Changes: The Enemy Inside

Revision as of 02:25, 23 February 2014

Dream_Theater_-_The_Enemy_Inside_OFFICIAL_VIDEO — Dream Theater - The Enemy Inside OFFICIAL VIDEO

The Enemy Inside
Dream Theater
Length	06:16
Working title	(Unknown)
Release date	August 5th, 2013
Lyrics
Music
First live performance
Total live plays
Recorded	Cove City Sound Studios
Other appearances
Previous song	False Awakening Suite
Next song	The Looking Glass

The Enemy Inside is the first single and the 2nd track from Dream Theater's eponymous 12th album. It was released on the USA Today website on August 5th 2013, prior to the album's release. The single cover was released in sections via their Instagram, and they released the last sections of it on , making the full artwork.

Personnel

Mike Mangini - Drums and percussion
John Petrucci - Guitar
John Myung - Bass
Jordan Rudess - Keyboards, continuum
James LaBrie - Vocals

Lyrics

Over and over again
I relive the moment
I'm bearing the burden within
Open wounds hidden under my skin

Pain is real as a cut that bleeds
The face I see every time I try to sleep
Staring at me crying

I'm running from the enemy inside
Looking for the life I left behind
These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
And I can't escape from the enemy inside

I sever myself from the world
and shut down completely
All alone in my own living hell
overcome with irrational fear

Under the weight of the world on my chest
I buckle and break as I try to catch my breath
Tell me I'm not dying

I'm running from the enemy inside
Looking for the life I left behind
These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
And I can't escape from the enemy inside

I'm a burden and a travesty
I'm a prisoner of regret
Between the flashbacks and the violent dreams
I am hanging on the edge

Disaster lurks around the bend
Paradise came to an end
And no magic pill
can bring it back again

I'm running from the enemy inside
Looking for the life I left behind
These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
And I can't escape from the enemy inside

Tone

The Enemy Inside is played with a 7-string guitar, and remains in 4/4 for most of the song. The first minute of the song is very heavy and technical, and it then enters a syncopated palm muted thrash riff which leads into the first verse. Most of the song has quite a dark and heavy tone, similar to songs on Train of Thought or Awake.

Analysis

The music video made it clear that the song is about post traumatic stress disorder, specifically in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The music video shows scenes of a veteran in everyday life who keeps seeing flashbacks of his time in service, and can't seem to cope with living without the threat of death.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:Dream Theater - The Enemy Inside OFFICIAL VIDEO|thumb|right|335 px]]
-{{Infobox
-|Box title = The Enemy Inside
-|caption = The Enemy Inside Artwork
-|Row 1 title = Length
-|Row 2 title = Label
-|Row 3 title = Lyrics
-|Row 3 info = http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dream+theater/the+enemy+inside_21065119.html}}[[File:Enemy_inside.jpg|thumb|Single artwork for The Enemy Inside, released on Instagram.]]
 {{Songbox || Title = The Enemy Inside
 | Album = [[Dream Theater (album)|Dream Theater]]
@@ Line 32: / Line 26: @@
 Over and over again
 I relive the moment
-I'm bearing a burden within
+I'm bearing the burden within
 Open wounds hidden under my skin
-The pain is real
+Pain is real as a cut that bleeds
+The face I see every time I try to sleep
-As a cut that bleeds
-The face I see
-Every time I try to sleep
 Staring at me crying
 I'm running from the enemy inside
-(The enemy inside)
 Looking for the life I left behind
+These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
-(The life I left behind)
-These suffocating memories
-Are etched upon my mind
 And I can't escape from the enemy inside
 I sever myself from the world
-I shut down completely
+and shut down completely
-Alone in my own living hell
+All alone in my own living hell
-Overcome with irrational fear
+overcome with irrational fear
 Under the weight of the world on my chest
-If I fall and break as I try to catch my breath
+I buckle and break as I try to catch my breath
 Tell me I'm not dying
 I'm running from the enemy inside
-(The enemy inside)
 Looking for the life I left behind
+These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
-(The life I left behind)
-These suffocating memories
-Are etched upon my mind
 And I can't escape from the enemy inside
-I'm a burden, I'm a travesty
+I'm a burden and a travesty
 I'm a prisoner of regret
-Dream of flashbacks and of violent screams
+Between the flashbacks and the violent dreams
 I am hanging on the edge
 Disaster lurks around the bend
-Paradise comes to an end
+Paradise came to an end
 And no magic pill
-Can bring it back again
+can bring it back again
 I'm running from the enemy inside
 Looking for the life I left behind
-These suffocating memories
+These suffocating memories are etched upon my mind
-Are etched upon my mind
 And I can't escape from the enemy inside
 </pre>
 ==Tone==
-''The Enemy Inside'' is in F minor, and remains in 4/4 for most of the song. The first minute of the song is very heavy and technical, and it then enters a syncopated palm muted thrash riff which leads into the first verse. Most of the song has quite a dark and heavy tone, similar to songs on [[Train of Thought]] or [[Awake]].
+''The Enemy Inside'' is played with a 7-string guitar, and remains in 4/4 for most of the song. The first minute of the song is very heavy and technical, and it then enters a syncopated palm muted thrash riff which leads into the first verse. Most of the song has quite a dark and heavy tone, similar to songs on [[Train of Thought]] or [[Awake]].
 ==Analysis==
+The music video made it clear that the song is about post traumatic stress disorder, specifically in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The music video shows scenes of a veteran in everyday life who keeps seeing flashbacks of his time in service, and can't seem to cope with living without the threat of death.[[File:Enemy_inside.jpg|thumb|Single artwork for The Enemy Inside, released on Instagram.]]
-The lyrics seem to be about someone trying to escape from their conscience, obviously in an unstable mental state, similar to [[Panic Attack]]. The lyrics may also alude to an individual who suffers from neurosis, which essentially describes an "invisible injury" and the resulting condition, as seen in the lines "Open wounds hidden under my skin", "The pain is real \ As a cut that bleeds".
 [[Category:Dream Theater Era]]
 [[Category:Songs]]
+[[Category:Singles]]