Brutal Assault 2024

6-10.08.2024, Josefov fortress, Jaromer – Czech Republic

This is serious, it was the 27th edition of Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic. An impressive result and I don’t see (and don’t want to see) any indication that the organisers ever plan to stop. Anyone who goes here and there to gigs in Europe is surely familiar with that name. You can meet people from all over the world including Asian and South American countries. The event takes place on the grounds of the Josefov fortress, in the city called Jaromer.

The line-up of the bands is always a matter of personal preference, but in my opinion the amount of representatives of so many metal subgenres allows all maniacs to find something suitable. The idea of two main stages (Marshall and Sea Shepherd) playing interchangeably is a great idea, although it also has some disadvantages. The main one is the problem with the sound, which happened from time to time. The break between performances was about five minutes, so there was not much time to test the live sound more thoroughly. In addition to the two stages, there were two more – the larger one called Obscure and the smaller one Octagon. There was also the fifth one called KAL stage, but it was the place for more experimental concerts. The timings of those three overlapped with each other and with the main stages, so from time to time you could have the dilemma of what to choose. I myself had a few problems with right choice, but fortunately I did not have many. There were warm-up concerts the day before the main four days on sixth August. Black metal band HELLRIPPER was the headliner of the event while LAID TO WASTE, STELLVRIS, SATISFVCTION and a few more played on the same day. I wasn’t there and didn’t meet anyone who saw them to confirm whether the warm-up was successful or not.

First day – Wednesday (7.08)

Unfortunately, it was not possible to make it to the first bands playing on Wednesday. I had hoped to see EVIL INVADERS, who play powerful thrash metal, and TERRORIZER. There was a chance to see THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, but my colleagues and I had a small mishap. We rented one of the hotel options with transportation to the festival grounds included in the price of the accommodation. The organiser provided the bus timetable to and from the location, but it turned out that in order to get a bus to the festival grounds, you first need to install the festival app and book specific time of departure from the hotel about an hour in advance. We missed the information about such a need, which was written at the table of the festival staff who worked there. As a result, we had to go through this registration path while our bus was already heading to the festival grounds. We had to wait for the next one, sipping Czech beer in the meantime. All in all, I arrived on RED FANG gig and unfortunately didn’t make it in time for FINNTROLL, who were just finishing their set at that time. The Finns are one of those bands I like and enjoy listening to from time to time, but I did not plan to go to their regular concert. Festivals provide you with the opportunity to see a lot of bands you wouldn’t normally see at separate gigs, for example due to distance, finances or time. I think that HATEBREED were the first band that gathered really big crowds. They moved forward hard with their catchy numbers from the very beginning. One of their hits ‘Destroy Everything’ made the ground shake with jumping maniacs. Vocalist Jamey Jasta had his birthday on that day, so everyone chorally sang a few notes for him. He kindly thanked for that and passed his greetings to the other bands playing on the same day and highlighted EXODUS and DEICIDE for their impact on his musical growth.

I listened to a few tracks and moved to the Obscure stage to see VLTIMAS, the band of David Vincent and Rune Eriksen. The third cofounder Flo Mounier (CRYPTOPSY and a few more bands)  was absent probably due some other concert duties and Pawel ‘Pavulon’ Jaroszewicz (ANTIGAMA, BATUSHKA) replaced him. Unfortunately, his drumming was the loudest of all the instruments, especially when he used the double bass, which was quite often. Vincent was dressed in a coat and bowler hat and, together with the make-up on his face, looked like some kind of wandering sorcerer. He was mostly slowly strolling around the stage while giving off his trademark low growls. Of course, we heard a lot of material from this year’s second album, ‘Epic’, which included some novelties in terms of vocal performance. Vincent used some operatic singing there which made a good impression live and only confirmed what a great and versatile singer he is. As the proof of this, you can listen to the title track, with which they began their performance. By the time they finished, DEICIDE were already spitting their relentless death metal on the main stage. Glen didn’t say much between songs, but focused on his primary task – crushing with his possessed vocals. I write it in the plural because the multi-layered sounds he gives out of himself on the records and live are impressive. I was standing closer to the second Marshall stage in order to book a good place for EXODUS, who were next in line, so I won’t say much about the sound. I think that everything sounded fine and the guitars along with the drums flogged everyone equally.

EXODUS was and always will be one of the best thrash metal bands for me. Great sound, the crushing riffs and solos and the tremendous energy that characterises their studio albums. It all takes them to even higher level of intensity while live performances. Gary Holt continues to bangs his head the way he always used to and together with Lee Altus they do their parts with full commitment. Indeed, all four at the front of the stage had a lot of energy for the entire hour they were on stage. A separate comment needs to be made about their drummer Tom Hunting, who underwent a serious stomach operation a few years ago, but even that did not stop him to go on and play with such power afterwards. Tom has always been renowned for his expressive playing and nothing has changed in that respect, his playing was flawless. Just like two years ago when I saw them live together with TESTAMENT, this time too at the beginning of ‘Blacklist’ he stood proudly on his stool and exposed his belly in a gesture of victory as thank you for the support he got at that time. Unfortunately, the show wasn’t perfect sonically, as there were moments when the bass was the loudest instrument and it effectively dominated the guitar parts. It was quite irritating to listen. On the other hand, we got a great selection of songs – there were representatives from the last two albums like ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ and ‘R.E.F.M.’, but also one of their ‘most brutal’ tracks called ‘Deathamphetamine’, originally recorded with Rob Dukes on vocals. Above all, we got a whole bunch of classics like ‘Bonded By Blood’, ‘A Lesson In Violence’, ‘The Toxic Waltz’, and ‘Strike Of The Beast’. It might not be obvious to play ‘Prescribing Horror’ live, but this is the song which has a slower tempo and very dense atmosphere that causes shivers down your spine. There wasn’t much time to get any rest after the show, because TRIUMPH OF DEATH started theirs on Obscure stage. This is the project which performs HELLHAMMER classics and their concert was on a must see list as this was the band which paved quite a few paths which metal music still follows until now. Tom G. Warrior was in a good mood as he spoke quite a lot between the songs. It was a surprise for me, because I used to think of him as a rather reserved guy. He was backed up and sometimes even or replaced vocally by the guitarist in a few tracks and it worked out quite well. The sound was selective and very raw. Unfortunately, more and more lightnings could be seen in the sky towards the end of the show, which did not promise anything good. Eventually, tiredness after the night’s journey and an approaching storm determined that this was the last concert I saw that night. My metal heart ached because I missed DARK TRANQUILITY and ABBATH, who was supposed to play only IMMORTAL songs.

Second day – Thursday (8.08)

I started the second day with a false start by OBSCURA who could not finish the opening track entitled ‘Forsaken’. They started this song at least three times and each time, for technical reasons, they had to stop it a few seconds after the intro had finished. I don’t know their records inside out, but they play interesting music and it was a pity to see them get frustrated. As a result, out of the 35 minutes they had, they could probably only play three tracks. It was interesting to see James Steward of DECAPITATED play the drums with them this time. Young, grindcore band ESCUELA GRIND was next in line. Despite quite short experience, they fulfil all the requirements of the genre. While HAVOK on the Marshall stage were already playing their vibrant thrash metal I had already lined up at the adjacent stage to get to the front line for RIVERSIDE. Polish prog rockers did not get suitable stage timing because they were put between those thrashers and even more extreme INCANTATION. The singer Mariusz Duda even joked that the sky was crying because a progressive rock band appeared on stage at the metal festival. The weather was indeed quite moody on that day and its worst moments were during RIVERSIDE show. Anyway, they did not seem to care about it and played the show on their own terms. We could see that the ‘brutal’ fans were also interested in some non-metal genres. As a result, the band gave an interesting performance, revealing their more dynamic side. As usual, they also played some longer, multi-layered numbers like one of my favourite “Left Out”. This track needs a long time to evolve, but it is well worth its grand finale, which made audience go a little more lively. The aforementioned INCANTATION took the stage afterwards and crushed with their death metal waltz full of technical playing, damn heavy slowdowns and really deep growling.

WHITECHAPEL was next in line on the big stage, but I chose the MY DILIGENCE concert on the Octagon stage instead of them. I really liked their song ‘Horses’ from this year’s album ‘Death.Horses.Black’ when I first heard it recently. We can say that the band plays post rock/metal style, but with dynamic, very guitar-driven song and a fair amount of screaming vocals, which are unfortunately a bit monotonous in the long run. I didn’t listen to the concert till the end, because in the meantime I also visited the artwork exhibition that was right next door and headed for GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT on the Obscure stage. The Irish present a slightly different variant of the same genre than MY DILIGENCE. Firstly, they are instrumental band and secondly they have a lot of catchy melodies wrapped up in a very energetic music. Both the guitarist and bassist bang their heads like real metalheads and their live concerts have incredible power they give off during their show. I am sure that even some people who do not know them will fall into their charm. On the other hand, they are also able to create an incredibly dark and heavy atmosphere with their music – just listen to their (still recent) album “Ghost Tapes #10” which can literally suffocate the listener with an exceptionally dense atmosphere. As for the concert, the band focused a lot on songs from the upcoming album called ‘Embers’, but also played some well-known “hits” such as ‘Suicide By Star’ or ‘All Is Violent, All Is Bright’.

All the other concerts of the day were metal in its purest form. First, FORBIDDEN, a classic thrash straight from the 1980s. I wrote it for the reason, because all the songs the band played that day came from their first two albums, ‘Forbidden Evil’ and ‘Twisted Into Form’. It is fair to say that they have stood the test of time. These numbers still demolish the listener with incredible riffs, solos and drum work, which since their (another) return previous year have been beaten by Chris Kontos. VIOVOD guitarist Dan Mongrain is temporarily performing with them and, as I was standing very close to him, watching him in action was a real treat. Current vocalist Norman Skinner has a some tendency to go into rather high registers, which can be a little annoying at times, but the music and their lively performance overshades this issue. I did, however, miss any song from the last album ‘Omega Wave’, which I hope will finally have its successor. After the show was finished, I had some time to eat and restart before the main points of that day’s programme which was a set of three concerts in a row on the main stage. First in line was CARCASS, who simply took the stage, did their thing and it might as well have been the end of the day – that’s how brilliant this concert was. Great sound of the whole band and the guitarists were slashing with their six-stringed instruments like surgeons from Jeff Walker’s lyrics. He was also flawless with his vocals that evening. The band presented a cross-section of their discography, so it was unlikely that anyone could feel underserved in this regard. TESTAMENT seemed to have agreed with FORBIDDEN to go old-school, as they also played all songs only from their first two albums – ‘The Legacy’ and ‘The New Order’. I’ve seen them live a few times before, so I was happy to hear the tracks they haven’t played in years like ‘Eerie Inhabitants’, ‘Apocalyptic City’, ‘Raging Waters’ and ‘Do Or Die’. Apart from those, we also got the classics like ‘Over The Wall’ and ‘Into The Pit’.

It was great that it was SATYRICON who were the last of the three on that evening. They started with the atmospheric ‘To Your Brethren In The Dark’, which put the audience under their charm. This song seemed a little too long and dull on the album, but it made a huge impression on me in its live version. Anyway, it looked like everyone around me was as enchanted as I was. Then we got the contradictory fast tracks like ‘Forhekset’ and ‘Now, Diabolical’, followed by bits from most of the albums. The only thing missing for me was something from the crazy and yet brilliant ‘Rebel Extravaganza’. ‘Mother North’ was an obvious one and it was sung chorally with the audience. I guess most of the people had the same shivers down their spines as me – awesome feeling. Satyr was very grateful for the opportunity to play concerts again, as this year they played their first shows since the pandemic times. It was tempting to see UADA, the continuation of black metal tones, but after such intense concerts on the main stages it was time to let go and have some rest before the next day, which was also going to be very interesting.

Third day – Friday (9.08)

The third day started for me with the final two songs by LIK, who are the representatives of the traditional Swedish death metal. If you are interested in extreme music, it is simply impossible not to like such sounds. I guarantee they will hit the spot right from the first listen. SVALBARD, for a change, is a band for those who like post-metal, but with a some hardcore tendencies. The concert was definitely a plus in terms of the liveliness on stage, as musically it was definitely a matter of taste – actually not exactly mine. I watched KALMAH with a beer in hand from a different perspective than before, as it was on the walls which surround the two main stages. You can buy the admission to that place separately or in a package with accommodation in one of many available hostel/hotel options. The view is great, but sonically it depends on the concert, but I’ll talk about that a bit later. The band is ideal for festivals, as they play lively music with melodic/folk influences and lots of catchy riffs. ČAD is a Slovak band, which has a well-established status in their own country as well as in their next-door neighbours. It was quite evident from the large crowd that gathered in front of the stage. The guys play solid thrash metal with great commitment, which certainly gives them a lot of fun. The music was great, only I could never get used to the vocals in Slovak – this language sounds a bit grotesque to me for this kind of music and I can’t help it. I was looking forward to the concert of LEGION OF THE DAMNED, for whom I have a certain soft spot. They play riff-oriented and groovy death/thrash metal that has an unbelievable amount of raw power. The Dutch have their own riffing style and stick to that for years. They do not intend to discover any new musical fields, but that’s what I like them for. This is also what their concert was like – very to the point. Unfortunately, they overlapped with IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT, who tempted me a lot to see at least a part of their show. Thus, after about half of the Dutchmen’s concert I ran to the Obscure stage to catch the last 2-3 numbers of this unique band. Although I’m not a big fan of jazz, and there is undoubtedly a lot of this genre in their output, I have always been intrigued by bands that go beyond the firm metal boundaries. That’s why, I wanted to see them live, at least for a while, because a live version is always a different experience than listening to CDs. Unfortunately, they were playing in the sunshine which did not help build the right atmosphere. I heard ‘Chernobyl Blues’, which slowly builds up with some dark and anxious chords and growls and then develops into a possessed black metal attack till the very end. The last one on that day was ‘Swarming Opulence’, a song dominated by drum tornado and accompanied by disharmonic guitar and bass sounds. It is a total chaos, but the type that has its enthusiasts. Do I already belong to that group? Probably not yet, but at the next festival opportunity I will definitely go to their concert again. It’s simply a must-see at least once in a lifetime. If anyone wants to find something new and innovative in extreme metal then I definitely recommend them. They definitely deserve big respect for their musicianship and creativity for such twisted and ambitious music.

A quick equipment change and a completely different sound arrived on the Obscure stage. VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY presents a mixture of stoner and post-rock that enchants with an unusual atmosphere and is additionally decorated with interesting melodies played on bagpipes and clarinet. Those musicians have a remarkable gift for putting listeners into a trance, which lasts for long minutes with relatively simple means – sometimes literally on a single riff, but so heavy and catchy that nothing more was needed to gather quite large crowd by the stage. The voice of the guitarist Alex perfectly fits the music and its atmosphere. His appearance on that day reminded me of a younger version of Bruce Springsteen – he had a similar haircut and used the same looking Fender Telecaster. For those who do not know the band and prefer such style, I recommend to start with their latest album ‘Age Of Aquarius’. CYNIC was next in line on the same stage. According to the organisers, the concert was supposed to be dedicated mainly to their first album ‘Focus’ as it turned 30 last year. The show was a little delayed, because Paul Masvidal had a problem with his vocoder. Luckily, the band started playing a few minutes later with ‘Evolutionary Sleeper’ from ‘Trace In Air’. It was their return album released after many years of silence, because they broke up very soon after their debut was out. It was followed by a number from the last release ‘Ascension Codes’. I thought this was a deliberate move and after a few tracks, we would get the promised debut album in its entirety or a large part of it. However, this was not the case and until ‘almost’ the very end, we only heard tracks from other albums with the exception of ‘Focus’. At the very end, Paul invited ths singer Daniel Flys (PERSEPHONE) on stage to perform the growls in ‘How Could I’. I’m not complaining, because their work doesn’t end with ‘Focus’ and on all their other albums CYNIC have their gems. For example, ‘Adam’s Murmur’ or ‘The Space For This’ played that day are my favourites, but nevertheless I set my mind to hear mostly this iconic album on that show ….

Immediately after the end of CYNIC, I rushed to see LEFT TO DIE – a project that commemorates the first three DEATH albums. What can I say about that show? Quite obvious comments. My memories of the cassette tape era have returned. The band had great, old school sound, played some of the most iconic death metal hymns and paid well deserved respect to Chuck Schuldiner. To be completely happy, I still have to see DEATH TO ALL one day to hear this newer incarnation of this legendary band as well. The Swedes from CANDLEMASS also went old school and played only the classics from their first four albums. A few years ago, Johan Längqvist, the man who recorded the first album with them, ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’, returned to the vocalist position. After the release of their debut, he did not play a single gig with them at that time, as he was reportedly embarrassed by live concerts. Fortunately, he got over it years later, as I did not see any stage fright. It is clearly visible that those gentlemen are having a great time on stage and playing doom metal still gives them a lot of fun. The audience appreciated it and reacted vigorously to the immortal hits like ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘Under The Oak’, ‘Crystal Ball’ or ‘Solitude’. These numbers have incredible power and outstanding vocal parts. CANDLEMASS have come a long way, but have never the rock stars like BLACK SABBATH. Maybe that’s a good thing, because they keep on going, release quality albums and play gigs like the one on Brutal Assault. Long live CANDLEMASS!

The next concert was advertised as a unique event. CULT OF FIRE is a black metal band from the Czech Republic with several albums on their account and many concerts they played around the world. The musicians and the organisers of Brutal Assault decided to organise the concert which would commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The band was accompanied by the BOHEMIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRAGUE while the screen above the stage showed some visualisations. I decided to see this concert from a further distance on the hill I earlier wrote about. It all looked great from that place thanks to beautiful sunset and the moon that was hanging over the stage – a perfect background for this type of event. Unfortunately, sonically, not everything came out perfectly. From our point of view, the most we could hear were the drums and the double bass, which dominated the whole music. The guitars were completely lost and the orchestra was also in the far background. As a result, I decided to go down get near the stage to have the comparison. Luckily, everything sounded much better and all other instruments were heard much better. I was really amazed that the concert attracted such a big crowd. It was a noble idea and the performance was well prepared. It was clear that the entire line-up of musicians had put in a lot of effort to get the best musical and visual effect, so such attendance was well deserved.

I’m not ARCHITECTS fan, so I went to see the performance by EMMA RUTH RUNDLE. Such concert, halfway through metal festival, was a good idea. Quite a lot of people turned up and I do not believe they were there by accident. It was outstanding to see that a woman who stands alone on the stage with an acoustic guitar can create such heavy atmosphere with the use of her deep voice and various effects. I listened to more songs that she composed later at home and this music reached me even more than it did there. Definitely worth checking. I moved on to the KHOLD concert at the Octagon stage after a few tracks. The Norwegian black metallers have their own style, which they have developed over years of playing. They may not be super original, but I like them. The space in front of the stage had some limitations and it was filled to the very end. I was tempted to continue the black metal run with KAMPFAR, VED BUENS ENDE and AKHLYS late night, but the long hours of standing, jumping and singing for the third day in a row did its job and after seeing LAIBACH for a short while I left the festival.

Fourth day – Saturday (10.08)

Time flies differently during the festivals than it normally does and somehow you don’t feel the hours and days passing because they are filled with your favourite music. The final day has come and you could not do anything about it. I started with Dutch classics called SINISTER, who replaced BROKEN HOPE on the schedule at the very last moment. According to the vocalist, they hadn’t played there before, so were very happy about it. They play traditional death metal with its purest form – no fireworks, no stage design or anything else, but music. So like LIK and LEFT TO DIE yesterday, it was SINISTER that satisfied my primal musical need that day. Speaking of the Dutch bands, PESTILENCE started their concert a little later on the main stage. Both bands started at a similar time and shaped the local scene. The latter went for more technical playing, except that on this day the sound didn’t help to enhance their craft and power. The band sounded bland as everything blended into an incoherent wall of sound. Despite this, it was great to see three legends on stage, as SADUS was next in line. The indestructible duo of Jon Allen and Darren Travis released new album ‘The Shadow Inside’ last year after many years of publishing silence. It seems that they now plan to be more active also in case of concerts. They have invited POSSESSED guitarist Claude Creamer and bassist Bobby Real to join their live line-up. This time everything sounded better than their predecessors and obviously most of the songs in the setlist were from the latest release. There were also classics from ‘Illusions’ and ‘Swallowed In Black’, which met with great enthusiasm from the audience. Uncompromising thrash, but played with imagination and not by copying similar riffs is what I appreciate in their music and I did not change my opinion after the concert. I took a break to eat something and the next one I saw on the big stage was PRIMORDIAL, which presents more emotionally oriented type of metal. Every now and then, vocalist Alan encouraged people to be more active and he succeeded. If only they had played a little later by the setting sun, then the concert would have had more suitable atmosphere. Despite this, tracks from the latest album “How It Ends” as well as their evergreens like ‘As Rome Burns’, ‘Coffin Ships’ or ‘Empire Falls’ had great impact on the audience. I was very much looking forward to this concert and was not disappointed. I saw them years ago after the release of ‘To The Nameless Dead’ and nothing has changed since then – full commitment to their music, great contact with the audience and song selection.

Unfortunately, I had to miss EMPEROR due to an interview appointment with Alan. I saw them a couple of years ago, so it did not hurt that much. From post-concert reports I know that the band did not disappoint as usual. The Norwegian black metal legends were followed by THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, who chose to play their debut album ‘Calculating Infinity’ in its entirety for their stage (and probably temporary) return to playing live. I decided not to attend that one, but to see DØDHEIMSGARD who are another example of how black metal can be approached with outside the box attitude to music. Years ago they started with a classical approach, but recent albums including last year’s ‘Black Medium Current’ mix the harsh black metal with some electronic and atmospheric vibes. Such blend is often served in long, multi-layered songs. Of course, at the concert did not consist of just new releases, but a set from various stages of their career and all of them were enhanced by atmospheric visuals and snippets of old horror films.

Right after it finished, I ran to the main stage to catch BEHEMOTH. Everything was ready and the whole stage covered with transparent material which had an important role during the intro. We could see the shadows of the musicians while they were entering the stage and Nergal who was shouting the words of the intro. Maybe it was not completely innovative, but it looked great. The visual impression of the audience is definitely an aspect to which the band have been paying a lot of attention in recent years. As a result, they had a spectacular stage setting that included two high platforms on the sides. What is more, we could see a lot of smoke and fireworks in large quantities. It was all done on a grand scale and effectively enhanced the perception of their powerful music. On the other hand, I had the impression that the whole concert was directed down to the smallest detail and there were not many moments for spontaneous behaviour which is so characteristic of metal concerts. I would like to see BEHEMOTH like in the old days, in a club version where there won’t be so many extra “effects”, but only the music which will surely defend itself. When it comes to the setlist, they presented the songs from the oldest ones like ‘Cursed Angel Of Doom’ from their first demo, through the death metal era of albums like ‘Thelema.6’ and ‘Zos Kia Cultus’ to their latest achievements. As usual, ‘Chant Of Eschaton’ had the traditional blood spitting and it was followed by the majestic ‘O Father O Satan O Sun’ which finished their set.

BEHEMOTH was the undoubted star of the evening and it was clearly evident from the number of people who stayed to watch HEATHEN, who played after them. Compared to their predecessors, only the most persistent fans of the genre decided to witness the pure thrash metal in a rather classic form. Lee Altus, a long-standing member of EXODUS, is one of the founders of that band. This time he was replaced by other guitarist, probably due to a scheduling conflict. The band has a proper punching power and a great, dirty sound both on their first releases as well as on those from this century. We could see clear joy of playing at their gig as they were running around the stage to further encourage the audience to squeeze the last of their sweat out of themselves. This was the last concert at the two bigger stages. I wonder how many people witnessed the very last band DARVAZA at Obscure stage, but I will never know that that – Brutal Assault 2024 became history for me at that point.

What was it like? I think this edition can definitely be called a success. As I wrote in the introduction, with this number of bands and stages, you can always pick at least five to ten concerts on any given day that are worth seeing. Apart from a few technical glitches that I saw, all concerts were on time. Of course, the sound was not always perfect, as that is the nature of the festival, so this issue can certainly be improved in the future. As for other logistical matters, it wasn’t bad. There was plenty of food to choose from – I’m talking about cuisine from all over the world – and even during the peak hours I didn’t notice any huge queues to particular places. The seating capacity was perhaps a weaker spot, as you sometimes had to hunt for it a little longer. The issue of payment is superbly resolved thanks to the introduction of chips, which serve as both an entrance pass and for all purchases on the festival grounds. When you install an app then you have an overview of all your purchases and know how much cash you still have left to use. Such solution is not a novelty at festivals of this size and I have not found any problems here either.

The first headliners for next year have already been announced, so all that’s left to do is wait for the rest of the line-up and think about next year’s metal holidays.