 The following year (2009) Regan retreated to Co. Wicklow, Ireland to record what would become "The Shadow of an Empire" without any record label involvement or intrusion.Jeff Barrett of Heavenly Records was one of the first to hear the completed album and quickly signed him up.Regan released the album to critical acclaim on 8 February 2010, achieving several four-star reviews from several publications, including " Mojo", "Uncut", "Q", "Hot Press", "Financial Times", "The Daily Telegraph", "The Guardian", "The Independent" and "The Mail on Sunday".