The US leg of the Waking Up The World tour began on October 20, 1994, and finished on December 9. Over Christmas, LaBrie went on holiday to Cuba with his wife, where he had violent food poisoning. Upon his return home he consulted an ears, nose, and throat specialist, who told LaBrie that he had ruptured his vocal cords, advising him not to sing for six months to a year. "I was in total shock and devastated," LaBrie said. "On the US leg I had been so psyched and couldn't wait to blow everyone away around the rest of the world. We weren't in a position for me to take a six-month break so I had to keep touring." LaBrie was able to continue performing, but his voice became unpredictable. "It was absolutely miserable, and it was an extremely dark and depressing period for me," he recalled. "Literally every fucking night on the European leg, I wouldn't know if my voice would be there or if it would cooperate... I didn't feel that my voice really started to come back until maybe the "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" tour in 2002. That's when I "started" to feel my range and strength coming back."