Brutal Assault is an open-air extreme metal festival held at Josefov Fortress in Jaroměř, Czech Republic. Founded in 1996, it began as a small event focused on extreme metal before developing into one of Central Europe’s major festivals for heavy and underground music.

The festival was first held in Obůrka near Blansko and moved several times during its early years. In 2007 it settled at Josefov, an 18th-century military fortress on the edge of Jaroměř. The fortress setting has since become central to Brutal Assault’s identity, with concerts, bars, food areas, exhibitions and side events placed among stone walls, courtyards, cellars and former military spaces.

Brutal Assault runs across four main festival days, usually in August, with a warm-up day before the main programme. The festival is built around two alternating main stages, allowing large bands to play consecutively without long breaks or major clashes between headliners. Other stages and spaces are used for smaller acts, experimental music and late-night programming.

The musical focus is broad but consistently heavy and dark. Death metal, black metal, grindcore, doom, thrash, hardcore, crust and industrial metal form the core of the programme, while selected punk, noise, dark electronic, ambient and experimental artists also appear.

Artists who have played Brutal Assault include Emperor, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Opeth, Behemoth, Mayhem, Gojira, Meshuggah, Ministry, Neurosis, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Obituary, At the Gates, Testament, Kreator, Sodom, Paradise Lost, Wardruna, Heilung, Converge, Godflesh and many others.

The festival site includes more than concerts. Brutal Assault has hosted horror cinema, art exhibitions, talks, meet-and-greets, merchandise areas, food courts, bars and chill-out zones inside the fortress grounds. The experimental KAL club adds ambient, electronic and other non-metal sounds to the wider programme.

Josefov Fortress gives Brutal Assault a setting very different from a standard open-field festival. The old military architecture, narrow passages, stone walls and enclosed courtyards create a dark and atmospheric backdrop that fits the extreme music programme.

The festival has also developed a strong environmental profile, including reusable cups, reduced single-use plastics, waste sorting and other green measures. Modern editions are fully cashless and attract an international audience to Jaroměř each year.

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ADDRESS:
Okružní 244, 551 02 Jaroměř 3-Josefov, Czech Republic

Back to Jaroměř.