‘At night the demons, Dance on the rooftops, Spirits like whispers, Out of cedar trees’ (Chamelecón)

Racetraitor initially existed from 1996 to 1999 and during that time were a hugely polarising band.  In some quarters a reaction to their message, which sought to focus on the systemic causes of social injustice, and in others to their approach, which was avowedly confrontational and provocative, and led to accusations of performative attention-seeking.  The band reformed in 2016 and a new album, 2042, and a four-way split with Closet Witch, Haggathorn, and Neckbeard Deathcamp followed, revealing a no less politically motivated band, but one that had evolved significantly.

Creation And The Timeless Order Of Things feels very much like the culmination of this development and their most ambitious work to date, both musically and philosophically.  The foundation is furiously intense metallic hardcore meets grindcore, leavened by skilfully deployed atmospheric string arrangements involving cello, violin, and setar.  The band also prove adept at fusing their inherent ferocity with passages of post-metal introspection, most notably on Cape Reranga, while guest vocalists, including Pat Hassan (Mazandaran, Repentance) and Denis Lyxzén (Refused), add further texture.  Deploying darkly allusive imagery, each song calls on the personal experiences of the band to primarily explore themes of colonial legacies and migration through a specific location, spanning Iran (Eid) to Central America (Chamelecón, Santa Apolonia) via Palestine (Cave Of The Patriarchs), as well as the US (Black Creek / Red River, Sarcophagus).