Quest by Gladium Regis

Gladium Regis was born in the early 2000s as a collaboration between Arcanist Augur Svafnir and Salinoch. The duo recorded The Dark Stronghold (2003), an unreleased demo. Though never published, the demo songs and ideas carried forward and have been later reworked for Draugr (the Italian pagan black metal band which Svafnir co-founded and fronted in 2000s).

Even before Gladium Regis or Draugr, Svafnir had been experimenting with folky synth and dark electronic compositions, collected under the demo "Svafnir – Let the Ravens Come". Years later, those early sketches became the foundation for “Kingdom” (2020), a dungeon synth release created in London as an atmospheric backdrop for tabletop campaigns. “Kingdom” served as both a resurrection of the Gladium Regis banner as a solo dungeon synth act and a bridge between past experiments and future directions. “Kingdom” received some attention and has been released as CD and MC format.

Between 2022 and 2023 Svafnir decided to experiment with the introduction of metal elements again and started to work on some compositions to shift the dungeon synth style more towards a symphonic / epic black metal genre, to recreate a similar vibe to old 90s black metal bands.

With “Quest” (2025), Gladium Regis embraces its full metamorphosis into a solo project that recalls the unpolished grandeur of early 1990s symphonic and epic black metal. Svafnir introduces black metal guitars, harsh vocals, keyboards and choirs — with Lupus Nemesis (Atavicus) joining Svafnir on additional instrumentation, choral arrangements, and final mixing at Genxia Studios. Tamoth (Obscura Nox Hibernis) contributed with acoustic guitar passages for the intro and intermezzo, enriching the pastoral and enchanted atmosphere of the album. Another special guest is Dave “Beggar” Straccione (Shores of Null), appearing as a guest singer in 3 songs, adding further depth to the record’s narrative voice. Recorded between London and Italy, “Quest” marks the first Gladium Regis release under the Dusktone imprint and establishes a path towards a more complete lineup in the future.
Lyrically and conceptually, “Quest” shifts from the purely fantastical worlds of “Kingdom” towards the chivalric epics of Ludovico Ariosto (Orlando Furioso), Matteo Maria Boiardo (Orlando Innamorato), and Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe). These tales of medieval honor, love, and sacrifice serve as metaphors for esoteric and gnostic themes — a continuation of Svafnir’s long-standing fascination with the occult, paganism, and fantasy literature.

Musically, Gladium Regis draws upon the legacy of Summoning, Dissection, Emperor, Falkenbach, and early Dimmu Borgir, while also incorporating folk and medieval elements reminiscent of Angelo Branduardi, Antonino Riccardo Luciani, and Guillaume de Machaut. The music is further enriched by touches of heavy and power metal, with occasional electronic and punk influences, to evoke the wondrous and the epic, the perilous and the dreamlike, the blessed and the cursed. Through this blend, Svafnir sought to musically channel tragic madness, erotic enchantments, occult and magical mystery, oniric wonders and martial fury.

Dusktone is a radical music label / publishing organisation based in Europa.

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