Greed and Rapacity – Loki Bound

A fundamental shift in the template is offered by Australian horde Greed and Rapacity, on this their second emanation. One track, 32 minutes of mind altering ritual work that carries the conscious down a perditionary road, unveiling ever more horrifying madness as all mundane sensibilities are stripped away and the shell of ego fractured.

As each movement unfolds, it’s impossible to think back to what came before. The diabolic waltz drives ever forward and the compulsion to become lost in the depths of these ambient waters is impossible to resist.

There is an evident black metal influence, but this transcends the stylistic limitations of that genre, borrowing greatly from the plodding melancholy more often associated with funeral doom. There’s none of the riffs, energy or atmosphere of black metal, with only nihilism and despair on offer.

Loki Bound is not a fun record. To get to the end takes a certain amount of hard work, and repeated listening is certainly not demanded. What is offered instead is an experience, to enjoy or endure as applicable but certainly to leave a definitive imprint on any who pay witness. There is a shift in state that happens throughout and ultimately, levels of awareness and perception have been altered. This is a tool for reflection and a powerful one at that. Explore this record and give it the attention it deserves, but go in fully prepared by marking the words of Virgil, for only by abandoning all hope can this artefact be truly appreciated.