The already sold out Prophecy Fest 2023 is completing the billing of this year’s edition with the announcement of five more acts: Wayward occult rockers 1476 from Salem, Massachusetts will cross the pond to haunt the cave, Belarussian resistance artists Dymna Lotva will bring their complex post-metal to Balve, while celebrated Dutch instrumentalist Thurnin returns with a fresh show, and the same goes for local neofolk innovators Vrîmuot. We also convinced the shy Ernie Fleetenkieker aka Krachmucker TV to read from his own “Metal-Manifest”.
On further news, Prophecy Fest 2023 announces a second stage in the cave for the first time. Playing times will alternate between the stages to make sure that there will be no overlapping sound disturbances.
For those, who did not get a ticket yet, there is one ray of hope: We will offer a few returned tickets on June 1 at 18:00 CEST on our website at this shop link: https://tickets.prophecy.de/en/tickets/prophecyfest
Martin Koller comments: “It is always a great moment, when all pieces of the sometimes long and hard negotiations come together and the puzzle of the billing is finally solved”, the festival’s founder writes. “We hope that you like our latest additions to the 2023 edition as much as we do. During the booking process, we noticed that it has become increasingly hard to find the right balance between having bands that make the ticket-counter move up and exciting newcomers. To give more young bands a chance to play, we decided to create a second stage in the cave. This gives us the opportunity to present fresh acts to you and set up additional shows for others. We will make sure that there is no crossover between the stages to maintain the integrity of the cave’s special sound. Promised!”
The complete billing (in alphabetical order): 1476, Agalloch, Amenra, Arthur Brown, Bethlehem, Darkher, Darkspace, Disillusion, Dornenreich, Dymna Lotva, E-L-R, Ernie Fleetenkieker, Gospelheim, Gràb, Illudium, Laster, My Dying Bride, Novembers Doom, Saturnus, Thurnin, Vemod, The Vision Bleak, Vrîmuot, and Year Of The Cobra.
Prophecy Fest will bring dark, forward thinking music with an attitude to one of the world’s most fascinating cultural locations, the legendary, natural Cave of Balve (“Balver Höhle”) again. 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.
Prophecy Fest was founded in 2015 and already 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.