Metal Underground.com

Taking a very different turn than that of the band’s black and death metal contemporaries, Greed & Rapacity slows the music way down and goes for an atmospheric journey rather than a musical revolution on “Loki Bound.” The avant-garde crowd that craves something intensely different from the norm, or those who ascribe spiritual or supernatural significance to black metal, may find the end result works for them, but frankly there isn’t much musically interesting about this half-hour track.

Launching a release as a single 32-minute song is a bold choice that can easily backfire. The musicians involved have to ensure the sounds are consistently engaging and the transitions are smooth as silk, or very few people will ever actually reach the end. Furia’s “Halny” is a great example of a massive single song that’s a crazy ride from start to finish, but unfortunately, “Loki Bound” doesn’t hit that right balance nearly enough.

Most of the time the track doesn’t even bother with lyrics, instead using gurgled vocals that are best described as “insane gibbering.” Intensely atmospheric at first, they get repetitive as the track progresses with funeral doom-style guitar riffs that crawl their way across the soundscape. As a change up from these semi-screams, there are also overlapping whispered vocals that occasionally pop out from all directions, causing aural disorientation. A large chunk of the middle of the EP consists of only ambient sounds, with understated horror synths and dropping water, creating a sort of mental image of being lost alone in the sewers while something unpleasant lurks in the shadows. The last four minutes of the release then take this concept too far - consisting only of dripping water noises and very faint backing sounds, which is a waste of space.

“Loki Bound” is essentially a more musically structured and less scream-focused version of Abruptum. It’s not so much an album to sink your teeth into and dig on a musical level as it is an atmospheric backing track. While it may seem intriguing in concept, and there are sections that are suitably evil or entertaining, the fact is I can’t imagine ever actually listening to this again on purpose.