Now it's time to talk about the goods I picked up during my tenure in Europe.
First up are the goodies (the little figurines and shot glass) I bought in Prague for friends and family. The bottle of Bozkov Tuzemsky was also purchased in Prague and bought as a gift for a good friend of mines, as tempted as I was to keep it for myself =P . The brown frame with the skulls and bones and gray skull was purchased at Kostnice Sedlec and is all mine. A cliff note about the castle on the far end with the tall tower was purchased in Vienna as a last minute gift I almost forgot to buy for a relative of mines.
As with any Metal Festival, the first order of business is to plop down your camp gear and set up a tent. This is the equivalence of a dog marking his/her territory with its urine, different species, same approach (urine and all). I managed to "enhance" the experience of camping by purchasing the Brutal Assault VIP Camp bracelet which was a gated section with 24/7 security, lighting, and even dedicate port-a-potty's and port-a-sinks (which were cleaned and refilled at regular intervals) for exclusive use of the VIP campers. Definitely recommended.
The next order of business is to pick up your bracelet as this will grant you access to the key parts of the festival. Without it, you will be like a toothless tiger. You get a goodie bag with some key essentials that will make your visit to the festival as smooth as possible, if you want to call smooth freezing your ass off in your tent and getting soaking wet to catch a band you have never seen before.
They provided a "T(h)rash" bag to help keep the camp sites clean. Gotta do your part if you want to make these festivals a fun and "clean" (loosely using the term =P ) as possible. Heck, they even recycled the 2010 bags and re-deployed them to the front line for the 2011 edition of this festival.
They also gave the mandatory Brutal Assault sticker. This is standard issue gear (if you want to be considered a Metal festival/band/store/etc.) to put in your mirror/office/locker/any place you deem worthy/etc.
One of the items that came with the bracelet was a lanyard with a booklet that had key info on the festival and some free crucial coupons that hanged around your neck. Plus it helps that it makes you feel like a roadie a la Eddie Riggs or one of the band members performing at the festival, although it won't get you backstage, but still, the feeling is there. A side note, this lanyard with the booklet is why Brutal Assault will one day become one of the premier Metal Festivals not only in Europe, but the world. Actually, considering the 2012 line up, looks like they have made it to the promise land.
First up on the "Holy Booklet of Brutality" was the lineup times and days when all the bands performed. This is something many Metal festivals (all of them if they don't have this in place) can take from as it is proven time and again to give the running order of when a band plays for the Metal fans who were either too lazy or rushed into making their trek to the battlefields.
Than you had your "mini-me" version of a catalog merchandise to show you the goods they had for sale. You also had the opening hours of the places (like the merch stands, the electronics charging stations, horror cinema, etc.) that make going to a Metal festival much more comfortable.
It also told you the times of the meet-and-greets, so you can go into fanboy/fangirl mode. It also showed you who was sponsoring this festival, and aside the usual suspects (Jägermeister), you also had Metal Shop, which is a kick ass store, but why did it have to be all the way in the Czech Republic (jokingly of course).
Than you got the map, which showed you where everything is, if you know how to read maps and know where north is, getting lost wouldn't be a problem, unless your alcohol/drug consumption was on the heavy side.
Remember those free crucial coupons I told you about? Here they are. For those who spoke the tongue of the native land and English, it will explain everything why they are so crucial. I know I didn't utilize them, but since I had lots of spending money to work with, this was a necessary sacrifice. Why did I sacrifice free booze? For you the reader who took time to visit my neck of the woods in cyberspace\m/
I procured these while at Brutal Assault, and aside from the lovely lady who served me a wonderful beverage, she gave me Jägermeisters answer to Hawaiian Leis.
The next 2 items I purchased came with a Nuclear Blast bag and Magazine, which goes to show the folks who sponsor these festivals know how to reach out to the audience and enhance the experience.
First up is the Brutal Assault allover Double-Headed Eagle shirt. This shirt acts in 2 capacities; 1) It makes a great allover shirt and 2) it's like one of those douche-bag shirts you see at the Dolphin Mall all the time, which allows me to blend in with the outsiders.
Next is the main festival shirt. This is a mandatory piece of armory as festival shirts, like the festival bracelet, will indicate to all you went (as in survived) the festival emblazoned on your chest and back.
Then there's the Brutal Assault cups. Like in Wacken, if you bought the cup and returned it to one of the many beer stalls, they'll give you another cup without charging the deposit. They only had 1 design, but this design is "Screaming for Vengeance" \m/
Remember the lanyard that held the booklet that was worthy of being hanged around the neck of the worlds greatest roadie? They also sold a cup holder that can attach itself either to your belt or the lanyard so you can free your hands for a moment or two to either take a pic/flash the horns at someone/look at a hot women, and it even gives the whole lanyard a Metal kick in its visual aspect.
\m/ MOST METAL LANYARD IN THE WORLD \m/
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