Czechia, despite being a relatively small country, maintains a reputation of a pretty solid destination on the European metal festival map. There’s plenty to choose from – heavy metal fans have Masters Of Rock or Metalfest Open Air, death metal lovers can head to Czech Death Fest, and grindcore aficionados are more than welcome to attend Obscene Extreme.
One of the longest ongoing festivals in Czechia, however, is no other than Brutal Assault, which will be holding its 28th edition in 2025.
With the 30th edition getting closer and closer, the promoters decided to slowly spoil the attendees, and started with a proper banger of an announcement before the 2024 edition even ended. So let this article be the first of a series of reminders of what one can expect at the upcoming Brutal Assault in 2025. Just to sharpen your appetite before the main course.
Headliners
They opened up the Olympics in Paris in late July 2024, and not even three weeks later, they were announced as the first act of Brutal Assault 2025. French giants from GOJIRA are back after 7 long years at the Fortress Josefov! Since then, they released an album “Fortitude” in 2021 as well as a couple of singles, became a permanent part of metal history because of their performance at the Olympics, and won a Grammy for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”… Suffice to say, guys have been busy but found some time to go back to Czechia. And since there will probably be nothing more metal than singing French revolutionary songs, GOJIRA‘s set is an absolute must-see.
Another classic on the bill is symphonic black metal from Norway, DIMMU BORGIR. Like them or not, DIMMU blending the harshness of black metal with symphonic elements, made them a staple of the Norwegian scene for more than three decades now. Their most recent LP was “Eonian” back in 2018. They will not be particularly busy in 2025 concert-wise, so best to get your chance to see them in Jaroměř.
Considered by many to be pioneers of industrial metal, MINISTRY has been led by magnetic Al Jourgensen for four decades now (including split-ups). As Jourgensen admitted in an interview, their upcoming 2025 release, “The Squirrely Years Revisited,“ will be their last album after which they intend to disband. This might be one of the very last opportunities to see them live at the Fortress, better not miss out!
Other bands
The headliners weren’t the only ones to be announced. What followed was a North American metal/deathcore offensive by the almighty trio – AUGUST BURNS RED, ANGELMAKER, and BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME. Another French act on the bill, BENIGHTED, will massacre the audience with their brutal death metal. Continuing in the death metal department, one cannot get more classic than Florida’s OBITUARY or New York’s SUFFOCATION, which both helped carve the genre to what it is today. And if we are talking about death metal, one cannot leave Swedes out of the conversation. Thus UNLEASHED was invited to perform as well and spread the good word of Viking death metal.
This year, it seems the industrial team will be pretty strong, and to start with STATIC-X was announced. STATIC-X was another absolute staple on the early ’00s playlists and for a good reason. After reforming a couple of years after Wayne Static’s death in 2014, they are continuing his legacy. Another industrial band from that era is American DOPE, who will tour with STATIC-X and join them in Fortress Josefov as well. Lastly, there’s Norwegian THE KOVENANT who are coming back after almost a decade and a half back silence on stages and hopefully some new material!
Last but not least, we got our first hardcore name, which is Swedish powerhouse THROWN; as well as our first grindcore band, American PIG DESTROYER, who were one of the first to define the grindcore scene and its sound back in the ’90s.
Get your tickets at the best price: https://brutalassault.cz/en/tickets/detail/id/685
