For me, Prophecy was always about The Prophet and his Protégé. Yet I almost missed them. Gratefully side-stepping the enormous queue (people waited over 90 minutes to get in – no one should have to wait this long!), I made it into The Dome just as The Prophet was being announced.

Relief turned immediately to amusement as The Prophet opened with Tricky Nation. I am pretty sure this tune, an Australian rave stalwart, is not popular in Europe. However, in the last 12 months two of the world’s best known hardstyle DJs have started their Sydney sets with it. Why, you ask? If they feel it’s the best way to capture the crowd’s attention, then I’m embarrassed. Firstly, it is old. Secondly, it is cheesy. Thirdly and most damningly, it is not hardstyle! Fortunately The Prophet, head honcho of current ‘It’ record label Scantraxx, redeemed himself by bashing out hot new tunes Abject Tuuduu, Wildstylerz Clubbin and Scope DJ Lockdown. I had pinned him to play all new Scantraxx releases, so was pleasantly surprised to hear some of his Italian counterparts getting air time, among them The KGB’s Infinity. However, tight mixing aside this felt like…well, dare I say it… a warmup set. And The Prophet, a man who was DJing as part of the ‘Dream Team’ in the early 90s, is not the DJ you’d expects to deliver a support set. There must be a good reason for this…

He’s a spunk, a hoot behind the decks, and a wonderfully good mixer to boot. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Willem Rebergen, otherwise known as Headhunterz. He is the Protégé. If there is any doubt in your mind that this DJ is The Prophet’s chosen prodigy, drop it immediately. I thought The Prophet would play the majority of new Scantraxx tunes, but it was Headhunterz who threw down the lion’s share. Amongst his own tunes – Sacrifice, Blame It On The Music (with Wildstylerz ) and the much anticipated Rock Civilisation, Headhunterz got out new Hunter (the bafflingly named I Shot The Blender ), D-Block & S-Te-Fan Ride With Uz, Wildstylerz Life’s A Bitch, Scope DJ (the funky Rock Hypnotic ) and Klone Dragon’s Lair.

But it must be said, 60 minute sets are rubbish. A DJ gets to play a dozen tunes and then it’s all over red rover. No time to construct a journey, no time to play some old classics or experimental tunes, no time to tease and test the crowd. It always amazes me that production companies spend mini fortunes dragging internationals on the long haul to Australia, then insult them with 60 minute time slots. Fortunately, Powerhouse had a little something extra up their sleeve which mitigated the pain of allotting The Prophet and Headhunterz only an hour play time each. And that little extra? The Prophet VS Headhunterz! This set, whilst offering some excellent tunes including Scar Your Face and the awesome Evolution Leaps Forward by Clive King & Xzeller, was more notable for The Prophet’s sensational mixing ability. The man was mixing tracks three songs ahead! An ex Dream Team’er indeed. They ended their set, appropriately enough given the hardcore that was up next, with stuff like Hardcore Vibes. I would have been keen for a proper The Masochist set, which is Prophet’s hardcore alias for the uninitiated, but it was not to be.

The night then descended into hardcore territory. Not my cup of tea, but for those who like it harder, the likes of Dougal, CLSM and Marc Smith lit up the main stage. D-Passion was sadly relegated to a side room, and Omar Santana (who appeared on the Prophecy promo poster), never appeared at all! The Dome, a notoriously bad venue in terms of sound (hello reverb and delay) was quite reasonable, except for the volume levels. Noise restrictions, courtesy of the Novotel, mean you can basically have a normal conversation, only slightly needing to raise your voice. The crowd looked rather lost for most of the night, wandering around aimlessly or flaking out on the floor (a pet rave hate of mine). Not sure if this was due to the low sound levels or lack of musical interest, nevertheless there were still some hardy souls on the dance floor for Matrix’s closing set. Ending with thumping hard dance tunes like Ballanation and Drop Shot, Matrix proved he can scratch and sample like it’s his business, but there were moments I wished he’d let the tunes speak for themselves.

This party got the tick from me, 99 per cent thanks to The Prophet and Headhunterz delivering exactly what I’d hoped from them. Sure, there are always gripes, but if the music is hitting the spot, then one generally goes home aurally satisfied. And it looks like Powerhouse is set to delight again. *AudioLove, Saturday 3rd of November at the Hordern Pavilion. The distinction of being their first 18+ party. Tatanka, Pavo, Randy Katana and Luna (playing hard techno – an exciting departure from his usual sound). Me, excited? You have no idea!