~CD Cover Evaluation~ [Awake]

Awake is the third studio album by progressive metal band Dream Theater. The cover is symbolic of the songs held within, making it a very useful album cover for evaluation. The track listing is as follows:

"6:00"
"Caught In A Web"
"Innocence Faded"
"A Mind Beside Itself: I. Erotomania"
"A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices"
"A Mind Beside Itself: III. The Silent Man"
"The Mirror"
"Lie"
"Lifting Shadows Off a Dream"
"Scarred"
"Space-Dye Vest"

The tracks are heavily referenced on the cover of the album. For example:

- The hour and minute on the moon represents the song "6:00". The moon is seen as a clock, which is interesting as it's not instantly clear that it represents time. However, the hands are clearly pointing to the time 6:00, which is indeed a reference to the song within.
- The spider web beside the mirror represents the song "Caught in a Web". The spider again is difficult to see in the face of the larger objects on the album cover, but is clearly there to reference the song, 'Caught in a web'.
- The big mirror on the ground represents the song "The Mirror". The mirror itself is one of the largest objects in the foreground of the album cover, acting as an intelligent way of attracting viewer attention. The fact that the album cover is surreal in this way entices the reader to purchase the album.
- The false reflection seen on the mirror represents the song "Lie". The reflection is of an ominous figure who, in the face of the statue isn't the person before the mirror. In this way, the reflected image is a 'Lie'.
- The mirror's reflection in colour represents "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream''. The rest of the images are dark and foreboding, making the colour within the mirror interesting and clearly designed to be there.
- The old man represents "The Silent Man". The gothic feeling that this image creates develops a looming sense of wonder about the cover, and the fact that he is made of stone emphasises the fact that he is a'silent man'.
- The night sky with the planet represents the song "Space Dye Vest". The song itself speaks of a distant planet, which is clearly shown in the image of the night sky and space above.

The album to me is one of special interest due to the fact that it references so many of the songs within. The album cover is intelligent - individual areas are initially overlooked. I at first didn't realise that the moon was intended to be a clock. However, when listening to the songs and observing the album, it is quite clear to see that these references have been made for a reason. The album cover fits the genre of the music; as a rather heavy-sounding album, we receive a rather heavy illustration. The dystopic city in the background churning out smoke and smog emphasises the dark demeanor of the album, and the mountains leading over to it show the up and down riffs of the looming guitars and instruments, symbolic of the progressive genre.

The symbol on the floor before the mirror is the Dream Theater logo, elevated from the ground to show that they're advancing their music into the mainstream eye. The aforementioned images on the cover are surreal and seem out-of-place in a desolate landscape, invoking feelings of detachment and sorrow. The album itself is not a particularly upsetting or even dark album - the dark undertones of the album cover merely show the mystical essence of the album within.

On the ground before the mirror is the Dream Theater logo, and above is the trademark font of 'Dream Theater' written to show the bands prominence. The album itself is heavy and in line with the surreal imagery on the front cover, and therefore 'Awake' makes clever use of symbolism, references to songs and gritty realism to make their album appealing to an outside audience, and to surprise veterans to the album as they discovered the lyrics of the songs are interwoven with the images on the CD cover.