The Enemy Inside Discussion Thread

[gmillerdrake]

My 2 cents....

   Mangini is a beast in this and am looking forward to hearing him on this album

   I think it's a solid single to release to wet our appetites. Maybe nothing groundbreaking for DT but its arranged nicely, gifted musicianship and its better than their previous 2 singles IMO.

[FsF]

Fresh from my first listen, and i'm really liking it. It grabbed me much more than the previous 3 'early releases' did, so i'm really looking forward to the album! Now completely kill the song for me, by listening it on repeat for 12 hours...

[Nefarius]

Third Listen Reactions:

Still don't like most of the song. Thirty seconds of good stuff max. I'm already tired of it and don't want to listen to it again, which I won't, at least for a while. Maybe I'll find some courage to revisit the track later and pick it apart in five second chunks.

What I really don't get is that pretty much everyone else here seems to love it. Still underwhelmed and disappointed.

Greetings...
Nef

[adace]

Really digging this song and the direction they're taking. This is shaping up to be better than ADTOE.

[Grizz]

I think LaBrie is a little low in the mix. Maybe it's my 12-year-old subwoofer, but all I can really hear is Petrucci and Mangini, almost reminding me of BC&SL sonically.

This tune just feels kind of meh to me, but it definitely could grow on me.

[TheGreatPretender]

Okay, one more listen, and then I begin my drought, listening to the single only once for every time I listen to one of the other DT albums. I might change this to any and all albums, but regardless, this song will only be listened by me once for every 60 - 80 minutes of music I hear.

Really digging this song and the direction they're taking. This is shaping up to be better than ADTOE.

The mix is definitely better than ADTOE. The drums and guitars are nice and clear this time around, thankfully.

[tartarus250]

Overall, after something like 10 listens, this is much better than OTBOA. I'm thrilled that the drums are higher The guitars have elephantiasis of the balls And while the vocals are mixed slightly low in some parts they're still  and ..... I'm incredibly thrilled with this. Can't wait to feel this drop.

totaly this loving it:-)

[MarkFitDT]

Third Listen Reactions:

Still don't like most of the song. Thirty seconds of good stuff max. I'm already tired of it and don't want to listen to it again, which I won't, at least for a while. Maybe I'll find some courage to revisit the track later and pick it apart in five second chunks.

What I really don't get is that pretty much everyone else here seems to love it. Still underwhelmed and disappointed.

Greetings...
Nef

well other people are entitled to have a different opinion you know 
Brilliant song! 

[Scard]

And yeha, I am truly getting tired of JR's keyboard patches and goofiness.

[Grizz]

Holy crap:


Can't even get onto DT.net

[Freko]

I liked it! powerful and fast. cool stuff.

quality of audio makes it impossible to like/dislike the mix. The cymbals just melts away in compression. but what to expect at 128kbps.

I think this album will kick some serious ass and balls. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Hard to form a view on the overall sound until I hear the full quality thing, but in terms of what I can hear of the mix - I like it! Definitely a slightly more raw sound, with nice punchy drums. Everything sounds very clear.

Exactly,  I never complain about the mix until I have the finished product in my hands. This sounds compressed and I hear things that are barely noticeable due to the bad quality.

[Ħ]

I'm trying to compare it to OTBOA. They're very similar in that they showcase DT's virtuosity in a ballsy metal way. Difference is OTBOA has that chorus that just drags but TEI just plows through it. At the moment I'd say TEI is better.

[noxon]

This track was a difficult one for me. I think the mix is too compressed, too loud, and there's generally too much going on the audio that often overshadowed -the music- for me. Also, I'm a sucker for a good melody, and I just don't think the melody here is strong enough - it took me more than 5 listens just to get ahold of the chorus, which is very strange for me when it comes to DT. I also found the drums to sound artifical and thin at places.

Riff-wise and structure wise it's among the better heavy songs DT has done for quite a while, especially because they restrain themselves a bit from going overboard in showcasing every single aspect of DT they could be showcasing, and instead they're having a clear focus on the songwriting, which is very positive for me. I can find technical wankery as fun as the next guy, but sometimes less is more. After warming to it, it's stuck much more with me than in the beginning.

I wasn't surprised that this was chosen as the single though, although my personal bet was on a different one

[emtee]

The only thing missing is the 'unpredictability' factor DT used to have. Not complaining because it's a damn good song but I do
miss the days when it took me (sometimes) months to figure out WTF was going on. It's a single that will appeal to the masses
and will kick ass opening up the shows and I guess I'll hope that other songs on the album have the unpredictability factor.

[Ħ]

I wasn't surprised that this was chosen as the single though, although my personal bet was on a different one

How could you possibly know based on the names of the songs alone?

[Tom Bombadil]

Only listened to it once (don't want to kill it before the album drops), and I thought it was very good. The main riff definitely reminded me of Sudden Death, but for the most part it just sounded like a classic DT song. Being the singe I expect it to be the  most commercially accessible song on the album, so I'm hoping for some more branching out into new territory on the album. This is a good start though, I have a feeling this album might be really special.

[theseoafs]

@H: He got an early copy of the album.

[cyberdrummer]

This track was a difficult one for me. I think the mix is too compressed, too loud, and there's generally too much going on the audio that often overshadowed -the music- for me. Also, I'm a sucker for a good melody, and I just don't think the melody here is strong enough - it took me more than 5 listens just to get ahold of the chorus, which is very strange for me when it comes to DT. I also found the drums to sound artifical and thin at places.

Riff-wise and structure wise it's among the better heavy songs DT has done for quite a while, especially because they restrain themselves a bit from going overboard in showcasing every single aspect of DT they could be showcasing, and instead they're having a clear focus on the songwriting, which is very positive for me. I can find technical wankery as fun as the next guy, but sometimes less is more. After warming to it, it's stuck much more with me than in the beginning.

I wasn't surprised that this was chosen as the single though, although my personal bet was on a different one

Are you able to say how this track ranks on the album? And how heavy it is in relation to the rest.

[wolven74]

DO I HEAR THE KEYBOARD PART THAT GOT MIDI'd?

Nope, didn't hear anything. Timestamp?

Start of the keyboard solo 4:47

[Ħ]

@H: He got an early copy of the album.

I sure hope not, based on his complaints about the mix.

[adamack]

I usually don't like when DT goes too heavy but this was pretty bad-ass! Heavy but yet with alot of prog elements, just what I like in a good prog metal tune.

Sounds like Symphony X in a few places (2:30) and wait did I just hear a power metal groove from MM (2:46).

I don't know why people care about the production so much, as long as the song is good I usually don't care about stuff like that , unless it's something completly fucked up of course. If JLB is a little low or MMs snare sounds muffy or what ever I could not care less because in the end that's all about taste and preference and a million other reasons that I don't know about.

Overall i'm very happy with the song which I didn't think I would when I heard it was a heavy one.

I give this:  out of 5.

Great points man. Thanks for the Symphony X observation...definitely reminds me of the snare/guitar chug riff from Set The World On Fire (in a good way).

As for your view on production, I totally agree. I think, with mixes, a lot of people hone in to one element too much and forget about the big picture. Like you said, unless the mix is just totally messed up, as would be the case with many amateur engineers, I think people seem to nitpick mixes too much sometimes.

With a band like DT, where there are SO many elements fighting one another (insanely large drum kit, constant piano/pad/synth/midi orchestral sounds, sometimes live orchestra, thick rhythm guitar sections, lead guitar, vocals, midi percussive elements/live percussive elements, etc.), I think they have been doing a great job lately. I mean I still prefer their older mixes (I&W, Awake) to their newer ones, but times have changed and they have adapted well.

[lonestar]

Fucking sick tune. Mangini is a fucking beast.

[Outcrier]

Kickass intro but i think the verses and the chorus are weak... and Rudess was soo good during the song but when he did that cheesy solo near the end   

The problem that i find in the recent albums is that they write great sections but "get lazy" during writing other stuff to the song and just put something generic along it when they could think of something more original

But overall, i think this song is a improvement, much better single than the last ones

[Hayden]

Third Listen Reactions:

Still don't like most of the song. Thirty seconds of good stuff max. I'm already tired of it and don't want to listen to it again, which I won't, at least for a while. Maybe I'll find some courage to revisit the track later and pick it apart in five second chunks.

What I really don't get is that pretty much everyone else here seems to love it. Still underwhelmed and disappointed.

Greetings...
Nef

What can I say? I like metal. I also like prog, and this song is a great fusion of the two. The songwriting and riffing is very reminiscent of Megadeth's best material, the instrumentation is as frantic and hyperactive as "Acid Rain"-style LTE, and the chorus is soaring and memorable (at least it is for me, anyway). And the solo is climactic, and the lyrics don't contain anything overly cliche or groan-worthy, and the drums are loud, and the rhythm is energetic. For me personally, this track just matches all of my criteria; I'm very pleased.

[Meatrose]

While I do suspect that I might think that the mix is a wee bit too compressed I definitely prefer it to ADTOE. I'd like to listen to something a bit more dynamic before passing judgement on the mix though (and preferably uncompressed). What I can say though is that I am absolutely blown away by the fact I can actually hear what Mike is doing in detail even during the intense passages. That was one of my biggest concerns going into this and my main reason for wanting to hear something from the album as soon as possible.

[Lucidity]

So many mixed reactions...

[SeRoX]

I don't like it but I'm sure it grows by time. And sadly, the guitar tone is really bad.

[MoraWintersoul]

I listened to it once, I really like it, I'm going to listen to it again

[Joshin U]

@H: He got an early copy of the album.

I sure hope not, based on his complaints about the mix.

noxon has been on the main thread talking about his review for weeks now.  Yes, he has an advance copy. 

[Nekov]

Third Listen Reactions:

Still don't like most of the song. Thirty seconds of good stuff max. I'm already tired of it and don't want to listen to it again, which I won't, at least for a while. Maybe I'll find some courage to revisit the track later and pick it apart in five second chunks.

What I really don't get is that pretty much everyone else here seems to love it. Still underwhelmed and disappointed.

Greetings...
Nef

Well, people have different tastes in music, and also this is a DT board so you have to consider that some people are biased and super excited for the new album. I myself don't find the song to be awesome at all, I think it's OK but whatever, if other people like it then I'm happy that they can enjoy new DT 

[KevShmev]

For me, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't.  I know this next comment will make some want to bang their head against a wall (or mine ), but I can only imagine how much better a song like this would have been in the early 90s, with the keys creating a wonderful atmosphere from start to finish and giving a song this heavy a great melodic undercurrent, instead of some of Jordan's corny sounds slapping you in the face.

When he does this I always think Seinfeld, when Elaine's date went well until "he took it out."  This not that same universe of bad, of course, , it's just a minor nitpick, but it just takes me out of the mood of the song for a second.  I always think, "he took it out."

Haha, nice analogy.  I liken it to getting a good steak that is really yummy, but a couple bites had some fat in there that made those particular bites not very enjoyable.  Sure, overall, it was a very pleasant experience, but those few moments made it not as perfect as it could have been.  That is how I often feel about Jordan's craziness and/or sounds.

[Ħ]

@H: He got an early copy of the album.

I sure hope not, based on his complaints about the mix.

noxon has been on the main thread talking about his review for weeks now.  Yes, he has an advance copy. 

Well crap, hopefully the mix isn't actually as bad as he makes it out to be.

[Hayden]

So many mixed reactions...

So many mixed preferences and so many mixed expectations. It's just what happens.

[BlobVanDam]

@H: He got an early copy of the album.

I sure hope not, based on his complaints about the mix.

noxon has been on the main thread talking about his review for weeks now.  Yes, he has an advance copy. 

Well crap, hopefully the mix isn't actually as bad as he makes it out to be.

You have the link to the song. Judge the mix for yourself.