Prophecy Fest, the festival hosted by the titular label Prophecy Productions in the spectacular Balve Cave in Germany, is adding to it’s array of special concerts with this surprising announcement. Read on for a deep dive into the Lifelover legacy, as well as an overview of the first confirmation for next year’s edition.
From the ashes of Lifelover
Any fan of the depressive side of black metal knows the legacy of Lifelover, but let’s review their history nonetheless.
Lifelover released four albums and an EP in their way-too short five years run. Hailing from Sweden, they are held as one of the pioneers in combining black metal with other styles such as post-punk, wave rock, and the heartwrenching vocals created a ripple effect that we can still see in many depressive-suicidal black metal acts to this day. Unfortunatelly, their impressive artistic journey was cut way too short after the death of their main song-writer Jonas Berqvist (known simply as ‘B’) on September 9th, 2011. After the tragedy, the band performed a concert in B’s memory two days after his passing, when they also announced that that would be the last show under the Lifelover moniker.
In September 2012, founding member Kim together with former Lifelover band members Henrik, Fix and P. decided to continue the band’s legacy by founding a new project Kall. To celebrate Lifelover’s 10th anniversary and in B’s memory, Kall played a couple of shows in 2015 under the Lifelover name, but also re-stated that no new material will ever be released under this name.
Kall at Prophecy Fest 2025
Now that we are on the cusp of the 20th Lifelover anniversary, Kall will perform at Prophecy Fest 2025 a second set with songs from Lifelover. This set will come as an addition to their regular show. Martin Koller comments: “Having Kall as the legitimate heirs of Lifelover in the cave obviously asked for a special performance“, the founder of the fest writes. “We are thrilled and admittedly a bit proud that Kall have agreed to do just that at Prophecy Fest 2025. This will be a rare treat and we intend to announce more soon.”
First confirmed bands
Until more is revealed, let’s take a look at the first wave of band announcements for next year:
Prophecy veterans The Vision Bleak will once again bring their German horror metal to the cave. As this year-in-the-making seems like it is shaping up to be full of important milestones, this time, The Vision Bleak will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Carpathia (A Dramatic Poem) album.
Dornenreich will perform their only metal show for 2025 in Balve. Their show will also be focused on their 2011 album Flammentriebe.
The legendary Arthur Brown can’t seem to keep away from this unique gathering, and we consider that we are all the better for it: after the stellar performance from this year, he will be back.
The French outfit Soror Dolorosa will bring their mix of goth, darkwave and noir-leaning post-punk back to the cave. This October they have released their new album Mond, which fans at Prophecy Fest will sureley enjoy live next year.
The aforementioned Kall will also play a set of brand new songs, anf this will be their first show in Germany following an 8-year hiatus – even more reasons why you should not miss this opportunity.
Tickets and other info
3-day passes are available at 149 euro, while comfort passes, which constitutes as a supplement, are billed at 70 euro. Pricing for parking and overnight sleeping on the festival grounds will be announced late on.
Visit the official ticket shop to secure your ticket!
Travel to the cave
Prophecy Fest was founded in 2015 and sold out its 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 since the early Stone Age (palaeolithic). This important archaeological site has yielded remains from many periods through the ages until medieval times. According to Germanic legend as told in the old Icelandic Thidreksaga, the mythical blacksmith Wayland came to this cave to learn his magical craft from the dwarven masters that were dwelling there.
The gravity of its history and the special acoustics of the Balver Cave provide a unique atmosphere that perfectly echoes the musical spirit of Prophecy Fest.
For detailed information about accommodation, travel, & parking, please consult the Prophecy Festival page: https://fest.prophecy.de.
