Some rock & roll purists consider the term "progressive rock" an oxymoron. After all, rock & roll is supposed to be about feeling, not thinking. Prog rock bands miss the point by taking the soul out of a musical form that's purposely crass and anti-intellectual. All the precise, long-winded arrangements, keyboard flourishes, wailing vocals, and overorchestration of groups like Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and, to a degree, Rush suck the soul out of something that should be less head and more body. Dream Theater, though they possess many of the same characteristics as these bands, still manage to maintain a human element in their music. Awake is at times self-indulgent and pompous, but songs like "Lie," a passionate crusher that finds guitarist John Petrucci launching riff after thunderous riff in a cacophonous volley of crunch, ring true with real passion and base emotion. It's the depth and tonality his guitar brings to the music that keeps Dream Theater from falling into the Styx-isms they often veer dangerously close to. A very solid record for those who don't mind thinking while rocking. --Adem Tepedelen

Customer Rating:
Summary: Who is Adem that wrote the Amazon Review for this?
Comment: I can't believe that I have ever seen a rant about prog rock, instead of a review for CD before. Who the heck is this Adem dude anyway? "Rock is supposed to be mindless". Well that is nice to know, now that I have listened to decades of great music with great lyrics by many, many bands that so many other people think are wonderful.

By the way, this is an excellent recording. Don't always pay attention to all of the reviews by the Amazon personnel!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands.
Comment: I love Erotomania. This is an excellent album. I recommend it to any Dream Theater fans.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Heavy stuff here...
Comment: Right from the get-go this album doesn't let up until "Silent Man." Arguably, this is one of DT's heaviest productions. I have owned it for well over six years (hard to believe they've been around much longer than that!) and still find myself regularly pulling it out for a particular song but listening to the whole album. The guitar work is as usual, superb, but the rest of the music is also great. This is the album where DTs members' heavy metal influences show through. James Labrie is one of the greatest voices in music today. Without going into too much detail, I'd just say that this album is better than "Octavarium," about as good as "Images and Words," or "Scenes from a Memory." It's definitely one of DTs best efforts. In my opinion, this is a must-own DT album. I'd get rid of "Octavarium" or "Falling into Infinity" before I'd ever give this one away. For what it's worth, I don't own any of their albums after "Octavarium."

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Customer Rating:
Summary: WideAwake
Comment: Dream Theater's "Awake" was a little darker and heavier than the previous record "Images & Words" but musically more complex filling more guitar solos and heavier riffs. "Awake" is sort of an evolution from their first 2 records with longer song averages and they would eventually continue this song writing style throughout the rest of their career up to now. The vocal approach is at times more aggressive and less calm as well. This was DT's last album with original keyboardist Kevin Moore, and his keyboard and musical talent is displayed fairly well on this album. I give this album a solid 5 stars because it's still classic Dream Theater, and quite enjoyable to listen to how they experiment with their music.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: I Love Dream Theater!
Comment: If you've always loved progressive rock and highly accomplished musicians, Dream Theater is for you. You'll love these guys.

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