Brutal Assault 2025 returned to Jaromer from August 6th to August 9th, 2025, once again cementing its reputation as one of Europe’s most important extreme music gatherings. After last year’s sold-out edition set the bar sky-high, this year’s lineup delivered another remarkable experience. The fortress was capital P packed from the start, but with such a strong program, nobody seemed to mind.
Day two of Brutal Assault moved at a slower pace for us, but the fortress itself was busier than ever. The sold-out status of the festival was beginning to feel overwhelming, with packed crowds making every movement a challenge. Still, the music cut through the chaos and delivered a memorable continuation of the festival.
GUTALAX returned to Josefov Fortress in all their majesty and glory after a few years’ absence—and thankfully with a far more reasonable timeslot than their infamous 10 a.m. set in 2018. Unsurprisingly, the Czech grinders packed the place completely. Everyone wants to party with GUTALAX, and we don’t blame them—sometimes, life’s simplest pleasures are the best.
The audience came properly geared up, and in truth, they were often more entertaining than the stage itself. With wave after wave of crowdsurfers, it looked as if a grenade had gone off in the pit. At one point, we even witnessed a toi toi toilet being carried across the crowd—a massive upgrade from when we last saw GUTALAX at Mystic Festival. The band were promoting their 2021 release “Shitpendables,” and it was a glorious mess from start to finish.
Our first stop at the Octagon stage brought us to American doom torchbearers CRYPT SERMON. Their sound fuses heavy and doom metal in the vein of early CANDLEMASS, yet with ornate melodies and a streak of aggression that makes them appealing even to listeners outside the genre.
The band have been prolific recently, releasing “The Stygian Rose,” in 2024, followed by the “Saturnian Appendices” EP in 2025. The latter even includes a fascinating cover of MAYHEM’s “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,” showing off CRYPT SERMON’s willingness to experiment. Live, the result was both powerful and unexpectedly elegant.
What more can be said about death metal pioneers OBITUARY? They wasted no time turning the fortress into a war zone with their crushing sound. The crowd erupted instantly, and the band delivered exactly the kind of relentless punishment we’ve come to expect. Sometimes, it’s good that some things never change.
Their latest album, “Dying of Everything,” arrived in January 2023, and its tracks blended seamlessly into a setlist that was nothing short of face-crushing.
If any band owned day two, it was GOJIRA. The French giants drew what was likely the largest audience of the day, and their show was nothing short of spectacular. Visually stunning, the performance included pyrotechnics and massive screens with custom visuals, while musically it balanced brutal heaviness with hypnotic atmosphere.
The setlist spanned old classics and newer favorites, but the most striking moment came with “Ah! Ça ira!”—a track they premiered at the Paris Olympics and which has since become a standalone single. GOJIRA’s 2021 album “Fortitude” also made its presence felt, ensuring fans got the best of every era.
Closing our evening, we were once again treated to BLOOD FIRE DEATH, a tribute to BATHORY. Seeing them for the second time in recent memory feels like a luxury, and it’s hard not to be spoiled by it.
While one could dismiss them as “just” a cover band, the passion with which they honored Quorthon was undeniable. And the lineup of guests said it all: members of AURA NOIR, MAYHEM, EMPEROR, ENSLAVED, and even Gaahl himself joined the performance. The result was more than tribute—it was reverence, and the fortress was wrapped in BATHORY’s spirit.
