Awake

Artist: Dream Theater

Produced by John Purdell and Duane Baron

By “Mr Frost”

If you could take the time to combine the storytelling lyrics of Led Zeppelin, the dreamy atmosphere of Queensrÿche, and the musical deliverance ability of Rush, then you would find yourself under a glass moon and surrounded by the sounds of Dream Theater.

“Awake,” the third album from this New York-based progressive rock band, was released October 4th. Following their 1991 release “Images and Words,” which featured the hit single “Pull Me Under,” it was only a matter of time before the killing hand would strike again. James LaBrie (vocals), Kevin Moore (keyboards), John Myung (bass), John Petrucci (guitars), and Mike Portnoy (drums and percussion) return again with full force on their sophomore release. (Dream Theater’s first release, “When Dream and Day Unite,” featured Charlie Dominici on vocals.)

Produced by Duane Baron and John Purdell (Ozzy Osbourne, Heart), “Awake” is 75 minutes of pure musical genius, a spectrum of songs. The first release single, “Lie,” should be shipped with a warning label: “Light fuse and get away.” A very explosive track featuring all of Dream Theater’s trademarks: a voice of aggression, drums that leave your heart beating double time, the haunting sounds of a keyboard taking your soul to another realm, and electrifying riffs with enough energy to raise the dead.

Honorable mention also goes out to some of the album’s more exceptional songs: “A Mind Beside Itself” (a 20-minute, three-song trilogy that includes “Erotomania,” “Voices” and “The Silent Man”), “The Mirror” (will leave the audience looking at itself in a different way), “Caught In A Web” (Dream Theater to the tenth power), and “Space-Dye Vest” (a new sound for Dream Theater or a taste of things to come from Kevin Moore since his recent departure from the band to pursue other musical interests).