The Enemy Inside vs. On The Backs Of Angels

[krands85]

Probably too early to tell for me, I've only listened to TEI twice so far and I normally need quite a few listens before I really get a good feel for most songs. I did like it right away though - which often isn't the case with songs I end up really liking, so I guess that's a good sign.

I love OtBoA though - I listened to it dozens of times before ADToE was released and never got bored of it - still haven't. So TEI will have to go some way to better it.

[The Boomr]

OTBOA for me. TEI is ok, but not striking any particular chords within me (pun intended). As I remember, OTBOA didn't resonate with me that greatly either, until the actual album was released. Then, within its rightful context, I had a :lightbulb: moment, most definitely. So it's a bit unfair for me to judge, I guess. But I do feel in general like OTBOA showcased DT's more melodic and creative side, which is beginning to be my preference, as of late. It just didn't feel as cut and dry form and structure-wise as TEI. Still love the heavy stuff that I loved before, but new heavy stuff is gonna take a while to grow on me, most likely.

[Bolsters]

I think On The Backs Of Angels is way, way better.

[BlobVanDam]

They sound nothing alike to me, but I voted for The Enemy Inside easily.
I never much liked OTBOA, it sounds a bit stale and lethargic to me. The Enemy Inside is a great shorter structure metal song with a lot of energy, and is a good sign for DT12.

[adastra]

I think that The Enemy inside was pretty catchy!  I don't normally like this heavy songs from DT but I liked this one.
OTBOA on the other hand has been boring from the first day I heard it.

[TheGreatPretender]

I think On The Backs Of Angels is way, way better.

As I recall, people weren't all that impressed with OTBOA at first either. And then they started flooding in, saying, "My God, this song grew on me so much!"

[wolven74]

OTBOA has so much going for it, the change in dynamics, Jordan's piano solo

I have to agree here. I think this is the only thing that TEI is missing. It's a ball crushing, face melting battering ram of energy and powah, but it lacks a certain subtlety that I enjoyed with OTBOA. I will say this: on first listen, I'd go with TEI, but we'll see if it has any stamina when compared with the rest of the album.

Too early to call.

[Bolsters]

I think On The Backs Of Angels is way, way better.

As I recall, people weren't all that impressed with OTBOA at first either. And then they started flooding in, saying, "My God, this song grew on me so much!"

I was one of them. However, I wasn't nearly as disappointed with OTBOA at first as I am with TEI. I still liked OTBOA despite some slight disappointment. Right now, I don't like TEI at all.

There is still a possibility it will grow on me, yes. But it's starting from a lot further back than OTBOA initially did. Chances are slimmer.

[eviljust]

After like 10 times and more of TEI listenings, I have to say OTBOA wins this one.

[TheDodo]

After some listens to TEI I have to say OTBOA... With TEI I have the feeling DT took riffs from different songs, transposed and changed them up a little bit und used it again which gives it its typical DT feel and made me think "Hey, I know that one". The rest of the song sounded pretty generic. Maybe it will grow on me when listening to the full album.

[aprilethereal]

OTBOA has so much going for it, the change in dynamics, Jordan's piano solo

I have to agree here. I think this is the only thing that TEI is missing. It's a ball crushing, face melting battering ram of energy and powah, but it lacks a certain subtlety that I enjoyed with OTBOA. I will say this: on first listen, I'd go with TEI, but we'll see if it has any stamina when compared with the rest of the album.

Agreed 100%

[nikatapi]

Easily OTBOA, better dynamics and better melodies overall.

[Lowdz]

TEI.
I wasn't that enamoured with OTBOA after the initial "it's new DT" phase. Worst song on ADTOE but still decent enough.
TEI sounds lively and I'm liking what I hear so far.

[Laich21DT]

Only listened to The Enemy Inside twice, so I can't say for sure, but right now, I'm leaning towards OTBOA. When I first heard OTBOA, it not only reassured that DT would be fine without Portnoy, I felt that they were headed in a musical direction that would be more appealing to me.

I like TEI, and don't mind the heaviness, but would be a little disappointed if most of the album is that heavy.

[jsem]

OTBOA feels more solid for me.

[SeRoX]

Didn't like TEI and I don't think I'm gonna love it, iıt just doesn't feel right to me. I don't like OTBOA so much either but it's slightly better than TEI.

[Meatrose]

I need to listen to a new piece of DT music for an extended period of time before I can properly judge it so I won't be answering the poll at the moment.

Anyhow, what I can say is that I'll probably end up feeling that On The Backs Of Angels is a better song but that this is still "DT (the album) 1 - 0 ADTOE". Why? Simply because I'd like to think that this time around it was the BMU,BMD of the album that was chosen to represent the album as a single. Compared to BMU,BMD this is a huge improvement in my opinion.

[Kotowboy]

On The Backs Of Angels was a grower for me whilst The Enemy Inside shook me by the throat from the first note.

I like both but as of right now I love The Enemy Inside.

[Spark Mandrill]

Going with The Enemy Inside. The verses kind of plod in OTBOA, as much as I like the song. The Enemy Inside seems like one idea - a really cohesive song.

[Jarzombek]

The Enemy Inside, easily.

[lyfeternl]

On The Backs Of Angels was a grower for me whilst The Enemy Inside shook me by the throat from the first note.

I like both but as of right now I love The Enemy Inside.

Totally this! ^ 

[The Boomr]

Just thought of the perfect way to describe how I feel:

The Enemy Inside grabbed my attention much more immediately than On The Backs of Angels; OTBOA held my attention much longer than TEI did.

[aprilethereal]

Just thought of the perfect way to describe how I feel:

The Enemy Inside grabbed my attention much more immediately than On The Backs of Angels; OTBOA held my attention much longer than TEI did.

TEI has only been out for one day and you already grew tired of it?

[The Boomr]

Just thought of the perfect way to describe how I feel:

The Enemy Inside grabbed my attention much more immediately than On The Backs of Angels; OTBOA held my attention much longer than TEI did.

TEI has only been out for one day and you already grew tired of it?

I wouldn't say tired, necessarily. But as a general impression after 10 or so listens, I feel like there's not much nuance within it to keep me interested and dissecting it on the same level that there was and I did with OTBOA

[JohnnyLayne]

JESUS

I clicked OTBOA and meant TEI. OTBOA was thick with "we need to prove something". TEI feels like "fuck yeah, DT". I don't know which I prefer as a song, but as they feel on day 1, TEI is much more fun to listen to.

This!!! (Yep I also accidentally voted OTBOA instead of TEI)

[ronrule]

Just my opinion, here. Obviously a song could have none of these "positives" and still be the best song, or it could tick off all the marks and be a steaming pile. Just thought I'd list some attributes.

OTBOA positives:
more audible bass
bass "solo"
better riffs
vocal harmonies
killer outro
song dynamics
piano
more interesting chorus melody

TEI positives:
more adventurous drumming
higher drum mix
cool intro, just kickin from the start
aggressive JLB vox

[Dark Castle]

Your positives are purely subjective for the most part, although I guess you never asserted them as facts.

I just find The Enemy Inside overall better.

[Laich21DT]

Just my opinion, here. Obviously a song could have none of these "positives" and still be the best song, or it could tick off all the marks and be a steaming pile. Just thought I'd list some attributes.

OTBOA positives:
more audible bass
bass "solo"
better riffs
vocal harmonies
killer outro
song dynamics
piano
more interesting chorus melody

TEI positives:
more adventurous drumming
higher drum mix
cool intro, just kickin from the start
aggressive JLB vox

I know you put solo in quotations, but I'd say it's a bit of a stretch to call that a "solo". It's like 3 seconds long.

Besides that, I pretty much agree. Though I'd add that the instrumental section and the keyboard solo in TEI are pretty sweet.

[goo-goo]

On The Backs Of Angels was a grower for me whilst The Enemy Inside shook me by the throat from the first note.

I like both but as of right now I love The Enemy Inside.

Same here

The riffs are just crushing!

[Dekost]

Both good tracks, I'd say On The Backs is a bit better for me. Although I feel that a better comparison would be The Enemy Inside vs Build Me Up, Break Me Down. That was the more "cutting-edge" metal-ish sounding piece of the record that was probably written to reach out to new fans among fanbases of younger bands, and this track seems to be meant to do the same (not that's it's a bad idea per se). The band said multiple times that On The Backs of Angels was released to "tell" the fans something along the lines of "listen, we're Dream Theater and we're giving you a track that sounds like us and it's long and cool to show that this is us and we're in good shape" but it didn't sound too much like something thought to "get" new fans, and this is the purpose that Build Me Up and this new track seem to be serving, even though they still sound like Dream Theater tracks. I don't know if I can get my point across. Anyway, if I had to compare it with Build Me Up, The Enemy Inside would definitely win hands down.

[ronrule]

I know you put solo in quotations, but I'd say it's a bit of a stretch to call that a "solo". It's like 3 seconds long.

So, did you get the point of the quotes or not?  Maybe it should more accurately be called soloed bass...

[mrjazzguitar]

surprised by the results.. I think OTBAO is 100x better than Enemy Inside

[energythief]

Voted for OTBOA, as I'm not as big a fan of straightforward "metal" DT.

[BlobVanDam]

Voted for OTBOA, as I'm not as big a fan of straightforward "metal" DT.

Why is metal in quotes? It's metal.

[dongringo]

The Enemy Inside by a mile. It hit me in the gut and hasn't let go since. OTBOA just wasn't near as powerful a single imo.