FIAT NOX "In Contemptuous Defiance" Mini CD (Personal Records 2021) Beginning life in 2014 under the moniker Aszendent, FIAT NOX burst forth in 2016 with the Light the Torches demo, an ever-apt title for this occasion. Years were spent fine-tuning their eventual full-length debut, The Archive of Nightmares, which at last emerged during the summer of 2021. Something of a new breed of German black metal, with equal emphasis on aggression and atmosphere as well as dazzling dynamics, here did FIAT NOX unfurl the full force of their sound, reflecting their onstage power prior to the Covid epidemic as well as keen attention to recording nuance. Wasting no time keeping that momentum going, FIAT NOX now unleash a brand-new EP bearing the stark title of In Contemptuous Defiance. Comprising four songs in a generous 24 minutes, In Contemptuous Defiance works like a companion to The Archive of Nightmares, expanding upon the subtly applied grim/gorgeous axis with a more muscular palette and even more swarming execution. Indeed, even with moving at a(n ominously slower) gait, FIAT NOX maintain a most menacing aspect, and their melodicism burns with a freezing fire here, taking In Contemptuous Defiance closer to classic late '90s-style greatness than more modern iterations of "black metal." Either way, a swift & stunning record from a band seemingly only beginning to hit their stride. Timeless and exceedingly fresh, quick-hitting and deceptively epic, FIAT NOX flex curious dichotomies In Contemptuous Defiance!
