Submissions’ latest LP is a rerelease of a CD-R that came out on Kill Shaman (much respect) in 2011 or so (I remember getting that and not realizing who these guys were, which happens and is unfortunate), and while you’d expect a lot from current/former members of German Army and The For Carnation, Ralf K. German and Bobb Bruno take it even further. Churning their industrial-tinged noise nuggets out with a jack-in-the-box sense of randomness, the duo distance themselves from projects’ past and open up a whole new portal through which the select few can view life and art. Is that a bit much? Maybe, but there’s a reason this self-titled ripper was resurrected from the cargo-bay graveyard we call “Released in ___ (any year that isn’t THIS one).” These songs… yes, they go in a Godflesh direction, as I heard a little chatter about that ‘round the way, and that’s not at all a regretful path to take. That said, I’m not a big Godflesh guy (I know, it’s ridic, sue me) so forgive me if I judge songs like “Get to Dying” on their own merits despite the obvious touchstones. I’m straight FEEling the crushing, dare-I-say-metal guitars that crop up, and it’s pretty epic-sounding considering how nihilistic these Submissions (and by extension GeAr) boyz tend to be on the regz. I guess I seem bought-and-sold when it comes to the half-dozen-a-year German Army-related tapes/LPs sent to me each fiscal year; I must assure you, however: ‘Tis far from the case. Intriguing aural aesthetic needs no justification; nor does a high rate of output. You can go all ‘Pepsi Challenge’ with it and compare them to contemporaries and their work stands up tall no matter how quickly it was envisioned, incision’d, and spread among the 50-run freaks like WMDs (been watchin’ HBO’s The Wire, sorry). Something about Submissions is almost above all that too; it’s a bright light in a big, blinking city of creativity, one that never, ever seems to sleep. Sleeping Giant Glossolalia = Yes, more-more-more, thank you.
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