Brutal Assault is an open-air

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

that takes place in the 18th-century army fortress

Josefov Josefov (also Jewish Quarter; german: Josefstadt) is a town quarter and the smallest cadastral area of Prague, Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. It is surrounded by the Old Town. The quarter is often represented by the flag ...

, located in

Jaroměř Jaroměř (; german: Jermer) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Josefov Fortress. Josefov is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban ...

, Czechia. It is held each August early in the month from Wednesday until Saturday. The festival started in 1996, originally focused on

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

. For many years, it was a small event with mainly Czech and Slovak bands performing. It changed location several times and grew into a large event by 2006, when over 7,000 people attended the festival in Svojšice. After moving to Josefov, attendances grew further to 15,000 in 2012 and the festival has operated two alternating main stages since. Currently, Brutal Assault features artists that perform all forms of extreme metal, including some of the genre's most prominent figures, as well as artists with dark and intense styles from genres outside of heavy metal such as punk rock,

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

. The festival motto is: "Against violence and intolerance".

Location

Brutal Assault takes place in

, an army fortress built between 1780 and 1787 by Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

on the left bank of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

and Mettau rivers near

. The two main stages are built against the fortress walls.

Safety

Stealing from the tents and bodies of drunk visitors is common at Brutal Assault. Guests are advised to keep their valuables in safe places (e.g. deposit boxes provided by the festival organisers for a fee, locked inside the trunk of a car, etc.). The festival area at Brutal Assault in Josefov is near a hill, which can be difficult to navigate. Nicknamed "the hill of death", it becomes muddy and slippery after rain. The hill can be walked around, however, and the site is fully accessible to disabled visitors.

2014

The nineteenth annual festival was held from Wednesday 6 August to Saturday 9 August 2014. It was headlined by

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Amon Amarth Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and hi ...

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sep ...

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

and Down. Three bands were announced but eventually had to be cancelled: Strife,

Arsonists Get All the Girls Arsonists Get All the Girls was an American avant-garde metal band from Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 2005, the band was known for taking influence from varying genres, particularly in their early years for fusing extreme metal with variou ...

and

Gorguts Gorguts is a Canadian death metal band from Sherbrooke, Quebec, formed in 1989. The band has been through many personnel changes since its inception; its only constant member has been guitarist and vocalist Luc Lemay, who remains the primary cr ...

(who were instead announced for Brutal Assault 2015).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Heavy metal festivals in the Czech Republic Rock festivals in the Czech Republic Experimental music festivals Recurring events established in 1996 1996 establishments in the Czech Republic Tourist attractions in the Hradec Králové Region August events Summer events in the Czech Republic