Brutal Assault has added twenty six names to its thirtieth edition, which runs from 4 to 7 August 2027 at the Josefov Fortress. Knocked Loose head the wave. Agnostic Front, Heaven Shall Burn and the composer Mick Gordon are on it, and so are Arcturus, Vintersorg, Stormkeep, Russian Circles, Humanity's Last Breath, Yob and John Garcia.
The number in the announcement that matters is not twenty six. Festival director Tomas Fiala says more than 66.6 percent of the capacity is already sold with less than ten months to go, and that he would not advise waiting. A festival two thirds sold before the line up is finished is a festival that no longer needs the line up to sell.
The spread is wider than usual. Gorgasm, Carnifex, The Acacia Strain, Six Feet Under and Fulci on the heavy end; Gorilla Biscuits, Get The Shot, Volumes and the Taiwanese band Whispers on the hardcore end; Mol, Unprocessed and Forsman filling in the atmospheric middle. A Tribute to Quorthon and Bathory comes back to Josefov after two years away.
These join Children of Bodom, Mercyful Fate, The Sisters of Mercy, Emperor, Carcass, Dismember, Mgla and Dethklok, who were already booked. Fiala notes that counting the editions moved during the pandemic, this is the twentieth time the festival returns to the fortress.