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Live Concert Report: 2021 Josefstadt (Day One) Czech

Band Photo: Decapitated (?)

Day one of the Josefstadt (aka Mini Brutal Assault) Festival is history. Were it not for Covid, this would be a five-day festival, with more than two stages, and several times as many bands. However, I can’t complain as this is still one of the largest metal festivals (if not the largest) that has taken place in the past 18+ months.

The layout is different than it was last year and, of course, very different from Brutal Assault. The large Sea Shepherd stage for Josefstadt is where the Obscure stage was for 2019 Brutal Assault. Fortunately, it isn’t enclosed like Obscure was. I felt somewhat claustrophobic in the Obscure tent in 2019. The Octagon stage is the same as it was for Brutal Assault with the twist that it is opened up to a bar within the fortress. Although a major improvement, the area can still be too crowded and difficult to get in and out of.

There is no large video screen like there is for Brutal Assault. This wouldn’t be a big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that the sound and lighting tents are very wide and not that far from the stage. If you aren’t in front of them, you can’t see the stage, which is why the video screen would be nice. Sound quality is excellent (unless you are in the photo pit between speakers) like it is for Brutal Assault.

And now some photos.

Bohemyst is a new band made up of members of Master’s Hammer and Avenger. Their first album was released on the same day as their appearance at Josefstadt so the audience wasn’t familiar with it. I’ve listened to it once and thought it sounded great. Cern a Smrt could be a surprise offering that hits some of the “best of” lists for 2021.

Debustrol has been around forever, but they aren’t well known outside of Czech and have played very few shows outside of their home country. I’ve become familiar with them since they were announced as being on the Josefstadt bill and found their performance to be one of the best, if not the best, of the day.

A half hour or so before Vader took the stage, one of the food stalls caught on fire. The flames grew and the fire department arrived quickly. Amazingly, as I’ve been at shows that were called off for far less, the firefighters did their job without disturbing the rest of the event in the least.

Vader did not have their pyro that they did in Poland, but the fire just before their set didn’t seem to be the reason. Maybe there won’t be any pyrotechnics at Josefstadt. I’m not sure what the regulations are at the moment, but Brutal Assault typically had pyro for some of the bigger bands after dark.

I understand the members of Belzebong had their first edible experience after their show.

This was one of Destruction’s first shows without Mike Sifringer, who played with them at 2019 Brutal Assault.

More photos will be posted here, and a couple more posts on the festival, with photos, are forthcoming.