SIGNUM REGIS are a Slovakian Power/Melodic/Christian Metal band who were formed in 2007 and have seven albums and 2 EPs under their belt. This however is their first live album borne out of a happy accident in 2021 when they had ideas of doing a gig after few live appearances during the pandemic. The album was recorded by their hard disk and was of such quality that "Made in Switzerland" was born. It is released on Beyond The Storm Productions.

As I had never heard of SIGNUM REGIS, I put the album that each song is from against the title. It does appear that the bulk of the live album is from The Seal of a New World album released in 2019. This isn't surprising since Jota joined the band at that point in SIGNUM REGIS's career.

When I think of a live album, I think of something that's rough around the edges and not the best quality of production. Well I'm happy to be proven wrong on that front because from the opening of "The Promised Land" to the excellent "Wrath Of Pharaoh", this is a fantastically produced album. Everything is crystal clear. Each guitar is panned to the left and right of the mix and the drums hit heavy and I can even hear the bass thumping its way in the mix. So often the bass is drowned out so that made a pleasant change. Also Jota's vocals are excellent throughout this album with a pretty dynamic range to his voice. He interacts with the crowd very well and they respond, so some nice but not overbearing interludes to the music. It all assists with the feeling of 'being there.'

With 14 songs and the album clocking in at over an hour long, I'm not going to go into all of them but a few choice cuts.

"Through The Desert, Through The Storm" has a nice heavy melodic guitar with a great chorus, some
 superb lead guitar and a great vocal performance from Jota, even incorporating some falsetto screams.

"A Memory" is a song about the mind and has some great dual vocals on the verse and has a Spanish feel later in the song.

"Riding on the waves of your mind
I am your old memory
I came uninvited
I'm staying for life."

A great song lyrically which contrasts with "The City Of God" with some cringe lyrics like:

From the highest mountain
I could see the holy light
It came down from heaven
Oh it shined so bright

I do want to make it clear that I have no issue with Christian Metal but when it's this obvious it becomes something you'd expect a 10 year old to write. There are songs that communicate the Christian message a liitle more subtly on the album like "Never Surrender" or "My Guide In The Light" so a bit of a misstep I feel.

A favourite song of mine however is "Prisoner's Elegy" with its slow but heavy melodic pace and again some great lyrics like:

Voice of reason
In this crazy world
Is now treason
When no truth is told

Fed with poisoned
Ideology
We're imprisoned
Singing elegies

It's an excellent song as is the final track "Wrath Of Pharaoh". A scorching lead guitar introduces the song and strings give it an epic Egyptian feel before the superfast melodic guitar blasts forth. Jota gives a superb vocal performance with some very high-pitched singing in the verse and there's some fabulous lead guitar. It's an excellent end to the album.

I have to say that this album really is the benchmark of a well produced live album. Everything is wonderfully clear and nothing over dominates in the mix. The keyboards aren't overbearing either and it just really immerses you in the sound. The band mixed the album and it was mastered by Tony Lindgren (AMORPHIS, DRAGONFORCE, POWERWOLF) and they've done a fantastic job. If you love Power Metal/Melodic Metal you should definitely check this out. I for one will definitely be checking out their albums starting with "Seal Of A New World" and "Exodus".

As a first live album for the band, it's a triumph.