Music fans packed the historic Josefov Fortress in Jaroměř for the Brutal Assault extreme music festival, which featured more than 160 bands, international environmental partnerships, and expanded family programs before concluding its multi-day run.
Organizers confirmed that the event’s capacity was fully sold out, driven by a growing share of international attendees making the trip to the Náchod district. Festival spokesperson Vojtěch Sedlák stated, „Bylo nás dvaadvacet tisíc,adding that he was counting not only the spectators, but also the crew members who took care of the festival’s operations and the musicians.
Musical highlights spanned diverse subgenres across the festival’s stages. The official first festival day on Wednesday featured main attractions such as American progressive metalists Periphery, American metal bands Metal Church and Nevermore, and Swiss symphonic-black metal band Samael. These followed traditional warm-up concerts held on Tuesday for eager attendees. Finnish band Waltari delivered a standout set on Thursday, performing material from their famous album Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C accompanied by a complete symphonic orchestra, specifically the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague.
Metal, hard core, rock. Festival Brutal Assault
„Symfonici byli přijati skvěle, ostatně to není poprvé, co na festivalu vystoupili. Potvrzuje se, že na náš festival jezdí lidé otevření novým zážitkům, novým hudebním projektům,“ uvedl Sedlák.”
Evening performances included American rock rappers Body Count and Finnish metal group Amorphis. Friday brought genre diversity and instrumental fascination, featuring funk-metal Americans Primus, Swedish rap-metal veterans Clawfinger, and Swiss metallers Paleface Swiss, featuring singer Marc „Zelli“ Zellweger. The final day of the festival offered northern ritual ambient by the band Wardruna, Swedish doom metal fathers Candlemass, and modern hard core by American band The Ghost Inside, who were at Brutal Assault for the first time. Other notable acts mentioned by attendees included German metal band Mental Cruelty, Leo Moracchioli from Frog Leap Studios, and Japanese band Crossfaith, featuring bassist Hiroki Ikegawa and frontman Kenta Koie.”
Some internet discussions showed that many visitors found parts of the venue crowded at certain hours, with John Undertakers Trošok writing on Facebook: „Tlačit se davem, mačkat se mezi stovkami lidí a bojovat o každý metr jen proto, aby člověk vůbec něco viděl nebo slyšel, je podle mě špatně.
Největší šílenosti z historie festivalu Brutal Assault
Environmental Partnerships and Community Growth
The festival partnered this year with the international environmental nonprofit Savage Lands. The partnership is based on the shared belief that cultural events have the potential not only to entertain, but also to mobilize communities, protect ecosystems, and inspire lasting change, giving the metal community a tool to contribute to planetary restoration. This novelty naturally followed the festival’s existing ecological activities, primarily the Brutal Forest project, which has been running for six years and last year crossed the threshold of dvanácti tisíc vysázených stromů.
Family programming also saw notable expansion, including lectures, workshops, and exhibitions. „Roste také zájem o programy pro děti. Loni jsme poprvé spustili festivalový dětský tábor, kdy se dětem věnují zkušení školní instruktoři. Zájem o tuto aktivitu rústá, do budoucna chceme kapacitu tábora dál navyšovat. Čím dál tím víc rodičů toho využívá, protože vědí, že o děti je postaráno,“ dodal mluvčí.”
Na festival Brutal Assault dorazilo okolo 20.000 návštěvníků
Managing Heatwaves and Logistics in Josefov
High temperatures that hit the Czech Republic in the preceding days prompted organizers to implement numerous measures against the heat. Organizers increased the number of places in the area where people could draw free drinking water, placed various misting systems, and firefighters sprayed the crowd with water. Medical personnel were also on standby in case of emergency.
„Kolapsové stavy jsme zaznamenali, ale vzhledem k počtu návštěvníků jich nebylo mnoho, nic vážného. Žádné drama se nekonalo ani co se týče bouřek, festival je bez většího problému,řekl ČTK Sedlák.
Local police traditionally oversee traffic and public order due to the high number of visitors, cooperating with organizers and integrated rescue system components. Organizers noted that traffic problems could occur on Sunday when the majority of visitors leave Josefov.
Related reading