Experimental hardcore outfit Racetraitor have announced a new album on the horizon titled “Creation and the Timeless Order of Things. The group formed in 1996 featuring Mani Mostofi (vocals), Dan Binaei (guitar), Andrea Black (guitar and backing vocals), R. Brent Decker (bass) and Andrew Hurley (drums) have come back in the last few years for random appearances and tours between Hurley’s Fall Out Boy obligations.
The first single, “Eid,” takes the listener to Iran. With singer Mani Mostofi and guitarist Dan Binaei both being the children of Iranian immigrants, “Eid” represents the band digging into their family stories after the 1979 Revolution. The track stretches the band’s sound by blending their trademark metallic fury with heavy Persian classical music, contributed by renowned Persian classical musician, Fared Shafinury, as well as a guest feature from UK-Iranian vocalist, Patrick Hassan (xRepentancex). Making the video for “Eid” was a risky experience, as the cinematographer shot footage within public spaces of Iran, an act that could be criminalized in the country.
With the album originally set to be completed in 2020, as the for-profit medical infrastructure failed to protect the populations of earth, the band like many others, didn’t finish the record as planned. Instead, this inspired Racetraitor to look at what they wanted to achieve sonically in a new light, creating a sound that is heavier, more psychedelic, and more worldly all at once. The band also took this time to have friends record additional vocals on the album, including contributions from Dennis Lyxzen (Refused), Tim Kinsella (Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz), Stan Liszewaki (Terminal Nation), and Sanket Lama (Chepang) to name a few, plus Ethan Lee McCarthy (Primitive Man) contributing a noise track.
The record addresses specific places, events, visions, and people, that all tie to the band members histories. As Mani expands:
“In the past people seemed more interested in our story as a band than the themes we sing about. So I tried to create an album that bridges that. What have we seen and experienced that makes us the people and band we are.
Places that our families are from, places that we have lived or worked. And through these geographies we address all sorts of socio-political issues from exploitation of migrant workers to domestic violence to indigenous rights. The end result is a much more personal record.”
