Brutal Assault blackened update

The organizers of the Czech metal festival Brutal Assault announced new lineup additions — the bands MARDUK, BÖLZER, MORTIIS, BELPHEGOR, WRATHPRAYER, MALOKARPATAN, ARKHON INFAUSTUS, and CRUACHAN.

This year's 23rd heavy music outdoor fest will be held from August 8 to 11 in the Czech city of Jaroměř. Among the previously announced members are the bands GOJIRA, TESTAMENT, PAIN, PARADISE LOST, CELESTE, DYING FETUS, HATE, DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA, BEHEMOTH, MINISTRY, WARDRUNA, CONVERGE, as well as AT THE GATES, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CARPATHIAN FOREST, PERTURBATOR and others.

Full announcement: "Even though we are not done with the genre yet, there is no salvation for black metal fans not having a BA 2018 ticket already. Here comes the darkest bill update of them all.

MARDUK will once again perform their sinister soundtrack to war consisting of a relentless barrage of high-speed-drumming, raw and aggressive riffs and hateful roars and screams of agony. More than 25 years of black metal history collide with eons of devastation and destruction amongst human race and the result is an ugly and furious black metal with typical MARDUK trademark.

One of the most unique entities the metal underground has birthed in years comes from pagan traditions of the Swiss mountains. Proudly and resolutely a duo, BÖLZER are using the barest essentials of voice, guitar, and drums and yet manage to create one of the densest, most world-eating sounds around.

Given Håvard Ellefsen status as a founding member of Emperor, we simply have to place him in this blackened batch. As many of you know, MORTIIS will be playing the first era set this summer and the attendees of Brutal Assault won’t miss it! The same goes for Austrian necrodaemon flehscult desecrators BELPHEGOR, whose presence at our festival was long overdue.

From the deepest womb of the South American underground, we shall summon forth the flaming black death metal beast of WRATHPRAYER in one of their rare appearances on European soil. MALOKARPATAN offer a trip to the darkest corners of Eastern European folklore. Their music drinks deeply from the ancient well of Heavy Metal Wisdom, pushing forward a masterclass in timeless metal songcraft and epic storytelling alike whilst never losing the delirium-inducing iconoclasm the band made its foundation from day one.

Breaking a decade of silence, ARKHON INFAUSTUS raise again from the shadows to finish their work and taking over the title of the French most controversial metal act. Last but not least, Irish heathens CRUACHAN will demand blood for the Blood God with their black folk metal!"