BŘEZFEST 2026: Jihlava’s Amphitheatre Becomes a Battleground for the Underground and International Stars
Major festivals drawing tens of thousands may be a safe bet, but the true heart of the scene beats at smaller, emerging events. The second edition of Březfest in Jihlava showed exactly what an honest underground onslaught should look like: excellent sound, an international line-up, zero posturing and enormous commitment from everyone involved. It was just a shame that the crowd in front of the stage was rather thin and that a few organisational details made finding the venue more difficult than necessary. Those who stayed at home, however, can only regret it.
FRIDAY: From Hungarian Exoticism to Hardcore Mosh Pits, Grinding Fury and Modern Metalcore
The opening day was organised in cooperation with Fajtfest under the Kořeny Vysočiny banner, setting the stage for a stylistically diverse ride. For visitors arriving in Jihlava for the first time, finding the amphitheatre was something of a challenge, as the route to the venue could have been signposted more clearly. Once the music started, however, it more than made up for the confusion.
Hungary's Komodo, winners of the fan competition, opened the entire festival. They delivered their self-described "monitor lizard metal" with the enthusiasm of a band playing to a sold-out stadium, even though only a handful of early arrivals were standing in front of the stage. The experienced Extreme followed immediately afterwards. Their uncompromising old-school death/thrash provided a brilliant contrast: several generations shared the stage, and the combination worked flawlessly.
Local band Furiosa brought a wild fusion of hardcore and rap. Anyone expecting a lukewarm regional set was quickly proved wrong: absolute energy erupted from the stage and immediately swept up the small group of fans in attendance. Latecomers and newly arrived visitors were then shaken fully awake by Ostrava's legendary wrecking crew Malignant Tumour, who poured a heavy dose of filthy crust-grind into the pit.
Friday's finale was confidently dominated by Stellvris. Nicol Hofman was the commanding focal point of the entire show, while the band's modern sound, packed with electronics and crushing growls, hit the mark perfectly. When the new track "Contra El Silencio" rang out and a young female fan jumped onto the stage for the final song, it was clear that Friday had delivered on every level, despite the more intimate crowd.
SATURDAY: When Technology Strikes, Power Metal Blood and a Gothic Legend Take Over
Saturday's opening was complicated by the unexpected cancellation of one of the sets, pushing the schedule back by an hour. For the fans, however, it meant only one thing: more time for beer and some carefree wandering around the amphitheatre while searching for the correct entrance.
Šumperk's Palpitate were an unknown quantity for many visitors, but their technical guitar work and frontman Milan's vocals immediately captured everyone's attention. Turnov-based Purnama also demonstrated a striking step forward, not only visually through their costumes and make-up, but musically as well. The move towards Czech-language lyrics suits the band immensely, and their live performance was highly convincing. The heavy guitar riffs continued with Black Row, who kept the temperature in front of the stage exactly where it needed to be.
Germany's In Sanity demonstrated how modern melodic death metal should be played. Charismatic frontman Erik drove the band forward, and their razor-sharp riffs deserved a considerably larger crowd than the one gathered at the venue at that point. A more substantial audience finally assembled for XIII. Století – the iconic goth-rock institution attracted the festival's largest cross-generational crowd and delivered a set packed with proven classics.
Poland's Moyra delivered precise melodic death metal (essential listening for fans of Arch Enemy ) led by a commanding female vocal performance. One of the most closely watched and eagerly anticipated acts of the entire festival, however, was the German power metal formation Induction. The band, closely associated with guitarist Tim Hansen, son of the legendary Kai Hansen, founder of metal icons Helloween and Gamma Ray, delivered a first-class show. With an international line-up featuring a new Finnish-Italian addition and drumming powerhouse Michael Ehré, they served up power metal of the highest European standard. A setlist built around the album Love Kills confirmed that the apple has not fallen far from the tree and that this band is rising at tremendous speed.
Despite the rain at the end of the evening and the thinning crowd in front of the stage, the experienced Dark Gamballe brought the festival to a confident close, adding a thoroughly professional final note to the entire weekend.
VERDICT: A Passion-Driven Project That Deserves a Full Amphitheatre
Březfest revealed enormous potential. Inside the venue itself, the organising team did a fantastic job: the sound and lighting were on the level of major European events, which is far from common for a festival in only its second year.
The main criticisms would be the unnecessarily long breaks between bands, the somewhat limited directional signage for arriving visitors and, above all, the disappointing attendance, because the performances on stage deserved a much fuller pit. These are all details that can be fine-tuned before the next edition. Březfest has soul, an excellent and wide-ranging programme, and it deserves to welcome dozens more people next year.
THANK YOU – SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR!
To conclude, enormous respect and thanks belong to all the organisers for the courage, energy and genuine passion with which they continue to drive Březfest forward. We also send our heartfelt thanks to every band for their professional performances and for the energy they poured into their sets regardless of how many people were in the pit, and of course to every fan who came along and supported live music.
Březfest proved that it matters. Keep following us, keep the underground alive, and we will see you in Jihlava next year – hopefully in far greater numbers!