The way of the world wants many people knowing Occult as the previous band of Rachel from Sinister. However Occult is much more than this! Also the way of the world wants Occult's first two albums to be hard to be found since their previous label Foundation 2000 does not exist anymore. Now through Karmageddon Media those two albums are once again available to the audience.
Occult started as a thrash metal outfit back in 1990. Their first album Prepare To Meet Thy Doom saw daylight in 1994. Since then they have been quite active (their new album is expected within 2005). Sadly the constant line up changes are keep causing them drawbacks. Looking Occult with a more objective eye you get the expression that they are one of those bands having the ability to achieve much more than what they have done so far.
The Enemy Within is the second album of Occult. To be honest with you I don't believe this is their best work up till now, but still is a good example of thrash / death work. The addition of Rachel in the vocals in this album add some weight in their death metal side (this gal has a really harsh throat!). through its duration The Enemy Within is a quite speedy album. It has some technical moments but at times brutality dominates everything. The album has good production (recorded at Music Lab Studios) by Harris Johns (he has collaborated with names such as Kreator, Sodom, Pestilence, Tankard and the list goes on!).
If you see The Enemy Within as another re-release (more than 15 - 20 each month!) it doesn't say a lot. But looking its place in the timeline of Occult is a very important record. Add to this the fact that it is simply very hard to track the first print, then this re-release is a really interesting offer for the fans of the genre.