Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2010

Back in 1999, the underground heavy metal scene wept when grindcore legends Brutal Truth decided to call it quits. In the world of music, however, break-ups have a way of being temporary. Eight years later, the members of Brutal Truth (minus their original guitarist) decided it was time to give their band another grind. With two years of touring and a new album under their belt, it seems that Brutal Truth are in for another long haul.

“We’re pretty much a day-to-day band,” says bassist and founding member Dan Lilker a few hours before their show at Shibuya O-East. Tokyo is their first stop on a three-city tour of Japan with hardcore legends Converge. “We think sensibly in advance, like we have to book festivals in Europe for next year. But I have no idea where we’re going to be [in five years], so I don’t even like to speculate. I’m 45 years old now: who knows if I’ll be doing this when I’m 50. Then again, when I was 35 I never thought I’d be doing this ten years later.”

If their live show is any indication, Brutal Truth have more than another five years left in them. In their nearly two-hour set, they manage to play a little something from their entire discography, and the songs are sounding as intense as ever. The band also play three encores, indulging a crowd that simply doesn’t want to see them go. And judging by how much fun they seem to be having on stage—between vocalist Kevin Sharp’s jokes and drummer Richard Hoak’s manic shouts of “time to grind” and “still not loud enough, still not fast enough”—perhaps the audience weren’t the only ones who didn’t want the evening to end.

While Brutal Truth’s live shows prove they have no problem playing the aggressive music of their youth with the same ferocity, 2009’s Evolution through Revolution shows the band also have no problems writing more such music.

“It’s a little different now that George Bush is gone,” says Lilker. “It’s almost funny. Now I’m making jokes with punk-rock dudes like, ‘Now we have nothing to write about.’”

Nonetheless, he feels there are still some less-than-positive topics in America that could stand to be addressed. “Now that Barack Obama is president, there’s a lot of very, very conservative people in America that fucking hate him, and it’s scary what you hear some of these people say.” Of course, Obama has been receiving plenty of flak from the left as well, but Lilker doesn’t count himself among them. “Some people are just never going to be happy. I’m just glad there’s a president who actually has a brain, who speaks in full sentences, and who seems honest when he talks to you.”

When presented with a group like Brutal Truth who do have very strong views and opinions, you wonder if they aim to spread those opinions to fans. “That’s not our main mission: we’re not like a super-political punk band where the message is much more important than everything else,” explains Lilker. “If they read the lyrics and that seeps into their brains or makes them think a little, that’s great. For me personally, it’s not the main thing—for me it’s always been about the music.

“Of course,” he adds, “I’m not going to be in a band, writing music and have some guy singing fascist shit over it.”