Drummer Mike Portnoy stated that the instrumental "Erotomania" was written "off the cuff"[1] as "a bit of a joke and parody".

[1] Guitarist John Petrucci penned the lyrics to "Voices", dealing with the subject of mental illness.

He researched schizophrenia and similar disorders and used religious terms "to make things more vivid".

Petrucci wrote "Voices" about mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, while using religious themes to make the song more metaphorical and vivid.

"Voices" is a progressive crescendo, which starts off quiet and low-key, but gets increasingly more complex and intense as it goes on, finally building to a climax, where the song then flows into "The Silent Man".

Fans have speculated that this may be done to spare James LaBrie's voice due to his vocal injury though even after his recovery the band continues to play the edited version.

Although playing the entire suite is common, it is not uncommon for the band to sub out the third part with another song, such as "The Spirit Carries On" or "Solitary Shell".

"The Silent Man" is the third part of the cycle, and the second single, EP and video release from the album.

The music video, directed by Portnoy, includes much of the imagery from the Awake album's artwork.