BRUTAL ASSAULT 2026 – 4th day, 8th August 2026

5-8.08.2026, Josefov Frotress, Jaromer

8.08.2026 – Saturay – fourth day

Last day is always sad, because you get to realise that tomorrow there will be no more concerts to watch and you have to come back to everyday life…

It all started for me on Marshall stage with REVOCATION which turns 20 years old this year. As a result, the band played a summary concert and performed songs from various releases, but still not all of them as they had limited amount of time due to quite early slot. Among others, we heard “Of Unworldly Origin” from “The Outer Ones”, “Bound By Desire” from “Teratogenesis” EP or “Scorched Earth Policy” from “Deathless”, as well as “Confines Of Infinity” from the newest record ”New Gods, New Masters” from 2025. The band sounded great, new members, who joined in around the recording of the mentioned album, guitarist Harry Lannon and bass player Alex Weber blended in very well. Alex also did some growls here and there. I was standing right in front of the stage, so could admire the finger cracking riffs and solo work by Dave Davidson in close-up. He has great gift to merge the brutality of Death Metal with technical precision and fast riffing of Thrash and develop it into band’s trademark style. I keep my fingers crossed for that band for another 20 or more years. Luckily I had the chance to have short interview with him after the concert and it will appear here really soon.

Then, I moved to neighbouring Sea Shepherd stage to watch Thrash metallers from SACRED REICH who are a stable force of the genre for over 40 years. The amount of people that were jumping and headbanging throughout their whole concert without any break was impressive. Everything they played was enthusiastically welcomed no matter if that were the classics like “The American Way”, “One Nation”, “Death Squad” or the ones from latest album “Manifest Reality” or “Salvation”. Of course, the biggest mayhem took place on the last one – “Surf Nicaragua” their pearl in the setlist that cannot be skipped on any show. It has great riffs, some groove here and there and catchy refrain. Phil Rind was smiling all the time as usual and had some monologues in between songs about politics and life in general. I get the impression that those guys just like what they do and enjoy it as much as they can.

INSOMNIUM on Marshall stage summoned a lot of fans of their version of Melodic Death Metal. I never saw them before and actually had to catch up with their music before the festival as I only new a few tracks from some videos. The band will release new album “Netherworlds” in October 2026, so they played two singles that were already issued: “Shadowlife” and “Gleam In The Black” both rather characteristic to their style with catchy refrains, heavy riffs and energetic guitar solos. Apart from those, they gave the audience the hits the fans know for sure, those who didn’t, would definitely know what this band is about by hearing them. Songs like “Lilian”, “While We Sleep” and the closing one “Heart Like A Grave” are easy to remember thanks to melodies that infiltrate your mind and stay there for long. Despite the melodies and catchy vocal lines, the music has a lot of power and aggression. The guitars slice with riffs and their sound is rather characteristic to Scandinavian sound.

After the concert finished, I had enough time to get to Obscure stage to see VADER. Polish Death Metal pioneers had 50 minutes to decimate the big audience and, as usual, they achieved what was expected of them. I guess this band does not need any introduction as they are world-wide known annihilation machine led by Peter for over 40 years. VADER was always lucky for talented drummers and the current one – Michał Andrzejczyk, who replaced James Steward a few years ago is no exception. He plays all classic and newer tracks with appropriate power which gives solid foundation for the guitar attack. Peter’s raw growl was powerful as usual, so the only thing that was far from perfect was the sound from the stage. It was much too loud and as a result there were some strange noises going out of the speakers. I did not hear it on any other concert during all four days on that stage. Definitely there was something wrong, fortunately it got better and better while the next songs were played. Apart from obvious set numbers like “Carnal”, “Cold Deamons”, “Sothis” or “Wings”, I was glad to hear less often played songs like “Reign Forever World”, “The Book” or very unVader-ish song from the 90s “Kindgom”.

Even after seeing VADER so many times, it is difficult to leave their concert earlier. I knew that the beginning of CANDLEMASS show overlap by 10 minutes, so I started to leave when VADER started “Dark Age” and ran to Marshall stage. In such situations, somehow, the passes between the stages become very narrow for some reason… I got there by the end of “Bewitched” which then turned into “Mirror Mirror”. Classic line-up of the band means the same set of songs, so they all came from first four albums. I saw the band two years ago on the same grounds, but like this band so much that I do not complain that they play there so often. I bet most people that gathered there would also agree as there were so many that sang the lyrics with Johan flawlessly. I saw SACRED REICH and INSOMNIUM musicians on the side of the stage that were banging their happy heads to the riffs played by Doom Metal Legends. All songs were awesome, but the only one I missed was “A Sorcerer’s Pledge”. I remember I really counted on that one two years ago and this time as well, so it is a pity they did not play it. Still, “Gallow’s End”, “Under The Oak” or “ Crystal Ball” made up for the lack of that one. Unfortunately, I had the feeling that Johan’s voice was much better previously. This year, he had to skip his usual singing here and there and use some barking / screaming instead – for example at the end of “Under The Oak”. Apart from that, he was doing his best to entertain the public during the songs by going around the stage all the time and by talking in between them. He seems to be a really cool person the same as the rest of the guys.

After the show ended, I moved to Sea Shepherd to see LEFT TO DIE who also played two years ago on BRUTAL ASSAULT. However, this time they came there with something new. Being more precise, new and old the same time – an album called “Initium Mortis” which contains refreshed versions of early MANTAS and DEATH demo tapes. As a result, the band started with “Legion Of Doom” from that album and then mixed classics from albums “Leprosy” and “Scream Bloody Gore” with songs from new release like “Archangel” or “Witch Of Hell”. They all sounded great and were played with big passion and respect towards the forefather of Death Metal – Chuck Schuldiner. The vocalist and guitar player Matt Harvey talked about how much of an inspiration Chuck was on him. In live version, Matt was a total contradiction of Rick Rozz, the first one was very energetic, running around the scene, headbanging etc, while Rick was completely static and focused on his playing. I was standing quite close to the stage and had the impression that he was playing with his eyes shut most of the time. The fans showed their enthusiasm in best possible way by active participation and even singing, for example, in probably the biggest “hit” from “Leprosy” called “Pull The Plug”.

WARDRUNA on the neighbouring stage which was a totally different concert experience. The stage was carefully prepared and it was quite impressive to watch the musicians who played their enchanting music in such surrounding. I had to eat something before the final concert of the festival, so I left and then moved on directly to Sea Shepherd stage to get a good place for SATYRICON. They replaced CRADLE OF FILTH who cancelled their show not long before the festival started. I saw the Norwegians a few times before, but never saw CRADLE OF FILTH, so I was really looking forward to finally get the chance to witness this band live. It was actually the second time I missed their show I was going to, but nevermind – SATYRICON was the perfect replacement. They started the show with “Midnight Serpent” from their latest album – “Deep Calleth Upon Deep” if we do not count “Satyricon / Munch” record that contains only instrumental music that is more like an experiment than the regular record of the band. They played songs from their vast catalogue, both the oldest ones from the early days and from newer records. Which one did I like the most? Definitely all of them! However, I expected something from “Rebel Extravaganza” record, but there was no representative this time. Still, the concert was awesome in any aspect: Satyr’s vocal performance, guitar players’ fluency and stage presence as well as the demolition man behind the drums – Frost. Satyr did not talk much, but as usual he grabbed the guitar for a few songs and it even increased the sonic impact on the listeners. SATYRICON sounds outstanding in Black Metal killers and that is obvious. They also played one that was different from the others, namely “To Your Breathren In The Dark” which is a very atmospheric song in slow tempo. It might seem boring and dull to some, but in live version it makes great impression. Those slow riffs and drums sound outstanding with Satyr’s voice. The band finished their show with obvious choices “Mother North” which was supported by fans’ chanting in the key moments and last one that was “K.I.N.G.” They said good bye and that was the end of 29^th edition of BRUTAL ASSAULT for me.

It was my third one in a row and definitely not the last one. Year 2027 will see the anniversary edition of the festival, so I am sure it will be special. There are already quite a few announced bands and as usual they are quite versatile, but quite deeply focused on the heaviest branches of metal. Still, the advantage of well constructed festival is that it offers variety of sub-genres, so that the fans have the chance to witness many styles of our favourite music. That was the case here.

Brutal Assault website