SCISSOR SHOCK

Scissor Shock biography
Scissor Shock was an American avant-garde musical project that was founded in 2003 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Adam Cooley from Columbus, Indiana. Cooley was the sole member throughout most of the band's duration although he was joined at certain times by trombonist Aaron Booe and guitarist Sean Edwards. Starting out as a pure noise project with roots in the cybergrind and extreme breakcore scenes, the band's sound would evolve over time into a slightly less abrasive but no less bewildering sound collage style, with more room for live instruments and complex song structures. By 2008, Cooley achieved an implementation of this distinctive patchy musical style within the framework of noisy avant-rock, with influences from the free jazz, no wave, math rock and proto-industrial scenes.

The most obvious influence on Scissor Shock is Merzbow, as referenced by the recurring mention of a certain Johnny Merzbow in the band's song titles, but its music has also been compared to the Residents, Frank Zappa, Babyland, Captain Beefheart, Big Black, Mr. Bungle, Caroliner, Ruins, Venetian Snares and Harry Partch. The project came to its end in 2014 due to the untimely death of Adam Cooley at the age of 27; his final album Wear The Horns was released posthumously.