BRUTAL ASSAULT 2026 – 2nd day, 6th August 2026

5-8.08.2026, Josefov Frotress, Jaromer

REVIEW OF THE FIRST DAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

6.08.2026 – Thursday – second day

I entered the grounds of Josefov Frotrees around early afternoon when SANGUISUGABBOG was torturing the audience in front of main stage with their Slamming Brutal Death Metal. I watched some part of it and then moved to Obscure stage to see CASTLE RAT, the band that plays old-school Hard Rock which lyrically is set in medieval times and fantasy worlds. The musicians are dressed and have painted faces, while the singer, The Rat Queen, tells the story in between songs that makes it a complete history at the very end of the show. The band has the idea for themselves and keep to that. I like such old-fashioned sounds, so it was interesting to hear it and watch. The only drawback was that the band witnessed several power cuts for split seconds each time, but the musicians did not seem to be irritated by this fact.

Then, I had half an hour break as BLACKBRAID was supposed to be next on the same stage. I was really impressed by the intensity of these Native American black metallers on their studio albums and it turned out that the sonic power that came from live performance is even stronger. As soon as musicians entered the stage, they started with “Celestial Bloodlust” and kept such high speed tempo and aggressive riffing till the very end of their show. Of course, there were some slight exceptions in ”Twilight Hymn Of Ancient Blood” which is slow in the first half of the track or great intro to “The Dying Breath Of A Sacred Stag”. The band as a collective sounded very tight and when it comes to stage presence they do not stand still, especially the singer was banging his head as if he wanted it to fall off…

The next concert I watched was also on Obscure stage. However, I was really disappointed that a band as DEATH ANGEL got such an early slot and only 40 minutes to present their version of classic Thrash Metal. They used their time well and played very intense show as usual. We heard newer songs like “The Moth”, “Cult Of The Dead” or “The Dream Calls For Blood” as well as classics like “Seemingly Endless Time” or “Thrown To The Wolves”. They sounded really great, riffs were clearily heard, drums were loud enough and Mark Osegueda with his harsh screams completed the whole wall of sound. He is the perfect leader of the band who knows how to gain fans’ attention. As a result, the reception of the audience was terrific, so it was a pity they could not play any longer…

After the show, I immediately rushed to the other side of the fortress to watch the second half of WALTARI concert on Sea Shepherd. I admit, I did not know that band until after it was added to festival’s lineup. It was announced as a special concert devoted to album called “Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! – Death Metal Symphony In Deep C” which turned out to be a breakthrough record in the 90s, because it mixed Classical Music with Death Metal and other avant garde sounds this band is famous for until now. It was around the same time when THERION was also getting into symphony and choirs, but they had more traditional approach if I may put it this way. WALTARI incorporated a really twisted vision into the songs with a lot of tempo changes, unusual mixture of vocal performances of WALTARI singer and leader Kärtsy Hataka; the choir and opera singing and deep growls done on the album by AMORHPIS guitarist Tomi Koivusaari. The best example to justify that is the track called “A Sign”, which I missed unfortunately. This song lasts over eight minutes and summarises well what we can expect from the album. The band was supported by Bohemian Symphony Orchestra from Prague and special guests like abovementioned Tomi, who agreed to growl again, opera singer Laura and former WALTARI guitar player Sami Yli-Sirniö (KREATOR, BARREN EARTH), who was the member of this band for quite a few years and also took part in the recording of that album. The band sounded quite tight and heavy, the orchestra was well heard and sounded monumental as it should. That is why it was definitely an interesting show to watch even just to broaden musical horizons.

Marshall stage hosted another orchestra influenced band – SEPTICFLESH and that was the concert I was much waiting for. I saw them only once many years ago, so it was high time for another take on this outstanding group. They started with “Portrait Of A Headless Man” and saying that it was monumental is like saying nothing new, but that is the most suitable word as the summary. They play so convincingly well and straight to the point. The singer Spiros is such a powerhouse of a singer – he puts so much effort into his singing, headbanging and contact with the audience that he deserves a lot of respect for that. Another strong side of the band in its live version is obviously the drummer Kerim “Krimh” Lechner, who was definitely the best choice for this position. His drumming is flawless and complex that it suits band’s music perfectly. Other songs that stood out on that show were definitely ”Hierophant”, “Martyr” and an obvious hit “Annubis” which was chanted with enthusiastic fans. Special mention goes to “Virtues Of The Beast” which was some kind of pearl among such killer songs as this one was much calmer and the only track from their earlier albums before their temporary break from activity and change of musical direction that followed.

I stayed on the main stage area, but not for long. I knew that BODY COUNT, who hit the Sea Shepherd stage, starts their shows with SLAYER’s “Raining Blood” and “Postmortem” played in this order, so that was a must see part for me. They actually started with “Body Count’s In The House” which is some kind of introduction to the show and then we immediately got the two classics which were played quite faithfully apart from obvious different way of singing. It definitely made the fans go nuts during those two, but I believe that Ice-T and his team kept them warm enough for the rest of the show. I decided to move to Obscure stage and watch DRACONIAN for a change. I saw them around two years ago, but still I could not resist to see them again and luckily soon after I arrived I got one of my favourite “”Heavy Lies The Crown”. Those who would like to see what Doom Metal is about should listen to that track to understand how things in that genre should be done – deep growls, gloomy melodies and guitars as heavy as they could get. DRACONIAN has one more advantage which are great female singers which do not sound cheesy as it sometimes happens in Gothic Metal bands. I also heard “Cold Heavens” from their new album “In Somnolent Ruin” which is definitely one of the greatest on this one. The show ended with “The Sethian” and I rushed back to the main stage to “book” a good place for AMORPHIS show. I was hoping to see one or two remaining songs by BODY COUNT, but they must have shortened their show…

The scene for the Finnish legends was ready and its centre part was occupied by bird-like creature with huge beak. The band started with “Bones” and “Light And Shadow” from their latest album called “Borderland”. The second of them is a little too “sweet” in my opinion, but those are some of the songs that band creates from time to time, like “Wrong Direction” or “House Of Sleep” which were also played that evening. It is not that they are bad, but it would be great if they played fewer “hit like” songs and perform those that are not so common in the setlist. Old stuff was rather obvious – “Black Winter Day” and “Castaway” from “Tales Of The Thousand Lakes” album and they are always great to be heard. I really liked live versions of “Sampo”, “The Moon” and the final one – “The Bee”. The band sounded very powerful and accurate with all their instruments. The singer, Tomi is a real leader that knows how to gain fans’ attention. He was banging his head all the time and made the audience follow him. His growls are so powerful live that I must say that he is one of the best in the genre. His voice is so deep and still it is easy to understand the words he is emiting that way. AMORPHIS definitely deserved to get one of the best slots on that day.

I once again had to move quickly to Obscure stage to get to AURA NOIR concert which was announced as special one. The band promised to play their whole debut album “Black Thrash Attack” and so they did. A lot of people came to see that concert and I am sure they did not regret the same as me. It was total musical destruction at its best form possible – very raw and fierce. It sounded great at the same time, which summed up to one of the best shows for me on that day and maybe on the whole festival. Apollyon and Aggressor were switching their vocal duties equally, the same as on the album. The riffs were cutting precisely as well as the drums that kept the fast tempo going. I will not mention any particular song as this album is so tight. When they finished “Black Thrash Attack”, they added one more song called “Condor” from their album “The Merciless” as a supplement to this great concert.

I went back to the main stage to see ALCEST. The concert has just started and I was shocked that there were already so many people that I could not get through closer to the stage. I was trying to get better view of the band, but it was not that easy, because it was really crowded. Even though, I was happy to see that “Brutal” community is so open minded that bands like that gather so many people for their concerts. ALCEST has some metal elements, quite a lot actually, but in general the music is so much soulful and melancholic. It seems that we all need some kind of change in metal dominated festival and hear something different. I liked the stage arrangement and, most of all, the sound. All the instruments were so well heard and above all I really loved the way the drums sounded – they were loud and so natural in their tone. Thanks to that they added an extra taste and dynamism to music. It is difficult to mention any highlights, as this concert was pure magic from the beginning till the very end. I definitely loved “Sapphire”, long and musically diverse “Écailles de Lune – Part 2” and of course the song that was the first one I heard many years ago “Autre Temps” that closed that outstanding concert.

Sea Shepherd stage hosted the last band on that day and it was a total change of style – IMMOLATION. Surprisingly, they had an energetic introduction of Dan Lilker from BRUTAL TRUTH or NUCLEAR ASSAULT. The concert was obvious, the band did their part perfectly – cut everybody’s heads with their super precise, brutal and crushing Death Metal. They started with songs from the latest album “Descent” – “These Vengeful Winds” and “The Ephemeral Curse” and then played a mixture of songs from many other albums they recorded throughout their career plus a few more from the “Descent” in between including “Attrition” dedicated to Dan. This band is one of a kind in their genre thanks to their specific style of riffing, kind of mechanical drums and deep growls of Ross Dolan. The band sounded quite well as for such intense and monumental music they play. What is important we could hear all those sinister melodies and other tiny “details” that Robert Vigna was crafting with his guitar.

Brutal Assault website