I had the honor of reviewing Signum Regis‘ splendid “Undivided” album which was one of my highlights of 2023. Since its release, frontman Jota Fortinho amicably left SR making recording new music a little difficult. I wonder how bands that don’t have a longstanding frontman make a successful career and SR may have the strategy. They have had several great singers in its history, which shows on “The Eyes of Power.”
To keep interest high, SR is re-releasing some deep-cleaned older material with brand new album art. “The Eyes of Power” was originally released back in 2010 on Inner Wounds Records with Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen) on the mic. This was lauded as one of his most aggressive albums as the voice of a rather precocious band from Slovakia. Instead of just remastering the album and calling it the 15th anniversary edition, SR went deeper to fix the production issues that haunted the original. This included re-recording all rhythm guitars with a modern sound, re-recording a couple of bass tracks and a fresh remix and remaster by Filip, the band’s guitarist. To top it all, the album art is intensely intricate showcasing a battle scene featuring a dragon and King Rex riding high on a pachyderm!
I listened to this album at least four times in my first 24 hours with it. I love it! The new rhythm guitar work sounds clean and modern, giving a fuller sound. The remaster is nice and punchy. It presents itself in a way to fully appreciate the drive in the younger SR as it showcases a technically adept, neoclassical power metal band. And for a band that has had its fair share of singers, Göran’s performance plays well next to their latest album “Undivided.”
The album is a concept album about various events in the later Roman Empire, right around the time when the capital moved east to Constantinople. There are references to various events such as the siege of the border city of Dura Europos, presumably Constantine VII in “Purpleborn,” and a mysterious Roman temple that was found in the 20th Century in underground London. It feels like a concept album in the same sense as Sabaton albums that tend to have historical concepts loosely connected. By the sounds of it, the physical release should have some good background to help illuminate the less clear lyrical references.
The band’s sound is rooted in fast neoclassical power metal with forays into the traditional. “Dura Europas” is a tour de force that showcases the young band’s penchant for speed, but it’s “Purpleborn’s” neoclassical style and rhythms that grabbed my attention early on. These two showcase what would be SR‘s signature style. In contrast, “Mystical Majesty” is a lumbering traditional heavy metal song at its best. Their traditional heavy metal roots show even more on “Oathbreaker,” a great blend of the traditional and the neoclassical where Göran’s performance draws comparisons from me to Rob Rock or Michael Sweet. Given the concept album on the Roman Empire, there are oriental scales and tonality to give it some spice, particularly in the instrumentals “Renewal In The East” and “The Underground Temple of Mithras.” A great mix of styles, keeping the intensity and heaviness without turning sappy.
This album clearly exhibits their chief characteristic: exacting technical execution. Filip’s guitar work is self evident to this fact, but it is Ronnie’s bass work that is much more active on this album that gives the album a different flavor: the guitar and bass work together in lockstep with Adrian’s drums pushing the pace. This is best heard in “One Fatal Enterprise” and “Destroyers of the World.”
There are a couple of things that could have been done better. For the heavier songs, I was missing some of the rumbly low frequencies. I know that it is a balance so that the technical high end bass work comes through, but there could have been more in the bottom. I also could tell that the songwriting wasn’t as developed as their later work with repetition that didn’t spur additional interest. But for the stage of the band’s development at the time, this is quite appropriate.
In the end, this project is a resounding success and will be sure to satisfy SR fans as they wait for news on a new vocalist. For the uninitiated to SR and have a taste for fast neoclassical power metal, this is a great first step (which should be followed by “Undivided”).
Rating: 9.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Renewal In The East
2 – Dura Europas
3 – Purpleborn
4 – Mystical Majesty
5 – One Fatal Enterprise
6 – The Underground Temple Of Mithras
7 – Oathbreaker
8 – Roma Aeterna
9 – Destroyers Of The World
Signum Regis is:
Göran Edman – vocals
Filip Koluš – guitars
Ronnie König – bass
Adrian Ciel – drums
Release Date: May 23, 2025
Record Label: Beyond The Storm Productions
Discography:
2008: “Signum Regis”
2010: “The Eyes of Power”
2013: “Exodus” (2013) [review]
2015: “Through the Storm” EP [review]
2015: “Chapter IV: The Reckoning” [review]
2017: “Decennium Primum” [review]
2017: “Addendum Primum” EP
2019: “The seal of new World”
2021: “Flag of Hope” EP [review]
2022: “Made in Switzerland” Live album
2023: “Undivided” [review]
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Lyric video for Dura Europas