BRUTAL ASSAULT 2026 – 3rd day, 7th August 2026

5-8.08.2026, Josefov Frotress, Jaromer

REVIEW OF THE FIRST DAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

REVIEW OF THE SECOND DAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

7.08.2026 – Friday – third day

HATE was the first band I saw on that day and it was just after noon time on Sea Shepherd stage. The sun was shining with it’s full power, so I felt sorry for the band that they had to play their music in such conditions. There are bands / styles that just do not suit such surrounding and Polish Death / Black metallers are among them as their music, apart from being intense and brutal, is atmospheric and it tastes much better at night or at least late evening. Of course, somebody has to play earlier too, but this time it was definitely evident. They started with the title track from their latest album “Bellum Regis” and later also played second song called “Iphigenia” – both equally crushing. We also heard “Erebos”, “Souvereign Sanctity” or “Rugia”, from their previous releases. They did not have much time due to early slot, so they mainly focused on playing and they are really good at it. They sounded tight as a well oiled machine.

Marshall stage was then took over by ANGELUS APATRIDA and as I just gave the example of band that does not suit the early hours, Spanish Thrash metallers sound great anywhere with their music. It is not they deserve earlier hours more than HATE, on the contrary, but I will talk about that a little later. Their music is so intense that I think they just suit anywhere as they are able to make the fans move around in any conditions they play. They play Thrash Metal we all love: fast, precise and with proper dose of aggression. The band members were all very enthusiastic in the way they played which definitely infected the fans to get be more active. Most of all, the band sounded really well from the stage including drums, guitar riffs and a lot of solos. The live versions  of songs like “Indictrinate”, “Give’em War” or “Cold” are real killers. I think that ANGELUS APATRIDA is underestimated band and they definitely deserve more recognition as the musicians know their craft very well and have their own identity in the genre.

I had some time for next concert I was aiming to, so I went sightseeing. Namely, I visited the area of so called Brutal Convoy who are a team of people who dress like they were playing in “Mad Max” movie. They have their own corner in the festival grounds, but there is also gallery zone and the pub. Luckily, I came right at the beginning of food contest which turned out to be an annual event devoted to eating spicy food. There were over twenty contestants and they were served various versions of spicy dishes – different peppers, some special sauces and soups, one after another until the last person sits at the table. A lot of people gathered to support those who took part in this crazy contest. Of course, the most spectacular version of dropping out of the contest was to vomit what you just ate. It definitely rose the biggest cheer in the crowd. I really liked the host of this event as he was interestingly describing every dish that was served and had good sense of humour about all that was happening. I spent maybe an hour in that place, but there were still around eight people still fighting. I had to go to see CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, so I do not know who won and how many more dishes they managed to eat…

The Americans started with heavy and dynamic „Asleep On The Killing Floor” from their latest album and it set the standard for the whole show really high. Oh my! This band sounded so awesome – very raw and dirty, exactly the way Stoner band should sound like. We could hear all the guitar riffs and solos very well, low bass and drums that charges such music with extra energy. Pepper Keenan had powerfull voice which complemented the whole picture of how the band presented themselves. The songs were versatile because they played the fast ones like „Gimme Some More” as well as heavy ones as „Shake Like You” or bluesy „Diablo Blvd.” They were all great, both from the newest one which had a few representatives as well as the classics including the closing ones „Clean My Wounds” and „Albatross”..

Right after the show, I rushed to Obscure stage to catch THY CATAFALQUE – Hungarian band that mixes Black / Death Metal with electronic music and folk that sums up to outstanding musical effect. What is more, they sing in their own language which makes their music even more special. The band has a few singers which switch during the certain songs, so as a result we have growls as well as clean male and female singing. As a result, you never know what to expect from that band and that is the beauty of their performances. The band started with extreme „Néma Vermek” and then played two folk oriented „Trilobita” and „Napút”, but still based on heavy guitar grounds. On the other hand, „Szarvas” starts with blast beats and heavy riffing, but then it becomes more melodic and smoothly mixes both clean singing and growls. I really liked the charming „Toltes” from album called „Geometria”. The song is based only on basic drums and bass with some slight electronics, but the main „instrument” is female voice that put the spell on the audience, as most of people were moving to the main rythm. As a contrast, right after that track, we got a punch in the face with pure Black Metal song called „Jura”. They finished the concert with two songs from their latest album „Alahullas” and the „hit” from their single „A Gyönyörű Álmok Ezután Jönnek”. I know from the interview I had a few months ago with the leader Tamas Katai (LINK HERE) that there will be new album, maybe even this year which is definitely good news.

As usual, it is interesting to watch fans’ T-shirts during the festival as there are so many bands’ names on them, different album covers etc. I surely confirm that CORONER T-shirts were one of the most popular on that day. I am not suprised as they are classic band and what is more they finally issued long-awaited new album. Most of all, at least in my opinion, „Dissonance Theory” lived up to high expectations that cumulated over long years of waiting for this release. The band has unique style and the intangible something that makes their music one of a kind. New album continues that and when we heard the mixture of new and old songs they were all great. The band sounded well too and the fans reaction was equally enthusiastic. New tracks like „Symmetry”, „Oxymoron” or „Scrificial Lamb” dominated the setlist, but we could hear a few older ones like „Masked Jackal” or „Metamorphosis”.

Then, I went to Octagon stage to see DUSK which plays old-school mixture of Death / Doom Metal. If I were to compare them to any band, it would be BOLT THROWER, but the Americans have much bigger tendencies to Doom than to Death Metal. I was really impressed by the growls by Steve Crane who turned out to sound equally brutal as on the album. Those who do not like the most extreme versions of Doom Metal would definitely hate that band, because it can be difficult to digest for those who are not accustomed to that specific sub-genre. I actually counted on more songs from their latest album called “Dissolve Into Ash” which is “a little more accessible” than their earlier works, but they played only one song from that one – awesome “The Dim Divide”. So those who did not know that band and would like to have a milder introduction to their music should start with that album. As I mentioned in my review from the first day (HERE), the sound on Octagon stage is far from perfect and, unfortunately, it did not improve on that concert either …

I was much intrigued about PRIMUS concert on Sea Shepherd for an obvious reason – they are the band that cannot be labelled as typically metal, so it probably was a surprise for many to find them on the schedule this year. I was really curious how the audience would react and it was quite a shock that the response was so enthusiastic. The moment the band started with “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” the grounds started to shake from the jumping crowd. Not only at the front closer to the stage, but there were moments that the whole sea of people that watched the concert were either jumping or at least shaking to their rhythmic music. I can certainly say that I did not see that many people reacting so enthusiastically on any other show on this edition of BRUTAL ASSAULT. I loved the chanting “Primus sucks” in between songs which as far as I know has the long tradition on their concerts. Les Claypool has a lot of distance to himself and his fellow musicians. He made fun of long-time guitar player – Larry LaLonde whom he introduced as the godfather of Death Metal. He was the member of POSSESSED and recorded their classic albums called “Seven Churches” and “Beyond The Gates”. He said that when Larry’s guitar broke down at the beginning of new song “The Ol’ Grizz” and they had to stop the song and start it again. Of course, we heard a lot of hits like “Too Many Puppies”, “Mr Krinkle” which Les played with Pig’s mask on or the finishing two “My Name Is Mud” and “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver”.

After PRIMUS finished, I went to see Nergal & MISÞYRMING on Obscure stage who already started playing BEHEMOTH’s entire first album “Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)”. There were so many people that I decided not to push myself further and watched only one track from far distance, then had something to eat and went back to Sea Shepherd to see KATATONIA. The band released the new album in 2025 called “Nightmares As Extensions Of Waking State”, so obviously they played a few songs from that one including concert opener “Thrice”. I have listened to this band for many years and always liked their sad music and the emotional voice of Jonas Renkse. They consequently follow their path of composing melancholic songs with big dose of progressive elements, twisted riffs and drum patterns. I must say that seeing that band after many years’ break was a positive surprise. Current KATATONIA even without co-founder Anders Nyström sounds really heavy and dynamic. It is clear that the band mates feel the chemistry between them and know how to present their music with passion and energy. Unfortunately, they did not play anything older than “The Great Cold Distance”. It is a great album, actually one of my favourite, but still I miss the classics too.

There was one last band on Marshall stage OLD MAN’S CHILD, but I decided to save the remainings of today’s energy for the last day of the festival. I only watched first two tracks, “Towards Eternity”, which has marching tempo and some orchestration in the background, and one more which was much faster – “King Of The Dark Ages”.

Brutal Assault website