The Shadow of an Empire

The Shadow of an Empire
Studio album by
Released5 February 2010 (IE)
8 February 2010 (UK)
8 February 2011 (vinyl)
GenreFolk
LabelHeavenly Records (UK)
Universal Music Ireland (IE)
Diverse Records (vinyl)
Fionn Regan chronology
The End of History
(2006)
''The Shadow of an Empire''
(2010)
100 Acres of Sycamore
(2011)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash7/10
Dotmusic7/10
Drowned in Sound7/10
The Guardian
The Independent
Mojo
musicOMH
Q
The Telegraph
Uncut

The Shadow of an Empire is the second studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan, released on 8 February 2010 on Heavenly Records and Universal Music Ireland. The album's aesthetic differs from Regan's previous album, The End of History, featuring more electric guitar-based rock songs. Regarding this change in musical direction, Regan stated, "This album's lyrically quite fast, with lots of word changes and phrase changes, and it asked for a different kind of coat." In October 2009 the first single, "Protection Racket" was released as a free download.

Following the album's release, Regan toured with support act, Danny and the Champions of the World, appearing as his backing band.