Call me a shallow, lowest common denominator-metalhead if you will, but if music isn’t entertaining in some fucken way, then it isn’t very interesting, and if it isn’t very interesting, then it very isn’t good. It’s just… there, like the music on “Awake”; while there’s plenty of energy and complexity here, very little of it’s actually interesting, and what is kind of interesting isn’t around for very long. It’s a pretty good summation of Dream Theater in general, come to think about it.

Besides “Awake” not being very heavy or interesting, it’s also pretty damned goofy-sounding a lot of the time, and despite DT being a talented band on their instruments, the guitar/keyboard work here often sounds annoyingly lightweight and chirpy, and at its worst, sounds uncomfortably close to old-school video game music. DT also becomes lost within the extended instrumental sections here, letting them stumble around for far too long, and besides the issues with the instrumental stuff, James LaBrie is a pretty bad vocalist, sounded overly forced and constricted when he’s low, and quite annoying when he hits the high notes.

So, what I’m ultimately left with on “Awake” is a shapeless mass of technically-impressive but silly-sounding instrumental wankery that isn’t really heavy, entertaining, or interesting in any way that counts. Penis Theater just isn’t my bag, so a big “no thanks” to any future listening to these guys.

- Information
- Released: 1994
- Label: Atlantic
- Website: Dream Theater MySpace
- Band
- James LaBrie: vocals
- John Petrucci: guitars
- John Myung: bass
- Kevin Moore: keyboards
- Mike Portnoy: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. 6:00
- 02. Caught in a Web
- 03. Innocence Faded
- 04. Erotomania
- 05. Voices
- 06. The Silent Man
- 07. The Mirror
- 08. Lie
- 09. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
- 10. Scarred
- 11. Space-Dye Vest