Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental [...] captivating music".[1] Its artists perform genres like gothic rock, black metal, and neofolk.
Since 1993, Martin Koller used the moniker Prophecy for his small, self-operated mail-order business. According to him, the actual birth of Prophecy Productions as a label was the release of the album A Wintersunset... by Empyrium. While this record was intended to be the sole release under the name of Prophecy, the success of it encouraged Koller to continue the label.[2]
Even in the early days, it was obvious that Prophecy took interest in single musicians entire work and that some of the label's artists felt attached to the label. In 1998, for example, Autumnblaze was signed, a new band with musicians from Paragon of Beauty, as well as Sun of the Sleepless, the side project of Markus Stock from Empyrium. Throughout Prophecy's history, there are many more collaborations of that kind between the label and new projects or bands.
Also in 1998, the place of business was moved from Wittlich to nearby Zeltingen-Rachtig,[3] and a long-term cooperation was decided on with Markus Stock and his recording studio Klangschmiede Studio E to ensure a continuous high standard for Prophecy's music productions. In the same year, Prophecy put out Hallavedet, the first official release by progressive folk band Tenhi. The Finnish group quickly became one of the most popular artists on Prophecy and is currently (as of December 2014) still signed to the label.
In 1999, Prophecy announced contracts with the established and renowned bands In the Woods... and Bethlehem. Those were two A&r-coups which put significantly more attention on the label and heightened its status.
The next signing was that of Dornenreich in 2000, whose label-debut Her von welken Nächten (2001) ranks amongst the most successful releases in Prophecy's history.[4] Likewise, Dornenreich have stayed loyal ever since and belong to the label's figureheads.
The year 2002 saw Prophecy emerge as a book publisher as well, the first release being the German translation of the book Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind. In 2005, they released the book Looking for Europe, a history of Apocalyptic Folk by Andreas Diesel and Dieter Gerten. In the meantime, Index Verlag continues the book-publishing business.
In 2007, Alcest was signed, which became Prophecy's most successful band as years went by. Alcest's ambitious fourth album Shelter was recorded on Iceland with Sigur Rós' producer Birgir Jón Birgisson and features Neil Halstead, leader of Shoegazing-veterans Slowdive, as guest musician. Shelter marked the so-far highest chart entry of a Prophecy-artist (#28), surpassed to years later by Kodama.[6] Amongst multiple entries in Germany, USA, Finland and Norway,[7] Alcest are the only band on the label who not only tour Europe and North America, but also South America, Asia and Australia. Alcest belong to the most prominent representers of Shoegaze Metal. Due to their ongoing work with Alcest and groups such as Les Discrets or Lantlôs, Prophecy play a crucial role in this scene.
2010 saw the release of the compilation Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings on Prophecy's sublabel Auerbach Tonträger as a double album putting together many established and new artists from the field of nature-related Folk music with exclusive songs. This sampler also announced the reunion of Empyrium, who were on temporary hiatus, in the shape of the track The Days Before the Fall.
Eventually, Empyrium put Prophecy into public awareness for the first time due to the label's economic success: In 2011, it was awarded with the so-called Silver Award by European independent label association IMPALA for the first three Empyrium-albums, meaning that they have sold 20.000 copies within Europe each.[8] One year later, Prophecy also received Impala Silver Awards for albums by Dornenreich, The Vision Bleak, Alcest and Sol Invictus.[9]
2014 was the first time Prophecy were featured with two releases simultaneously in the Media Control charts: Empyrium's The Turn of the Tides and 1994 – 2014, a vinyl boxset.[10]
In 2017, founder Martin Koller adopted Los Angeles as his second home and today uses the City of Angels as the epicenter for Prophecy's foray into America. Metal industry veteran Rayshele Teige, who is based in L.A. works alongside Koller in California.[11]
In 2020, Summerland by Dutch rock band Dool marked the first top-ten entry of a Prophecy act in Germany at #9[12] and #5 (vinyl).[13]
In 2021, Prophecy started its 25th anniversary celebration by collaborating with Venus Principle,[14]Magma and Arthur Brown (in collaboration with Magnetic Eye Records)[15] as well as several other acts while further cultivating its roster.
Concept
On their admission, it is Prophecy's underlying idea to release "wayside atmospheric music which defies categorization."[16] Furthermore, the label is grounded on the three pillars constancy (long term collaborations with its artists, close relations to clients and fans), quality (lush editions with special production, layout and design) and community (multiple cooperations among Prophecy-artists, intimate relationship with fans).[16]
Due to their eye on musical talent and business ethos relying on constancy, Prophecy accompany many of their artists from their first records on and release the musicians' entire work.
Stylistic direction and sub-labels
Even with their first releases, Prophecy displayed an extraordinary amount of stylistical diversity. Empyrium's A Wintersunset... offered tuneful, romantic Metal with Folk influences, Nox Mortis' Im Schatten des Hasses obscure doom metal, Penitent's Melancholia a combination of dark wave and neoclassical dark wave, Oberon's Oberon avantgardistic Pop, and Nærvær's Nærværpsychedelic acoustic music. This diversity and unpredictability have always been cherished by the label and became its trademark. Thanks to its unconventional and selective approach when it comes to signing artists as well as the resulting originality of the music published, Prophecy have grown to be a "quality label"[17][18][19][20] among media and fans alike.
To help customers, press and distribution partners to classify Prophecy's stylistically diverse repertoire, the sub-labels Lupus Lounge and Auerbach Tonträger were founded in 2003. While Lupus Lounge primarily is a platform for cooperation with musicians rooted in extreme metal, Auerbach Tonträger is principally devoted to styles of music that, because of predominantly acoustic arrangements and a more tranquil nature, can be described as contemporary folk in the widest sense of the word.
Even though one can see a focus on unconventional, atmospheric Metal and melancholic, nature-related acoustic music in Prophecy's artist roster, the label's palette encompasses genres such as progressive rock, pop, indie rock, shoegaze, singer-songwriter, electronica, neofolk, ambient or neoclassic.
Prophecy Konzertnächte and further live activities
In 1999, Prophecy Productions organised their first label festival under the name "Prophecy Konzertnacht" ("concert night"). It took place on 20 November in Leiwen at the river Moselle and featured concerts by Paragon of Beauty, Nox Mortis and the so-far only one by Sun of the Sleepless. In May 2001, another batch of concert nights followed in Zweibrücken, Bielefeld and Erfurt, where Dornenreich, Blazing Eternity and Mysterium played. In 2006, a Prophecy concert night coincided with the label's tenth anniversary and took place in Zeltingen-Rachtig. There, Dornenreich gave their first concert in four years, and The Vision Bleak offered one of their rare performances with the classical ensemble The Shadow Philharmonics.
Balver Höhle
Nine years passed, and in 2015 an edition titled Prophecy Fest followed which took place in a natural cave from Old Stone Age located in Balve, Germany. After a successful one-day festival in the Balve Cave (German: Balver Höhle), Prophecy decided to extend the festival to last two days in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, for the first time, an edition of Prophecy Fest in the US featured Alcest, Völur and more in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York City. 2019 saw another German edition, with a 25th anniversary edition to follow in September 2021.[21]
Prophecy has been organizing tours since 2001 (for Dornenreich, The 3rd and the Mortal, Antimatter, The Vision Bleak and Bethlehem, among others), as well as conducting impressive one-off concerts by Empyrium in Christuskirche Bochum and Passionskirche Berlin.
Empyrium is a German symphonic folk/doom metal and (later) neofolk/dark folk band.
The Vision Bleak is a German gothic metal duo comprising Ulf Theodor Schwadorf and Allen B. Konstanz. The group's lyrics are noted for their horror themes and heavily allude to works of classic writers/filmmakers of the genre, such as H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, George A. Romero and John Carpenter, among others. They self-describe their musical style, which mixes gothic metal, doom metal, symphonic metal and horror punk aesthetics, as "horror metal".
Alternative 4 is a band formed by Duncan Patterson, known for his work with Antimatter, Íon, and Anathema.
Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige. It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the band following the 2001 release of their first demo, leaving Neige as the sole member. Neige began incorporating elements of shoegaze and post-metal into the project's sound from 2005 onwards and is largely credited with pioneering the fusion genre known as blackgaze. In 2009, drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcest, after eight years with Neige as its sole full-time member.
Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem is the second studio album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 29 August 2005 through Prophecy Productions. A digipak edition containing four additional live bonus tracks was also released.
The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey is the third studio album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 31 August 2007 through Prophecy Productions.
Amesoeurs was a French post-punk/post-black metal band. A side project of Neige of Alcest, the group was formed with musicians Audrey Sylvain and Fursy Teyssier in the summer of 2004. Their goal was to create music that "reflects the dark side of the industrial era and modern civilization".
Écailles de lune is the second studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on March 26, 2010 by Prophecy Productions. It is the first Alcest album featuring Winterhalter on drums. Although it continues in the direction started with the first album Souvenirs d'un autre monde, Écailles de lune marks a darker, louder transition into shoegaze, while also coming back to the band's black metal origins as it features harsh vocals like those found on their second release Le Secret.
Les Discrets is a French post-rock project created and led by Fursy Teyssier as a "platform gathering music and art." Teyssier was the sole member of the band until 2009, when he was joined by Audrey Hadorn and Winterhalter. Les Discrets released Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées in March 2010, Ariettes oubliées... in February 2012. Winterhalter left the band in 2013 to focus on his duties for Alcest. The band's third album Prédateurs, was released in April 2017, which saw a transition towards an indie rock and trip hop-oriented sound.
Les Voyages de l'âme is the third studio album by French blackgaze band Alcest, released on January 6, 2012, by Prophecy Productions. An edited version of the song "Autre temps" was released as a single alongside an accompanying music video. The album was described as a musical synthesis of the previous two albums, blending shoegaze, post-rock, and black metal influences.
Fursy Teyssier is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, animator, and graphic designer. He is most known for being the creator, leader, guitarist, bass guitarist, and lead vocalist of shoegazing band Les Discrets. He is currently the live bass guitarist for Empyrium. He is also the former guitarist and bass guitarist of Amesoeurs, and the former live bassist of Alcest. Since 27 December 2015 he is a live member of German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak; he previously directed the music video for their song "The Wood Hag".
Shelter is the fourth studio album by French shoegaze band Alcest. It was released on 17 January 2014 via Prophecy Productions. The album's title is related to its overall concept of shelter, "a safe place to escape, this secret thing we all have when life is going too fast and you are full of anxiety." Shelter marks a significant stylistic shift for the band, fully embracing the band's shoegaze and dream pop influences while departing from their previous black metal influences, with Rolling Stone writing that the album has "more in common genetically with Sigur Rós than Satyricon."
Blackgaze is a fusion genre combining elements of black metal and shoegaze. The word is a blend of the names of the two genres, described by The Guardian as "the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows and melding its blast beats, dungeon wailing and razorwire guitars with the more reflective melodies of post-rock, shoegaze and post-hardcore." According to Exclaim!, blackgaze "marries the harsh, alien instrumentation of black metal with the mellower, dreamy soundscapes of shoegaze."
Witching Hour is the fifth studio album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 27 September 2013 through Prophecy Productions. It is a concept album based on popular fictional witches. A digipak version containing a bonus track, as well as a deluxe edition featuring three bonus tracks, were also released.
The Vision Bleak is a short 2-track extended play by the eponymous German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak. It was released through Prophecy Productions on 20 August 2003, to serve as a teaser for their then-upcoming debut studio album, The Deathship Has a New Captain. It contains two early versions of tracks that would ultimately appear on the album, "The Lone Night Rider" and "Elizabeth Dane".
Club Single is an EP by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 23 July 2007, through Prophecy Productions. It was intended to be a teaser for the band's then-upcoming studio album The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey, released one month later on 31 August and features two tracks that would ultimately appear on the album, plus other two taken from their older releases Carpathia: A Dramatic Poem and The Deathship Has a New Captain. As evidenced by its title, the EP was given by Prophecy exclusively for members of its club; thus being, it is not available for sale, and is currently out of print.
The Kindred of the Sunset is an EP by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 25 March 2016 through Prophecy Productions. It served as a teaser for the band's sixth studio album, The Unknown, which was released on 3 June 2016. The EP was announced on the band's official Facebook page on 21 February 2016, and four days later, on 25 February, the track listing was unveiled.
The Unknown is the sixth studio album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak, released on 3 June 2016 through Prophecy Productions. The album was announced by the band on their official Facebook page on 31 October 2015, and a teaser EP containing two tracks that eventually appeared in it, entitled The Kindred of the Sunset, came out on 25 March 2016. A deluxe two-CD box set, containing two bonus tracks, was also released.
Timeline is a compilation album by German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak. Their first compilation album ever, it was announced on 27 March 2016 and released on 3 June by Prophecy Productions. Intended to celebrate the band's 16th anniversary, and to introduce newcomers to their music, the album contains an assortment of songs ranging from their 2004 debut The Deathship Has a New Captain to their most recent release, 2016's The Unknown.
Spiritual Instinct is the sixth studio album by French post-black metal band Alcest. The album was released on 25 October 2019 through Nuclear Blast and garnered mostly positive reviews from critics. Spiritual Instinct features Alcest live bassist Indria Saray performing on bass in the studio for the second time in the history of the band after Kodama.
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