Signum Regis was formed in 2007 by bass player Ronnie König, along with guitarists Ado Kaláber and Filip Koluš, keyboard player Ján Tupý and drummer Luděk Struhař. They were soon joined by singer Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum) and started work on their debut album, which was released during 2008 through Locomotive. In January 2009 Luděk was replaced by Adrian Ciel, and they started the recording of the second album which was released in 2010 via Inner Wound Recordings. By this time they had decided to become a gigging outfit which led to Adrian leaving and recommending Jaro Jančula as his replacement. But, when they started writing songs for the third album, a concept album about the Israelites who were enslaved in ancient Egypt, they realised that they were going to need more than one singer.
This led to a change in approach, and when Ado Kaláber left to move to England they decided not to replace him, and instead work in the studio as a trio of Ronnie, Flip and Jaro (Ján only joins them for live work). The album kept growing in terms of content and involvement, and while Göranstill played a vocal role, he was now joined by Lance King (Pyramaze, Balance of Power), Michael Vescera (Obsession, Animetal USA), Matt Smith (Theocracy), Daísa Munhoz (Vandroya, Soulspell), Eli Prinsen (Sacred Warrior, The Sacrificed), Samuel Nyman (Manimal), Thomas L. Winkler (Gloryhammer, Emerald) and Mayo Petranin (Castaway). But that’s not all, as Ronnie also brought in some additional musicians in the form of Libor Krivák (lead guitar, Symphonity), Ado Kaláber (lead guitar), Ján Tupý (keyboards) Ivo Hofmann (keyboards, Symphonity). The more astute of you will have noticed that both Ado and Ján are listed as guests – I presume that Ado is listed as such because he left to go to the UK, but have no idea why Ján is listed just as a live member when he played on the album.
When the album started it is with a gentle instrumental, and I found myself hoping that the whole album was going to be like that as it was so emotional, simple and effective. But, I was of course very wrong indeed and soon we were in the world of power metal, with loads of symphonic elements that almost take it into the neo-classical world. It is an incredibly multi-layered album, with a great deal of guitars. Although there are many singers, they do not actually sing with each other, but although that can sometimes lead to a lack of continuity with some albums, that is actually not much of an issue here. The overall result is something that is clean, polished, with loads of melody and finesse. It is an album that I enjoyed immensely the very first time I played it, and it has grown on me more over time as well. This is definitely worth seeking out for fans of melodic, symphonic, neo-classical metal.
