PROGRAMME
PROPHECY FEST 2025 • BALVER HÖHLE, GERMANY • 11.-13. September 2025
PROPHECY FEST 2025
BALVER HÖHLE, GERMANY
11.-13. September 2025
Unlike other festivals, we will not start with the most “unknown” artist and end with the “headliners”. To us, they are all headliners and were chosen as we expect amazing performances. Therefore, the running order will reflect what we consider the optimum in terms of dramaturgy and suspension.
ARTHUR BROWN
UK
Last year, ARTHUR BROWN held everybody’s attention in the cave with a dazzling performance. It has become quite hard to image a Prophecy Fest without the beloved English singer. So, we are bringing the octogenarian and his flamboyant show full of magic tricks back. No doubt, Arthur will wrap us all around his fingers in again and with a bit of luck the legendary frontman will bring new amazing songs!
AUTUMNBLAZE
GER
AUTUMNBLAZE have never been an easy band to pigeonhole, and this might be partially responsible that the German duo has always been notoriously hard to catch live. Well, here we are, these masters of melancholia, whether expressed in rock or metal, even agreed to perform two sets: one with their first two albums that will not only delight old school fans but also a second one with the best of the rest.
DARKHER
UK
Those, who have experienced DARKHER‘s red-haired front-lady Jayn Maiven know that she is of the fae folk. The lady has vowed to return to weave her irresistable musical spells at the magic amplifying Cave of Balve. Her unique blend of Northern English doom metal, folk and other elements promise another emotional roller-coaster ride through darkness, hope, and despair. Watch at your own peril!
DORNENREICH
AUT
DORNENREICH were formed by frontman Eviga and ex-member Valnes in 1996. The Austrians were inspired by melodic black metal on their debut “Nicht um zu sterben” (1997), but have developed a wider stylistic horizon on the next 7 albums by including acoustic elements mainly derived from folklore and classical music. Don’t miss their only metal show in 2025 that will feature “Flammentriebe” (2011)!
ENSLAVED
NO
No need to introduce ENSLAVED. They are part of the granite that Norwegian black metal is build on. Hailing from the West Coast, these veterans have developed their own style and even set themselves lyrically apart from their peers by making metaphoric use of Norse myth. The treat of the legendary “Hordanes Land” EP, which was released as a split with EMPEROR, will deliver ancient feelings for all black souls.
GRÀB
GER
Never say never: GRÀB enjoyed their performance at Prophecy Fest 2023 so much, they converted from ‘we will never play live’ to ‘ok, but only at special occasions’. Even better the Bavarian black metal act founded by former DARK FORTRESS fronter Grant will bring their new album “Kremess” in their travel bags. Get ready for some heavy Alpine dialect ringing in your ears.
IMHA TARIKAT
GER
IMHA TARIKAT have given the German black metal scene a long overdue kick in the backside in recent years. Their albums have garnered international media attention and their live shows are bursting with dark energy and that levitating feeling only the best of their genre can generate. Altough their latest release “Hearts Unchained – At War with a Passionless World” is still quite fresh, there will be new material to be heard. Not to be missed.
KALL
SWE
KALL rose like a musical phoenix from the ashes of Stockholm’s legendary depressive black metal act LIFELOVER. This heritage and several shared members award the Swedes with the legitimacy to perform a special tribute set with songs from LIFELOVER in the latter’s 20th anniversary year. This performance will be added to the regular set of KALL that constitutes their first official German show in 8 years.
KAYO DOT
US
KAYO DOT once rose from the ashes of MAUDLIN OF THE WELL, and for a short interlude even returned live to their roots. The unique US avant-garde doom project has steadily enlarged their fanbase and their latest album “Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike” was enthusiastically received. How the trio will bring their plethora of instruments onto the stage remains to be seen. Do not miss!
MOONSPELL
PT
MOONSPELL placed Portugal onto the map of heavy music and they have been one of the most creative forces that envisioned a darker and more ‘gothic’ style of metal in the 90s. Their musical legacy is already firmly secured, but the band has always been open to experiments and pushed hard at all genre boundaries. In Balve, MOONSPELL will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their beloved seminal album “Wolfheart” and with even more classics.
MYRKUR
DK
MYRKUR are one of these rare bands that have successfully balanced between genres as supposedly wide apart as black metal and traditional Nordic music as well as growing their number of loyal followers despite a constant desire to evolve into different musical directions. Danish mastermind and frontwoman Amalie Bruun will come to the Cave of Balve with the latest album “Spine” in her travel bag.
NYTT LAND
RU
NYTT LAND will bring a quite different experience to their table with their ritualistic Siberian folk sounds. The ancient Cave of Balve is the perfect place to echo with myth and stories from Norse and Siberian legends and historic sources that NYTT LAND are telling in the languages of indigenous Siberian tribes and Old Norse. Thousands of years after Ice Age hunters lived hear, the sound of skin drums and throat singing will return to Balve.
SOROR DOLOROSA
FR
These creatures of the night will make post-punk and new wave sounds great again! SOROR DOLOROSA revive the subtle eroticism, electric excitement, and dark musical pleasures of SISTERS OF MERCY, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, DEPECHE MODE, JOY DIVISION, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, and ULTRAVOX. The French bring back the style and the magic of an era that seemed lost – until now!
THE VISION BLEAK
GER
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 full-length “The Deathship Has a New Captain”. In 2025, the Germans horror metal storytellers will perform their full acclaimed second album “Carpathia (A Dramatic Poem)”. Expect secrecies in darkness!