Morte Cammina - Tales of the Scissor Killer [Required Rate of Return Records - 2016]Tales of the Scissor Killer comes in a slim DVD case, with no-nonsense, black and white graphics and design - though the thing that will catch your eye first (fittingly), is the cover image: a pair of scissors, nestling points first between someone’s thick eyelashes… The CDR contains three tracks, with the shorter, second piece - 10:38 minutes - bookended by first and last tracks around the half hour mark. The first work, Hairdresser Blues, is just shy of 28 minutes in length. It’s essentially static, but there are definite eddies and squalls within, as well as a stereo split that enhances that sense of movement. Initially, the piece has an almost digital, dry feel; however, the ears soon attune to the wall, revealing very nice textures. The bass has a broken, nervous presence - distant, even - but this becomes (for me, at least) the most interesting part of the track. It underpins a wall largely made from speeding, fizzing, trebly noise, which almost sounds hollowed out at points.
Killing the Boss, the shorter of the three, again has that dry, digital feel - here, however, it colludes to give the piece a rather odd tone. The wall itself is very nice indeed, founded on dry, low-mid frequencies, and topped off by wonderful, jittery, stuttering, higher mid-frequency crackles, which seem to dance around the speakers. This definite movement, and depth of field, combined with the dryness of the wall textures, really does give it the tone of a very odd, abrasive, electroacoustic work. It seems to pulsate, come apart, reform itself.
After that, Thirsty For More, the final work, is a simpler, heads-down chunk of wall noise. It clocks in at over 31 minutes of scorched earth noise. Like the preceding tracks, the textures have a dryness to them, as well as that slightly hollowed feel. The pace is unrelenting and fast, with several layers running over each other. There’s a very nice, rain-like, treble texture hidden in the skree, as well as an expansive bass which seems to swell and contract during the piece.
This is a very proficient set of tracks, from a name that’s new to me. Interestingly, none of the tracks really rely on destructive or dominating bass textures, instead pushing the higher frequencies into the red. This produces three distinct walls that all carry a sharp, aggressive slant. The second piece, Killing the Boss, is particularly interesting for my tastes - it really does create a 3D sound. I think it’s worth getting for that alone.
   Martin P
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