Simone Salvatori - Arthur Brown - Neun Welten - Nest - Opening Ceremony & Welcome Drink

The first guests at the Prophetic Overture surely got their feet wet, and setting up a tent in the rain is definitely not a highlight, but shortly afterward, Peter Pan took pity on us and the sun came out. So it was a truly wonderful start to the evening’s first performance, while the fans busily had their welcome drinks poured at the beer stand. Both varieties were available: the Witty Owl, created by Markus Stock with a light orange note, and the Golden Omen, a light, full-bodied Pilsner by Tobias Mohrmann. Both were very tasty ;) They also came with the PROPHECY FEST mug for a 2-euro deposit.

:: pics :: NEST ::

The first act on the beautifully decorated meadow stage was :: NEST ::, the project by Finnish artist Aslak Tolonen. Accompanied by atmospheric recorded music, which I’d describe as ambient/dungeon synth, Aslak Tolonen played the kantele live (a traditional Finnish instrument similar to a zither), which, as he later told me, he built himself. So, it was a handmade, one-of-a-kind instrument, the only one of its kind in the world. The sound, by the way, was fantastic.
NEST presented a purely instrumental performance, even though voices or whispers could be heard in the samples at times. There wasn’t much action, since Tolonen was quite limited with the kantele resting on his knees. But that wasn’t necessary anyway ;) The music alone, combined with the wild play of clouds against the setting sun, created a fantastic atmosphere. The audience listened with their eyes closed and was as quiet as a mouse, only to applaud even more enthusiastically afterward and, at the very end, demand an encore - which was granted. Oh, it was so beautiful!
Let’s hope there’ll be some new music to listen to again in the foreseeable future, because his last regular release, Mietteitä, has already gathered a bit of dust (2015) ;)

Band: Aslak Tolonen
Setlist: Kontio, The Silvershade Lynx, The Turning Of The Tides, Moonbow, Hunt, A Winternight Visage, Land Behind The Mist, Renewal

After that - or rather, between sets - there was supposed to be a Campfire Music set with Felix Tilemann. Did I miss it? Did he perform somewhere else? I neither saw nor heard him.

:: pics :: NEUN WELTEN ::

Right after :: NEUN WELTEN :: took the stage, according to singer/guitarist Meinolf, for the first time with their full, original lineup to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Vergessene Pfade. However, the album wasn’t played in its entirety, they performed seven of the ten tracks, plus Frosthauch from Destrunken and Pan. Despite the acoustic and instrumental performance (the metal show is on Friday), there was plenty of energy in the air, largely due to the band’s enthusiasm, as they clearly enjoyed making music together again. The atmosphere, meanwhile, was different from Nest’s, not as dreamy and contemplative, but no less enchanting. The fans were enthralled, and the applause was frenetic. And here, too, there were loud calls for an encore :)
Oh, by the way, isn’t it about time for a new album? After all, The Sea I’m Diving came out almost ten years ago…

Band: Meinolf Müller (vox, git), Aline Deinert (violin), David Zaubitzer (git, cello), Alexander Seidel (bass), Anja Hövelmann (flute), Michael (drums), Marten Winter (tambourin)
Setlist: Nahend Zauberwald, Nebelland, Auf kargem Fels, Heidenacht, Midsommer, Pan, Frosthauch, Svartalfheim, Valg

:: pics :: ARTHUR BROWN ::

Now it was time to announce the headliner for PROPHECY FEST 2027. Everyone was visibly curious, as the label Prophecy Productions had deviated from its usual procedure, which sparked plenty of speculation. Gunnar Sauerman (head of promotion at Prophecy Productions) and :: ARTHUR BROWN :: set the stage for the announcement. But first the god of hellfire wanted to bring us… fire. To accompany his impromptu performance, helping hands lit the wood in the fire bowls. What a great idea! But maybe the wood was too damp, because it wouldn’t really catch fire, it just produced a lot of smoke. Never mind. ARTHUR BROWN couldn’t resist hopping off the stage into the crowd and doing a lap there. The fans went absolutely wild, and the old man clearly enjoyed it :)

But then the moment finally arrived, and Gunnar announced the headliner for PROPHECY FEST 2027. And it is… ta-da…

FALKENBACH

This will be FALKENBACH’s first-ever live show, world-exclusively at PROPHECY FEST 2027. Whether it will remain their only live show… who knows ;) I have to admit that back then, I was absolutely thrilled by their second album, ...magni blandinn ok megintíri...
I probably don’t need to say anything about the excitement in the crowd. There was screaming like at a boy band concert… ;) And… less than 24 hours after tickets officially went on sale the PROPHECY FEST 2027 is: sold out

Wow. I just wrote here hours ago that the tickets are selling out faster than you can blink… well…

:: pics :: SIMONE SALVATORI ::

The campfires still weren't really catching fire, despite the earnest efforts of many fans to stoke the embers. As the final performance of the evening, a cheerful :: SIMONE SALVATORI :: took the stage with his guitar and played a lively acoustic medley spanning the history of SPIRITUAL FRONT.
I think I should mentioning that Simone Salvatori is also a… let’s call him a "controversial figure". He certainly doesn’t belong to the right-wing scene himself, but he also has no qualms about collaborating with it repeatedly in various ways. Salvatori likes to cultivate the image of a politically incorrect provocateur and is active in both the left-wing and gay scenes. What are we supposed to make of this?… Hmm. In any case, he has no regrets. He lives in the moment, as he once said in an interview.

Band: Simone Salvatori
Setlist: We Could Fail Again, Dear Lucifer, Darkroom Friendship, No Kisses On The Mouth, Odete, The Days Of Anger, Song For The Old Man, Slave

Story & Pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography