Released at the height of the popularity of grunge music, "Awake" initially received mixed reviews, though the album was later referred to as one of the band's finest releases. The album peaked at 32 on the US "Billboard" 200, the highest position a Dream Theater album would reach on that chart until 2007's "Systematic Chaos", which peaked at 19. "Lie", "Caught in a Web" and "The Silent Man" were released as singles but failed to be as successful as "Pull Me Under" had been. The band's record label considered the album a commercial failure, which would lead to the band being pressured to write more radio-friendly songs on their subsequent studio album.