Maps of Music

Awake (1994)

Where the lyrics of Awake take you, and where it was really made.

The album was the last Dream Theater record with keyboardist Kevin Moore, who announced his departure while the record was being mixed.

Key places

Where the sessions began (1994)

Recording site One on One Recording Studios — The album's recording sessions began in May 1994 at One On One Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. The point marks the studio itself, not an exact room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdub work in Los Angeles (1994)

Recording site Devonshire Sound Studios — Overdub work for the album was done at Devonshire Studios in Los Angeles. The point marks the studio location, not a specific room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing in New York City (1994)

Recording site MSR Studios — The album was mixed at Unique Studios in New York City. The point marks the studio location, not a specific room. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing in Los Angeles (1994)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — Discogs lists Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles among the studios where the album was mixed in July and August 1994. The point marks the studio location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Awake: third studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater
• Released October 4, 1994, through East West Records
• Last Dream Theater album with original keyboardist Kevin Moore
• Moore announced his decision to leave during the mixing process
• Heavier and darker than the band's earlier releases

Background

• Writing sessions held February to April 1994
• Band under label pressure to match the success of Images and Words (1992)
• Label wanted a single similar to Pull Me Under
• Label wanted a more metal-oriented album, expected to be easier to market
• Released at the height of grunge's popularity
• Two-month writing sessions held at Prince Studios, New York City
• Lack of a leader within the band increased tensions during the sessions
• Petrucci used a seven-string guitar for the first time on this album

Recording

• Recording began May 1994 at One On One Studios, North Hollywood, Los Angeles
• Overdub work done at Devonshire Studios, Los Angeles
• John Purdell and Duane Baron hired to produce, engineer and mix the album
• Purdell and Baron had credits including Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears (1991)
• Band had a difficult relationship with David Prater, producer of Images and Words
• Awake is the band's only studio album not recorded on the US east coast
• Mixing took place at Unique Studios, New York City

Cover

• Larry Freemantle designed the cover, as he had for Images and Words
• Artwork includes several lyrical references, such as a clock, a mirror and a spider in a web

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy formed the band under the name Majesty while attending Berklee College of Music.
• The band was renamed Dream Theater in 1988 after a legal challenge from a Las Vegas group also named Majesty.

Members

• Current members are John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), and Mike Portnoy (drums), who rejoined in October 2023.
• Petrucci and Myung have remained in the band since its founding.

Career

• The band has released 16 studio albums; Images and Words (1992) is its highest-selling release.
• Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) received high critical acclaim.
• By 2018 the band had sold over 12 million records worldwide.
• The band has been referred to as one of the "Big Three" of progressive metal, along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning.
• A View from the Top of the World's lead single "The Alien" won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2022.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Initially received mixed reviews
• Q wrote that fans of Marillion may well love the album
• Guitar World ranked the album as one of the top ten releases of the year
• Metal Hammer dismissed Awake as "musical masturbation"

Reappraisal

• Later reviews were more favorable, praising the production for a darker and heavier sound
• Reviewers praised the band's musicianship
• Phil Carter of AllMusic highlighted Petrucci and Portnoy's performances
• Carter ranked Lie, Scarred, Caught in a Web and Space-Dye Vest as the best tracks
• Metal Storm praised LaBrie, Portnoy, 6:00 and the A Mind Beside Itself suite
• Chuck Schuldiner praised the album in a 1995 Guitar World interview
• Rock Hard ranked the album number 390 in its 2005 book of the 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time
• Guitar World ranked it number 1 in its July 2014 list of Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994

Records

• Peaked at 32 on the US Billboard 200, six weeks on the chart
• Highest US chart position for a Dream Theater album until Systematic Chaos (2007)
• Peaked in the top 20 in four countries
• Sold 36,160 copies in its first week
• Has since sold nearly 400,000 copies
• Label considered the album a commercial failure
• Singles Lie, Caught in a Web and The Silent Man did not match the success of Pull Me Under

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Lie music video shows the band, then a four-piece, playing at New York City locations including the Brooklyn Bridge, Tribeca and a Manhattan tunnel, which was temporarily closed for the shoot.
• Portnoy wanted to direct the video for The Silent Man, but East West offered him only a co-directing credit with Pamela Birkhead.
• On the day of the shoot, Portnoy became violently ill and rested in his tour bus bunk when not needed.
• Portnoy dedicated the album to his biggest inspiration, Frank Zappa, who died in 1993.
• Awake is the band's only studio album to date that was not recorded on the US east coast.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact