After a twelve hour trip through a Germany that was traditionally tormented by road maintenance works, we finally arrived at our destination: the picturesque village of Jaromer, Chech Republic. Situated within the inner walls of the impressive Fortress Josefov, many of its inhabitants had fled the scene of the barbaric invasion that was about to take place by Brutal Assault Festival, whereas the stores had stocked up on ridiculously cheap beer, rum and any other liquor you could think of.

Day four: Saturday August 11th

The last day of Brutal Assault was promising to be a rather calm day. Before we were consciously awake, we managed to drag ourselves to the shows of Angelmaker and Akercocke at the mainstages. It was Angelmaker (***)’s first time in Europe and with the high quality these Canadians had to offer, it definitely shouldn’t be the last time! Akercocke (**1/2), the drum&bass of extreme metal, proved to be a touch too eccentric for this early hour but if you are into special stuff, be sure to check them out! The British hardcore formation Broken Teeth (***1/2), however, always guarantees a party. Upon our arrival at the Metalgate stage, it had been transformed into a literal wall of sound with amplifiers everywhere, to the point where you could barely see the backdrop anymore. The band clearly has made a name for themselves, given the large pre-emptive, moshpit-shaped gap in the waiting pack of fans. A little confusion at the start of the show: apparently singer Dale Graham had finally decided to get rid of his long nineties Tommy-from-the-Power-Rangers-hair, so people didn’t recognize him straight away. As soon as he opened his mouth in unbridled aggression, there was little doubt about it anymore. He even destroyed a microphone! Aside from a mellow speech about how extreme music is the truest expression of pure emotion – which at this stage between being drunk and being hungover was weirdly touching – Broken Teeth played a nice, vivid set with primarily songs of their last album (Nothing Like You, Show No Mercy, Prove You Wrong…) but the most fun was watching the violent dancing! Ahhh, all these fitnessboys all worked up on adrenaline just jumping up and down and swirling their limbs in all different directions! It’s a miracle nobody got seriously injured. Especially when half the pit decided to start a massive rowboat-session! A job well done.

We stuck around to witness the deathened black metal of Arkhon Infaustus (***), a band in which even the guitars look genuinely evil. For a change, we could actually see the artists because the tent wasn’t filled with smoke from a previous show! The Frenchies put up a nice performance full of banging riffs and prancing death metal guitars. An ideal warm-up for their big brothers of Belphegor (****)! Maybe they had some rough nights behind them too, because Helmuth greeted us no less than three times with “Sloveniaaaah” before saying “fuck that, this is Czech Republic, right?” But truth be told, it was pretty much a repetition of the show at Metaldays. They were awesome then and they were awesome now! What else do you expect with a stage filled with pig carcasses, which, by the look of all the flies neatly filmed by the filmcrew, were very real! But not only the filmcrew knows something about cinematography, the experienced musicians knew very well where to be at what time and in which pose. The best image was when everyone crammed themselves in between the two carcass totempoles in front of the drummer, loved! It! And speaking of experience, Helmuth and Serpenth even finished each other’s… screams. I also like how they are still just human beings who don’t take themselves too seriously and don’t feel too trve to interact with their fans.

Time to tone it down after two brutal death/black metal shows. Conveniently, the Italian occult doom rock band Abysmal Grief (****) was in town! They sure know how to bring atmosphere in the Oriental stage. Two big crosses adorned the corners of the stage, accompanied by church-like pillars of red light, and of course the artists themselves had their usual costume party. Bassist Lord Alastair looked like a cute yet groovy version of the Grim Reaper with his tall skinny posture under a thick hooded cloak. Frontman and organist Neothytus and his high hat reminded us of a cursed baron from a seventies vampire movie. It was a good and fun first impression for me personally! Catchy and atmospheric, but with a killer voice to tip it off. I’m sure we’ll meet again!

Back to the Metalgate stage for another personal and French highlight (pun intended): Celeste (****). As opposed to their daylight show at Hellfest, it was now dark enough to carry their bicycle lights on their heads! Covered by fog and depicted against stroboscopes and strong golden backlights, their silhouettes looked like strange cyclopic aliens. Once again, Celeste delivered a darn heavy set full of the best the sludge and post-metal scene has to offer. Need I say more? Just check them out! This is one of these bands whose music only reaches its full potential once released on a stage.

Reluctantly and filled with negative prejudice, we went to see Danzig (**1/2). Not our kind of music at all, but on their first time in the Czech Republic on their thirtiest anniversary tour, we could just as well give it a shot. I must say, there is something about this guy that makes it impossible to dislike him while he’s performing. He enjoys being on stage so much! Between all songs, he was huffing and puffing like an overexcited Labrador, but once the next song started, the adrenaline took over again. He involuntarily reminded me strongly of the fat overaged stripper from Friends at Phoebe’s bachelor party! People should start making stuffed animals of Danzig, with an adorable fluffy beer belly. It turned out to be a very cozy celebration of metal (or hard rock) music, so set your prejudice aside and give the guy a chance!

Before Wardruna would start, we had some time to squeeze Dodecahedron (****) in between. It seemed that Oriental stage equals delay, but after five days of hearing jabbertalk like Polish and Czech, it was actually nice to hear some Dutch once again. As soon as Dodecahedron entered the stage, there was no doubt that they were from the Netherlands: in the icy blue lights amidst the mist, they looked like frost giants from tales untold. The least you can say is that the show is visually spectacular! A lot of dramatic gestures through the mist and a good light show to recreate the atmosphere of whirling atoms and stuff like that. Musically, they are often described as mathematical black metal. My father would describe it as raping your instrument, but hey what does he know. It took me a while to decipher the order within the chaos, but it actually grows on you! Technical talent and great atmosphere combined into one memorable show.

But no band can beat Wardruna (*****) when it comes to memorable shows! Ahhh, it’s like they actually open the gates to another world. Amazing what pictures one can create with a torn canvas and some lights… We went from icy seas over rocky plains to flourishing forest, only by the power of suggestion, great music and trance-infused imagination. Magnificent shadows played enormous carnyxes like the ghosts of fallen warriors Wardruna took us on a shortened tour throughout their Runaljod-trilogy, but it wasn’t enough for us. After what must have been the longest applause of the festival, Einar had one ultimate treat for us: Helvegen. Wonderful to see how quickly a crowd went from ecstatic to respectfully silent when he said he wanted to dedicate the song to a deceased loved one… I love this subculture.

That was the last band we consciously watched, as exhaustion and alcohol crept up on us. After a short night’s sleep, we reluctantly packed our bags and started the long journey home, determined to visit this great festival again next year! Definitely one of the best festivals I’ve attended so far on an overall level.