The Enemy Inside Discussion Thread

[AVFTTOTW]

Cont..

3:33 - 4:16 in The Enemy Inside is basically a paraphrase of the entire song of Prophets Of War 

This explains the deju vu I mentioned when I first heard the song. Still, has anyone else ever observed this?

[Revenge319]

Cont..

3:33 - 4:16 in The Enemy Inside is basically a paraphrase of the entire song of Prophets Of War 

This explains the deju vu I mentioned when I first heard the song. Still, has anyone else ever observed this?

I've also noticed the section from 4:02-4:16 does sound a little similar to the chorus of Prophets of War. I don't think the section before that really resembles any part of Prophets of War beyond any superficial level, though. I guess some might see it as a bad thing that certain parts of a song sound similar to a previous song, but I think it's pretty interesting when it comes up. It'd probably bother me if it popped up a lot, but it's a rare instance to hear a similarity to a previous Dream Theater song, so I don't mind it at all.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I'm just going to set this video down here....

[PixelDream]

I enjoy seeing his work and the dude is crazy technically.
He overplays like a madman though. Still enjoy it, don't take me wrong.
It's just that he plays all these unnecessary 'busier than the original' fills everywhere he can. 

[erciccio]

I enjoy seeing his work and the dude is crazy technically.
He overplays like a madman though. Still enjoy it, don't take me wrong.
It's just that he plays all these unnecessary 'busier than the original' fills everywhere he can. 

More or less the same feeling here..
I know the guy and he is great, but the mix of overplaying and minimal drum kit make this version almost unlistenable to my ears...
The second time I heard this version I had to stop after the fill at 20" mark and listen to the original version...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDTYWwqchhQ
Thanks for sharing anyhow!

[Northern Lion]

Hey everyone, long time no see   Got busy with life and had to stop posting for... several years 

I just got done listening to this song again, man what a great song!  When I first heard it, I didn't like it all that much, then it grew on me, but it still wasn't a favorite of mine on this album.  But now, I consider it classic DT and one of the finest songs from the Mangini era.

[Dedalus]

More or less the same feeling here..
I know the guy and he is great, but the mix of overplaying and minimal drum kit make this version almost unlistenable to my ears...
The second time I heard this version I had to stop after the fill at 20" mark and listen to the original version...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDTYWwqchhQ
Thanks for sharing anyhow!

The guy is a phenomenon but I also confess that I didn't even finish watching the video. I stopped after about two minutes.

I think the minimal kit ended up having a bearing on this.

[Tyrannosaurus Chicken]

When this album came out, I didn't care for it much, after listening to the hell out of A Dramatic Turn of Events; wasn't prepared for how different DT12 would be. Since then, I've grown to really appreciate and enjoy it. It has aged well, for me.

As far as The Enemy Inside, I didn't like it at first, but now I really enjoy it. The lyrics deal with PTSD, which I have and struggle with often, so that's probably why I've connected with it. I've even come to appreciate the little Toy Story keyboard breakdown part.

[javidt]

Such a great song, but I've to confess that DT12 is my favourite Mangini album along with A View.

[Northern Lion]

Such a great song, but I've to confess that DT12 is my favourite Mangini album along with A View.

I agree, DT12 is pretty good.  There are a few songs I don't care for all that much, but the highs for me are very, very high.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

[gzarruk]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

I wish we had more MM playthroughs like this.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I just heard TEI yesterday actually. I think it's probably the most underrated first single they've ever released!

[Adami]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

Yea, that just doesn't do much for me. It also supports the idea that much of his meh drum sound is just his drums.

The beat from :34-:45 or is cool, but the rest just didn't excite me. I'm sure it's insanely technical and if you broke down the math and orchestration of it all and taught it as a lesson, there'd be a lot to examine, but as a drummer looking to be inspired to drum, that didn't do it. But I'm clearly not his audience.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Yea, that just doesn't do much for me. It also supports the idea that much of his meh drum sound is just his drums.

The beat from :34-:45 or is cool, but the rest just didn't excite me. I'm sure it's insanely technical and if you broke down the math and orchestration of it all and taught it as a lesson, there'd be a lot to examine, but as a drummer looking to be inspired to drum, that didn't do it. But I'm clearly not his audience.

Who inspires you?

[Adami]

Who inspires you?

In general? It really depends on my mood. It's not usually a specific drummer that always inspires me. It's really the piece that's being plaid. Sometimes just a 4/4 straight beat inspires me, depending on the context in which it's being plaid and the approach etc. Sometimes the more technical stuff does, again depending on context. Anything from Thomas Lang to Lars Ulrich (believe it or not) and tons in between. MM definitely has some stuff that inspires me, but it's usually when he's not doing his usual, double the other instruments or mathematical approach thing. Like that short section I mentioned. It added something to the music instead of just accenting something else. That was cool. He's done that but it's not his general MO.

[Max Kuehnau]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

what's great about this version is how well it works although the setup he had that day is much smaller than the one he recorded it with (and played it live on the Along For The Ride Tour in 2014)

[three__days]

I just heard TEI yesterday actually. I think it's probably the most underrated first single they've ever released!

for sure - it's them at their 'pop metal' best!

[Kyo]

It's probably the only time since Pull Me Under that they released a metal single that was actually catchy (which should always be priority number one for singles!) and not just deliberately dumbed down musically.

[nick_z]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

I've always loved this performance. Great song and great drumming.

And since Puppies just posted the El Estepario's cover...I had just seen it too and, while the guy is obviously insanely impressive, in this particular case I enjoy MM's original WAY more. I get that part of the reason for his cover is to show off a bit, but if Stadler thinks MM does too much relentless double bass drumming, I'd be curious to hear what he thinks of this one

[TAC]

Mangini play through of TEI at some Zildjian thing:

https://youtu.be/aDTYWwqchhQ?si=4S8NuWqt5sNjvV0W

That's fantastic!

I just heard TEI yesterday actually. I think it's probably the most underrated first single they've ever released!

It's one of my favorites of the MM Era.

[erciccio]

That's fantastic!




It's one of my favorites of the MM Era.

It's definitely my favourite Dream Theater "metal" song
Heavy, catchy, and with the right amount of wanking..

[jimgolf]

I love The Enemy Inside. It's probably my favorite single from the Mangini era. The drums immediately caught my ear and I was excited to hear what Mangini really brought to the band, where I found the drums a bit disappointing on ADTOE. Not that I thought the drums were bad on ADTOE, but I was not surprised to hear they were written on a drum machine.

I actually think TEI would be a song Portnoy could drum really well on, and they haven't played the song live since the 2014 tour(which kind of surprises me).

All the singles on S/T were excellent (Enemy Inside, Looking Glass, Along For the Ride), but the album itself always felt a bit disappointing. They are all songs I think James could sing pretty well and Portnoy could play pretty well so I'd love to see them make a return sometime to the live set.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I love The Enemy Inside. It's probably my favorite single from the Mangini era. The drums immediately caught my ear and I was excited to hear what Mangini really brought to the band, where I found the drums a bit disappointing on ADTOE. Not that I thought the drums were bad on ADTOE, but I was not surprised to hear they were written on a drum machine.

I actually think TEI would be a song Portnoy could drum really well on, and they haven't played the song live since the 2014 tour(which kind of surprises me).

All the singles on S/T were excellent (Enemy Inside, Looking Glass, Along For the Ride), but the album itself always felt a bit disappointing. They are all songs I think James could sing pretty well and Portnoy could play pretty well so I'd love to see them make a return sometime to the live set.

The ADTOE drums were mapped out for Mike to give him an idea of what JP was thinking but not written out note for note nor reproduced by Mike exactly as programmed. There was room for him to interpret and put his own spin on things which he did. He just wasn't there for the song writing process of course but there's plenty of his personality in those drum tracks. I do remember though at the time people who didn't leave were positive on the drums but wanted 'more' in your face show me what you can do.

[CraftyCaleb2483]

I'm just going to set this video down here....

That guy is insane!