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." The Great Hanshin earthquake struck Japan while Dream Theater were touring there. Although none of the band was injured, they seriously considered calling off the tour, but only ended up canceling one show. The band held a minute's silence at every show in Japan in memory of those who had died. During the soundchecks for the Japanese shows, the band rehearsed a series of cover songs. These were performed at a special covers-only show in Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London. The show, performed to an invitation-only audience of three hundred, featured guest musicians such as Barney Greenway, Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery and Steve Howe. A selection of covers and medleys performed by Dream Theater at this show were released on "A Change of Seasons". "Awake" peaked at 32 on the "Billboard" 200, remaining in the charts for six weeks. This would remain the band's highest-charting release in the US until "Systematic Chaos" in 2007, was eventually topped by 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", which peaked at No. 6. The album peaked in the top 20 in four countries. Derek Oliver, Dream Theater's label representative, considered the album to be a commercial failure. This led to the band once again working with David Prater on "A Change of Seasons" and to the record label putting increasing pressure on the band to make songs on their next studio album, "Falling into Infinity", more commercial and radio-friendly. "Awake" received acclaim from music critics. "Q" wrote that "fans of Marillion may well love this, and even the sceptical listener can enjoy the crunching, radio-friendly choruses of "Scarred" and "Caught in a Web"." "Guitar World" ranked the album as one of the top ten releases of the year, stating that "this shred party left me punch drunk and, for once in my life, fully "Awake"."