Rusty Pacemaker is not the name of some alt-country band, as I originally thought. Rather, the pseudonym belongs to an Austrian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who took seven years to complete his first album.
With a running time of nearly an hour, Blackness and White Light is almost all gloom and goth. This is cold, dark, industrial and alienating music that will likely ruin your day. Pacemaker — who performed everything but the female vocal and drum parts, as well as produced, mixed, mastered, created the artwork and self-released Blackness and White Light on his own Solanum Records — takes inspiration from the late Bathory mastermind Quorthon. Elements of Theatre of Tragedy, Lacrimosa, Tiamat and Depeche Mode also seep through, but there's not much "white light. " Pacemaker's lyrics might sound better were they sung by someone with a more powerful, convincing voice. The man's musicianship, on the other hand, is outstanding, and his guitar-playing on "Amok" and "Waiting for Tomorrow" stand as the album's most-rewarding highlights.
Track Listing:
1) Cell
2) You Never Had
3) My Way
4) Amok
5) Waiting for Tomorrow
6) The Human Race
7) My Last Goodbye
8) Blackness and White Light
9) Revolution
10) Mother
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