Czech black metal legends Master’s Hammer to perform debut album ‘Ritual’ in full at Josefov Fortress as festival celebrates three decades of extreme music
Brutal Assault has announced its jubilee 30th edition, set to take place in August 2027 at the Josefov Fortress. Headlining the celebrations is a landmark announcement: Czech black metal legends ‘Master’s Hammer‘ will perform an exclusive set dedicated entirely to their groundbreaking debut album “Ritual,” one of the most important and influential recordings in the history of the genre.
When the second wave of black metal began to take shape in the early 1990s and the eyes of the entire underground were fixed on northern Europe, one of the most influential recordings of the entire genre was being created behind the Iron Curtain. ‘Master’s Hammer’, a formation that emerged from the Prague underground at the end of the 1980s, did not merely build on the legacy of ‘Venom‘ or ‘Bathory‘. They brought an unprecedented avant-garde approach and a specific Central European aura to the aggressive genre, years ahead of its time and defining a sound that hordes of symphonic black metal acts would turn to a decade later.
Released in 1991, “Ritual” resonated strongly across all of Europe. The departure from traditional heavy metal methods toward a dark, occult atmosphere was enhanced by the use of timpani, keyboard soundscapes, and František Štorm’s unique vocals. The Czech lyrics added further to the recording’s mystique, a fact confirmed even by key figures of the Norwegian scene. Fenriz of ‘Darkthrone‘ did not hide his admiration, having paradoxically described “Ritual” as “the first Norwegian black metal album.” Now, after more than three decades, this masterpiece will come alive in the unique atmosphere of the Josefov Fortress, whose historic walls will provide the perfect backdrop for such an event.
Festival booker Tomáš Fiala underlined the significance of the booking:
“Bringing Master’s Hammer back to the stage with a program dedicated exclusively to the Ritual album has been our long-term dream, and the ideal moment arrives precisely with the thirtieth anniversary of Brutal Assault. This recording is an absolute milestone in extreme music, and its influence reaches far beyond the borders of our country. It is a piece of dark history that, without exaggeration, defined the shape of contemporary black metal. The opportunity to hear these tracks live and with that true raw essence in the setting of Josefov will be an extraordinary experience for all of us, perfectly underlining the uniqueness of the upcoming edition.”
‘Master’s Hammer’ will join a lineup that reflects thirty years of evolution in extreme genres. The names confirmed so far include Danish pioneers ‘Mercyful Fate‘, Finland’s ‘Children of Bodom‘, British masters of gothic rock ‘The Sisters of Mercy’, and genre stalwarts ‘Emperor‘, ‘Carcass‘, ‘Hypocrisy‘, ‘Belphegor‘, ‘DevilDriver‘, and Polish black metal entity ‘Mgła‘.
Tickets for the jubilee 30th edition of Brutal Assault, as well as further information about the lineup and services on the festival grounds, are available on the official festival website at brutalassault.cz.
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