Prophecy Fest 2023 is beginning to take shape. That being said, we will continue to announce bands only once their show has been fully confirmed. Today, we are thrilled to be able to reveal five excellent additions to our billing: The Vision Bleak (performing “The Deathship Has a New Captain”), Amenra, Novembers Doom, Darkspace, and E-L-R.
Prophecy Fest will bring dark, forward thinking music with an attitude to one of the world’s most fascinating cultural locations again, the legendary, natural Cave of Balve (“Balver Höhle”). The three day event will begin on Thursday, September 7 and it will conclude with a final concert starting before midnight of Saturday, September 9.
These acts have already been confirmed with many more to be added in due time (in alphabetical order): Amenra, Bethlehem, Darkher, Darkspace, Disillusion, Dornenreich, E-L-R, Gráb, Novembers Doom, and The Vision Bleak.
Belgian post-metal spearheads Amenra have gathered a considerable and dedicated following since their founding in 1999. A massive output of 13 live and studio albums speaks volumes about their creative productivity. Their latest release, “De Doorn” appeared in 2021 and 2022 in two alternative versions with differing mix and mastering as well as re-recorded passages. The Vision Bleak will delight their many fans with the performance of the legendary album debut “The Deathship Has a New Captain”, which defined their particular brand of ‘horror metal’ by being thematically based on classic movies from the aforementioned skin-crawling genre. Novembers Doom from Chicago, Illinois have appeared on the wish-lists of many festival visitors ever since the US death-doom veterans released their latest full-length “Nephilim Grove” (2019) on the label. Here they come. Ambient black metal trio Darkspace quite match the artistic and musical spirit of the Prophecy roster. These Swiss sound-wizards will be joining us as guests on the festival stage. Talking about music from our southern neighbours inevitably leads us to Alpine compatriots E-L-R and their stunning performance in the cave in 2021. Swiss girl-power drone will return to Balve!
Martin Koller comments: “Regulars might have noticed that Prophecy Fest is already taking on more bands that are not on the label for the 2023 edition than in previous years”, the label’s founder writes. “We believe that it is more important to deliver an exciting programme than keeping things in-house. Both Amenra and Darkspace fit perfectly into the ‘Prophecy spirit and style’ and we hope that you welcome these brilliant acts as much as we do. For dedicated Prophecy followers, the announcement of The Vision Bleak to perform their legendary debut should restore the balance. With Novembers Doom crossing the Atlantic especially for the festival and the return of Swiss shooting stars E-L-R, two often requested highlights from our own roster have also been added. Please feel free to let us know what you think of our newest additions and watch this space for more announcements coming soon.”
For Prophecy Fest on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/5JkE3c2Mi
Tickets: As in previous years, a 3-day-pass incl. a programme book will be made available again. The regular ticket price has been set to 129 Euro. In addition to the basic ticket, it will be possible to acquire a supplementary ticket that grants faster access to the festival ground and the merchandise booth as well as the possibility to shower at a nearby facility. As a new feature, each person that wants to stay at the camping grounds has to purchase a camping ticket. It will no longer be possible to acquire tickets per tent or car. Tickets will be inspected at the entrance and we therefore strongly advise to get your camping ticket in advance in order to speed up the check-in process.
Basic ticket 129 Euro / Comfort supplement 60 Euro / Camping ticket 15 Euro.
Ticket shop: https://tickets.prophecy.de/en/tickets/prophecyfest
Members of the Grand Supporter tiers of the PROPHECY CLUB will be able to attend the festival free of admission charge. Please check here for availability and conditions (subscribe button under each Grand Supporter paragraph): https://en.prophecy.de/en/Prophecy-Club-Membership
Location & Travel: Prophecy Fest was founded in 2015 and already sold out at the first edition. This singular event for dark and innovative music takes place in the Balver Kulturhöhle (“Balve culture cave”) in the Hönnetal (“Valley of Hönne”) near the town of Balve in the Sauerland region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The naturally formed karst cave has been used by humans already during the palaeolithic age. Is is an important archaeological site that yielded remains from many periods up and until medieval times. According to legend and the old Icelandic Thidreksaga, the mythical blacksmith Wayland learned his magical trade from dwarven masters in this cave.
The gravity of its history and the special acoustics of the Balver Cave provide a unique atmosphere that fits the musical programme of the Prophecy Fest perfectly.
For detailed information on accommodation, travel, and parking please consult the Prophecy Festival page: https://fest.prophecy.de The page will be updated regularly towards the festival.
New confirmed bands:
Conceived by EMPYRIUM mastermind Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and main vocalist Allen B. Konstanz at the turn of the century, The Vision Bleak scored an immediate hit with their highly atmospheric debut album “The Deathship Has a New Captain”. Riffing on well-known themes and storylines from classic horror movies, the Germans will perform this fan-favourite in full in a most suiting location: the cave. Tekeli-li!
Amenra stand at the centre of a collective known as “Church of Ra”. Working with themes revolving around religions and duality at its core, the musicians and visual artists involved are closely connected to the band from Kortrijk. The Belgian city is famous for a brutal medieval battle, but Amenra offer a far more modern vision with their hardcore-infused dark post-metal sound.
Novembers Doom go way back in time to the year 1989. While thrash was beginning to decline and death metal grew out of it to head towards into a continually more brutal and faster direction, the band from Chicago, Illinois turned the other way. Decidedly heavier and slower than many metal acts of the time, Novembers Doom became one of the driving forces behind the developing death doom scene.
Swiss trio E-L-R took many by surprise, who attended the 2021 edition of Prophecy Fest. Their massive doomgaze style is based on the generally down-tempo, meandering, epic side of doom metal, but incorporates other elements such as repetitive phrasing reminiscent of shamanistic rituals. Expect a return of the trance-like experience and more songs from their sophomore album “Vexier”.
Working with lyrical themes that reach into the darkness of outer space and dwelling on cosmic mysticism, Swiss ambient black metal act Darkspace have so far released four acclaimed albums that only carry the band name an a Latin cipher in their titles. Their somewhat mysterious demeanour and highly individualistic sound makes the band into a perfect guest for Prophecy Fest this year.
