Greed & Rapacity are a collective in the most unusual sense. The two members are set apart by the huge expanse of the Pacific Ocean yet have created a work of true unity and passion with their second release, Loki Bound. Bleak Metal was given the opportunity to talk to Greed & Rapacity, and true to form the answers to the questions put to them are answered in one voice, speaking on behalf of both members – H. Lauer, and D. Nahum. – which creates a sense of complete and total oneness. With each other, and with the challenging tone of utter horror found on Loki Bound.

Loki Bound is a deeply unsettling thirty-two minute journey. The music is claustrophobic and it’s very nature is one of bizarre and dissonant structures of sound. H. Lauer’s vocal technique is almost unrecognisable as human at times and it’s this powerful bridge to another world that gives Greed & Rapacity their abstract beauty. The record is based on the Norse myth of Loki, and in particular his experience of banishment and binding, and of torture and deep, unholy thoughts.

Bleak Metal: Greed & Rapacity is collaboration, how did the collective come together and how does suchdistance translate through the music and in turn how it’s produced?

Greed & Rapacity: The two members of Greed & Rapacity have been long-time collaborators across a range of formats. Most our work together has occurred while living within a reasonably close geographic distance. Now that we are separated from the Pacific Ocean we are engaged in a process of negotiating a new method of working. Rough edges and incompleteness suit us.

Bleak Metal: How does Loki Bound fit into the Greed & Rapacity chronology? How has the project developed since the demo Ergreifer from 2010?

Greed & Rapacity: Ironically, Loki Bound essentially predates Ergreifer in conception, albeit its composition evolved and transmuted over time. Although it roams far from the frenzied black metal assault that is Greed & Rapacity’s raison d’être, it is spiritually and aesthetically entirely consonant with our mission: to provoke the dark heart of the unconscious until it lurches forth, slavering and amoral.

Bleak Metal: Loki Bound is certainly one of the most intriguing pieces of music I’ve come across this year – what was the inspiration for producing such an abstract work – in both a literary and emotional sense?

Greed & Rapacity: Loki’s mixture of righteousness, resentment, hypocrisy, and individualism is a volatile one. At his lowest – chained below the earth, tortured, awaiting Ragnarǫk and revenge – he symbolizes the very process that Peter Carroll summed up as “a god denied is a demon created.”

We found ourselves irresistibly seduced by the idea of telling his story from his own point of view – yet without attempting to sanitize his poisonous nature for the sake of polite consumption.

There is perhaps an element of confession in this release, too – for how could we explore these emotional territories if we had not wandered them ourselves? The cathartic abreaction of composing, performing, and listening to this music is undeniable. We cannot take much of the credit for that power – the subject matter has to take center stage, Loki as a will unto himself.

Bleak Metal: Is being able to terrify on the Greed & Rapacity agenda? Loki Bound is deeply uncomfortable at times and is a genuine struggle to get through, although incredibly rewarding, is that something you set out to do?

Greed & Rapacity: It’s wonderful to hear a summary of the release like the one you provide: yes, to struggle through the difficult, the horrible, the things we would rather suppress and forget and reject. To come face to face with the shadow of our projections and hypocrisy. There is gold hidden amid the streams of poison and vessels of filth.

Bleak Metal: Are plans for future recordings already underway? And is the live experience something you’ve thought about – I understand the difficulties when members live so far away but is it something you both wish to undertake again?

Greed & Rapacity: We have sketches and demos for a full length album – which will return to the Ergreifer template of unhinged black metal, albeit pushing the envelope further than our first effort – both musically and conceptually. When this will come into manifestation we cannot yet predict.

As for live performances: the prospect of performing Loki Bound again is as repulsive as it is seductive. Executing the piece live is nothing short of grueling, and there are no immediate plans to do so…but every time we have ever said “never” to this project, we’ve found ourselves breaking that stance at its behest.

Bleak Metal thanks Greed & Rapacity for their time in answering the few questions put to them.

Stream and/or invest in Loki Bound on the Milam Records bandcamp page.