Leipzig, Germany: the city where Johann Sebastian Bach spent a majority of his career composing a vast number of sacred works that heavily contributed to molding the norms of Western classical music. The German master was very devoted to his work and his faith, and it is only fitting that a musically blasphemous act such as (THE TRUE) VEILED should sprout out of the same city, the same that hosted MAYHEM'S live time capsule of their zenith with Dead, Euronymous, Necrobutcher, and Hellhammer, "Live in Leipzig". It is quite clear to see which of the municipality's musical calls to fame influenced the anonymous band more. "In Blinding Presence" is a cacophonous full-length debut filled with well-prepared static with clear musical intentions despite it being a fount of chaos.

The album sounds like a misshapen but imposing hybrid of early DARKTHRONE and the dissonance of CONVERGE. This is not an average black metal band. Many of the dissonant riffs have an insidious, yet melodic quality, as if they were adopted from themes used by an ensemble of nefarious snake charmers who sought to unleash a horde of snakes on whomever they wanted to terrorize. "Saintly Aisles" is a prime example of such riffs, with its understated, slithering intro that unfolds into the sonic equivalent of the snake pit in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Overall, the album features a satisfying balance of varied segments with subtle and not so subtle shifts and some with repetitive layering. The album's first proper track "Triunity," introduces these compositional cornerstones to the listener. It begins with a theme that appears to be establishing itself before contorting into violent spasms that continue to vary. Then, a more melodic theme steers the song into a more contained part, with its ancillary segment subtly changing during its repetition and the inclusion of a screeching, foreboding guitar presence. During the last half of the song, a nagging theme in the guitar persists until its end. Upon this theme, there is a layering of ebbing and flowing textures in the other instruments and vocals, creating a droning and psychologically exhaustive effect. The album's longest track, "Bringer of Lambency," does this with the most variation in heavy and more exposed sections before ending the album with a hauntingly sardonic and effective lullaby.

"In Blinding Presence" certainly has its own unique sound. The international black metal scene has clear regional proclivities, whether it is the more traditional style in Norway, the avant-garde variety in France, or the atmospheric approach more common in Iceland. Black metal is now "alive in Leipzig", and it has a distinctive flavor: a particular quality of psychological static in the dissonance employed by (THE TRUE) VEILED. The debut is well-prepared and an infernal intention permeates the effort, with its grainy production contributing to the overall sound while also harkening to black metal's origins without being too frazzled. Check out another strong track, "The Healing Atter," below.<