One thing I've found is that with macros, it can actually be easier to write performant primitive-reliant code. Still not up to Common Lisp standards, but much

One thing I've found is that with macros, it can actually be easier to write performant primitive-reliant code. Still not up to Common Lisp standards, but much better than, eg, having to use a scripting language to generate all the primitive specializations of your data structure, like Trove and Fastutil do.