1. Renewal in the East
2. Dura Europos
3. Purpleborn
4. Mystical Majesty
5. One Fatal Enterprise
6. The Underground Temple
7. Oathbreaker
8. Roma Aeterna
9. Destroyers of the World
Göran Edman
Vocals
Ronnie König
Bass
Filip Kolus
Guitars
Ado Kaláber
Guitars
Jan Tupý
Keyboards
Jaro Jancula
Drums
Inner
Wound Recordings
Mastered by: Greg Reely
Release Date: 12th November 2010
review by Matthew
Haumschild___ 
Every song is in the same 4/4 time.
The thing that honestly caught my eye on this album was who mastered it.
For those who are not familiar with what “mastering” actually is,
let me give the reader a rundown. After an album has been recorded and
mixed, the mixed versions are sent off for mastering. At the mastering
stage, final sonic qualities are added, eq removed or added, basically;
final adjustments on a sonic level to make the album flow a lot better.
At this stage as well, the tracks are placed in the right order. Greg
Reely is a person that influenced myself since I was 18 so anything he
touches, I take seriously, and hence the reason I’ve decided to review
this album. In the late 90’s, Greg Reely was involved with a lot of
metal-industrial acts such as Front Line Assembly but most importantly,
Fear Factory. Him and Rhys Fulber were responsible for “Obsolete”
and “Demanufacture” which are iconic in the metal genre. In the
metal genre, Greg Reely also produced/mixed or had something to do with
Paradise Lost and Machine Head. Some of Paradise Lost’s best albums
had Greg Reely at the helm. Outside metal, he’s the man behind the
electronic group, “Delerium” which have been featured in many movie
soundtracks, in addition to being a fantastic act. He has also been
involved in projects with Sarah McLachlan. I write this because, Greg
Reely is a very talented person and he doesn’t work with just anyone.
Now to the music!
Signum Regis is another one of those bands
where I wouldn’t be doing any justice to the group by comparing them
to another band. Göran Edman sung for Yngwie Malmsteen but to be
honest, I’ve never heard him. Yes, I know who the guy is, I’ve never
heard Malmsteen’s music. Well, Edman is actually a very capable
singer. In every song he sings with a conviction that every power-metal
singer should take notes from. He’s highly accurate and hits every
note in every song. He’s never off. Edman is the epitome of quality
harmonic singing. To the rest of the band, the one member that caught my
eye more than the singer is Ronnie König, the bass player. What? The
bass player? Yes! He is FANTASTIC. In my opinion, he’s one of the best
I’ve ever heard. He’s plays some of the most complex stuff I’ve
heard since ChaotH
from Unexpect and he played with a 10 sting bass.
Seriously, if you’re a bass player looking for inspiration past Cliff
Burton or Steve Harris, check out König. The
drummer and guitar players play admirably as well don’t get me wrong,
but the singer and bass player really stand out!
It is very hard for me to break down individual songs, honestly
they all sound good, not great, but good. As much as I don’t want to
write anything negative about the band, the music does tend to run
together. Yes, each song is different, but every song is in the same 4/4
time and it can get monotonous. However, I will say that it took me a
few listens to get into this album.
“One Fatal Enterprise” has this fantastic guitar intro. Blazingly fast before the whole mood changes into something that I would think Kamelot might do. I do like how the band tends to slow down tracks and speed them up at will.
“Dura Europos” is a very fast song. I love running outside to
this track. About the only thing I would change is how the drums are
played. Not that they’re bad or anything, I would have incorporated
some different drumming styles into it to enhance it. I like the song, I
really do, but out of the whole album, I felt this one had the most
potential.
“Purpleborn” is filled so many solos, so many solos, that if
someone gets off on technical playing, this one has it in spades. Every
player displays what kind of metal he’s got and…it’s just an
unreal track.
I think every single bass player, regardless of what genre they
play, should listen to “The Underground Temple.” The bass playing on
this track is phenomenal. The song has classical music tendencies in it,
which is difficult to pull off in metal. But Signum Regis really did it
with this one.
Overall:
The album sonically, was flawless. The musicians are top of the line. The music however, did very little for me past the awesome musicianship. I didn’t have any real complaint on the songs themselves accept that none of them stood out to where I would sit anyone down and say, “check out this track, you’re going to love it.” When I say anyone, I say non-musicians. The tracks I pointed out above have high points but on a listeners level and not a musicians level, it didn’t have enough umph for me. I would also like to point out that there weren’t any hooks in any of the tracks, hooks, can be debated by many as a term that sucks in the average listener. I really hate putting the band down like that, because honestly the music wasn’t bad, and the musicians are fantastic, but sometimes it isn’t enough. I can only see this band turning on other musicians and those who are really into this genre of metal. I can’t see this appealing to a mass audience.
7/10
I’m giving it a 7/10 because I know this band can
do better and I’ll be watching and hoping. I am also giving it a 7/10
because honestly, it wasn’t a bad record at all.
Matthew Haumschild
is a staff writer/editor for
gryphonmetal.ch since 2002
He is based out of
Minneapolis Minnesota USA he can be reached at matthaumschild@yahoo.com
and on facebook.com
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