Prophecy Fest, currently underway, has already announced its dates for next year and the first bands for the 2026 edition at the Balve Cave.
Prophecy Fest 2026 will begin on Thursday, 3 September, with the last performance shortly before midnight on Saturday, 5 September. The price for the 3-day passes remains unchanged at €149 (plus service fees).
3-day passes for Prophecy Fest 2026 will be available at the Prophecy Fest ticket shop starting Sunday, 14 September, at 00:01 [CEST]. Guests of Prophecy Fest will be able to purchase 3-day passes for 2026 exclusively at the official merchandise stand during this year's event in advance.
The first bands announced for the 2026 edition are the legendary Norwegian doom act The 3rd And The Mortal, performing their Sorrow EP and Tears Laid In Earth album with the original singer Kari Rueslåtten! Swedish gothic metal veterans Tiamat will be offering their beloved breakthrough album Wildhoney (1994) in full at the cave. Prophecy Fest fan favourites Empyrium will celebrate 30 years of A Wintersunset... (1996) live on stage, and mastermind Markus Stock is also going to add a set with his ambient black metal band Sun Of The Sleepless to his tasks for next year. Secrets Of The Moon are reuniting with drummer Thelemnar and bass player Daevas to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Antithesis (2006), which is rightfully ranked among the most important German black metal albums. And last but not least, the Italian neoclassical ensemble Camerata Mediolanense has answered numerous requests to return to the cave for what is sure to be an unforgettable concert, while Dornenreich will return to Balve to replace the inevitably cancelled performance this year.
The fest's founder, Martin Koller, comments: "We want to offer our loyal guests, who attend Prophecy Fest every year and some of whom even travel from other continents, the opportunity to secure their tickets early and plan their trip well in advance. We are also a little proud to be able to present the first exciting highlights with this announcement. We hope to see you again next year!" Link

Marking a little more than ten years since David Bowie’s passing, Toronto’s (Canada) darkwave art‑rock entity Double Eyelid returns with a striking homage: a reimagined version of...
German industrial/EBM/alternative rock legends KMFDM have released their new single "Oubliette", the first taste of their upcoming 24th album Enemy, set for release on 6 February 2026...
German post‑apocalyptic gothic rock entity Near Earth Orbit (N.E.O.) return with “N.W.O.”, the third single taken from their forthcoming album L C F R, due for release on 19 March...
An Italian duo, The Future Sound Of Koyaanis Naqoy, based in Cilento (southern Italy) and born from the meeting of Andrea Doro, aka Koyaanis Naqoy, and drummer Antonio Vessa, have...
"There were already bands doing small illustrations of symphonic metal, and I was thinking, why doesn't someone do this all the time?" - Christofer Johnsson
"We go searching for sounds and ideas within ourselves and there in our dreams, in the moments when 'we are not here'." - Elena Alice Fossi
"All of us want to bring back analogue methods—doing everything by hand. AI is completely outside our creative universe. It's a system designed to make things easier and faster." - Andy Julia
"Within this darkness, where there's no light at all, the golden raven still shines. It's not like a perfectly cut statue of Michelangelo..." - Val Perun
