NEW BANDS ANNOUNCEMENT! WARDRUNA, TORMENTOR, CONVERGE!
WARDRUNA is a Norwegian music group founded by Einar Kvitrafn Selvik that first enchanted their listeners with their mesmerizing debut album ‘gap var Ginnunga’ in 2009, which also marked the first part of the planned ‘Runaljod’ trilogy. In the ensuing years the group have spent a lot of time on adapting their music to a live format and establishing a live band. This resulting in a handful of very special concerts, perhaps most notably when they performed in front of the majestic 1100-year-old Gokstad ship at the Viking Ship Museum in Norway.
With the use of the oldest of Nordic instruments and poetic metres as well as lyrics written in Norwegian, Old Norse and Proto-Norse tongue, Wardruna manages to make a strikingly beautiful and intense continuation of old northern musical traditions.Indeed WARDRUNA primarily use old and historical instruments such as primitive deer-hide frame drums, Kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, lur and more. Non-traditional instruments and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water and torches are also used. All of these elements are carefully woven into a rich musical landscape and complemented with whispering voices, melodic song and mighty choirs. Although Wardruna’s music share characteristics with music typically labeled as folk, world and/or ambient, none of these genres can really describe their unique style. It truly must be experienced and you will have the unique opportunity at Brutal Assault 2018!
With great pleasure we can announce that TORMENTOR will return from the dead after 20 years of silence to play BA 2018' Formed in Budapest in 1985, TORMENTOR is the one the best kept secrets in black metal. Possibly not that many fans of the 2nd wave of black metal bands (especially from Norway) can appreciate the immense influnce that TORMENTOR had on their output. The iconic debut album, 'Anno Domini' together with the 'Seventh Day of Doom' demo are some of the most influential releases in black metal with profound impact on acts like Mayhem, Dissection, Nifelheim, Immortal, Darkthrone or Emperor.
Even though 'Anno Domini' was recorded in 1988, due to problems caused by the communist regime, it took many years to formally release it. The influence had to be spread via undergroud tape trading which kept TORMENTOR under the radar for some, however nowadays the musical legacy of TORMENTOR can firmly be placed amongst other pioneering acts such as Bathory, Sarcofago or Celtic Frost.
After TORMENTOR's early demise in 1991 the band's charismatic singer Attila was invited to join Mayhem to record his innovative vocal lines for the timeless classic 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' and kept busy with the band whilst also pursuing numerous other artistic projects, while the guitarist Tamás Buday is active with Swedish masters of black thrash Nifelheim. That means you don't have to be worried about rusty skills as the bands will be appearing in the classic line-up.
Another renowned musical prophets, this time bending, expanding and fusing hardcore and metalcore will return to BA... ladies and gentlemen, prepare for CONVERGE! These Boston-based heavy-music innovators will release a new album this November after 5 years of silence. The album tittled The Dusk In Us shows the band’s artistic evolution and avant-garde sensibilities while still capturing their classic sound. After forming in Massachusetts in 1990, CONVERGE made their debut with 1994’s Halo in a Haystack. Quickly regarded as pioneers within the aggressive music arena, the band had a major breakthrough with their landmark album Jane Doe—a 2001 release praised as iconic by the countless followers of the CONVERGE cult.
The last band on our list for today are disseminators of sickness from Manchaster INGESTED, who are currently signed to the leading label in their genre of technical brutal death metal - Unique Leader records.
After the last year, that was for the first time in history sold out in pre-sale, we now bring you early bird tickets for Brutal Assault 2018! The festival will be held between 8th and 11th August 2018 again in the fortress Josefov.
The first wave of PRINT @ HOME tickets is on sale until the end of April 2018. Please order at our new eshop shop.brutalassault.cz.
We are happy to welcome Swedish classics AT THE GATES – who spawned melodic death metal, influenced metalcore and went ahead of their time with the all-time classic record Slaughter of the Soul. Confirmed is also demonic Hellenic death metal of DEAD CONGREGATION, who themselves have also re-defined blasphemous death metal stemming from the depths of netherworld with their instant-classic debut record Graves of the Archangels. Ever since they’ve stayed loyal to the subgenre they helped to revive and belong among the most essential bands death metal has to offer these days.
SADISTIC INTENT set their path to be classical styled underground death metal around 30 years ago, when it was not yet coined what will be in the future regarded as so and they never strayed from this path. They kept low profile and swore their oath to the underground and we now have the great pleasure to welcome them at BA for the first time ever! After years we will welcome back legendary Dutch act PESTILENCE. Tech death metal pioneers who left significant mark on extreme metal scene promised to play mostly all-time classics.
MISERY INDEX on the other hand never shied away from mixing death metal up with grindcore and helluva dose of adrenalin and they will present their juiced-to-the-tits style at BA again! Returning to our festival are also THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, who are drawing on melodic and metalcore elements and combining them in a powerful and energic death metal blend. And for the first time ever you will have the chance to experience uncompromising dirt-laden violence hardcore grind of their fellow Americans NAILS. Equally uncompromising will be also British act KUROKUMA, who are ready to blow brains wide open with a vicious sludge sound.
The genre of doom metal will also be represented by guardians of the old ways NOVEMBERS DOOM from the US and on the other hand purveyors of progress and experiments OBSCURE SPHINX from Poland. Progressive and reflective attitude to composing will also be showcased by Emperor frontman IHSAHN with his solo project.
As for black metal, even here we managed to get representatives of the ultra-orthodox school in CARPATHIAN FOREST and on the other hand we’ll host agents of melodic Portland scene with members of Agalloch, Uada and Maestus with their new project PILLORIAN. Beyond that we’re also gonna have WHOREDOM RIFE out of Nidaros, Norway, who are firmly rooted in classical second wave black metal of the early 90’s. However, beyond that they also manage to bring in their distinctive style of eerie melodies and massive amounts of charisma, especially in their frontman K.R. Geared to battle with this combination of elements in conjunction with their strictly underground integrity they might be able to become the banner bearers for the genre known as true Norwegian black metal.
The out of ordinary icing on the metal cake will have form of retro-futuristic electronica produced by French half-man, half-synthesizer PERTURBATOR, who took both metal and electronic scene by storm with his peculiar dark synths paying homage to the 80’s and aesthetics stemming not only from movies of the period but also from metal-specific approaches.