Slow Motion Reign makes a lot of noise for being just four guys, but these are four pretty talented guys. Especially front man Narek Pogosyan, who not only sings but also plays bass, piano and organ and wrote all 12 songs on the CD; guitarist Sam Babayan has co-writer/co-lead vocal credits on one tune, “Life Simulator.” Along with “Chief-of-Everything” Pogosyan and Babayan, there’s Erwin Khachikian on keys and bass, and Vigen Sayadian on drums and background vocals. See, just four guys, but Slow Motion Reign still puts out a full sound. They call their music “progressive rock,” and that’s about as good a label as any. It’s certainly not headbanging hard rock, it’s not soft rock, and it’s not punked-up, sold-out MTV drivel. Yeah, “progressive” sounds about right. Some fans have been waiting for this CD for three years, since they first got a taste of Slow Motion Reign on a Serjical Strike’s label sampler. It’s not clear why it took them so long to go from one track on a sampler to a full-length CD, but it did. Was it worth the wait? Maybe. Some are calling the CD’s most unusual track, “Life Simulator,” a masterpiece, some a waste of time. Really, “Life Simulator” is the only tune where Slow Motion Reign drifts off into navel-gazing territory. Even then, Pogosyan’s vocals and Babayan’s guitar playing are masterful. But “Life Simulator” isn’t very meaningful, so it still falls short. Overall, it’s a good debut. Well crafted enough for progressive fans, but not commercial enough for radio (and that’s a good thing).
This article appears in Aug 3-9, 2006.