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A SILVER MT. ZION

Post Rock/Math rock • Canada


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A Silver Mt. Zion picture
A Silver Mt. Zion biography
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1999

Originally formed by Godspeed You Black Emperor! guitarist Efrim Menuck, bassist Thierry Amar and violinist Sophie Trudeau, A SILVER MT. ZION was formed as a vehicle for Efrim to explore his own musical ideas. The group has since expanded to a seven-piece, and play a slow, brooding style very simmilar in feel to the band from which they were spawned. At the same time however, their sound contains more of an experimental edge and less of the ear-splitting climaxing that has defined GYBE. They also feature vocals from Efrim, a characteristic not usually seen in bands of this style.

They use a number of different variations of the name on different releases (including A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries)

They present simmilar ideas as Godspeed You Black Emperor in a different (and sometimes more conventionally progressive) form, and are generally regarded as one of the major post-rock bands.

Their best album is generally considered to be their debut, 2000's "He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms".

See also:
WiKi
- Fly Pan Am
- Set Fire To Flames
- Valley Of The Giants

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A SILVER MT. ZION discography


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A SILVER MT. ZION top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.98 | 116 ratings
He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms
2000
3.59 | 78 ratings
Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards
2001
3.23 | 50 ratings
This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing
2003
3.87 | 85 ratings
Horses In The Sky
2005
3.70 | 76 ratings
13 Blues For Thirteen Moons
2008
3.61 | 42 ratings
Kollaps Tradixionales
2010
3.88 | 48 ratings
Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
2014

A SILVER MT. ZION Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

A SILVER MT. ZION Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

A SILVER MT. ZION Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

A SILVER MT. ZION Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.27 | 24 ratings
The Pretty Little Lightning Paw E.P.
2004

A SILVER MT. ZION Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.23 | 50 ratings

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This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars A Silver Mt. Zion continues to change with their 3rd full length album and the name has been expanded to "The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band (with Choir)". With this album, called " 'This is Our Punk-Rock' The Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing", the core band remains, but an amateur choir made up of 22 friends of the band has been integrated into the music. This album consists of 4 long tracks, divided up into suites in the same manner as their previous albums and the albums of "GY!BE". In this album, however, we see that A Silver Mt. Zion is moving away from their GY!BE roots and striving to create a new post-rock sound of their own.

The first track "Sow Some Lonesome Corner So Many Flower Bloom" demonstrate that sound difference right from the get-go, incorporating the choir immediately with the band as a backup. The music here is original and well done, even though the only words are meaningless lyrics like "Fa-la-la" and etc., yet it still sounds very meaningful. The choir sings an anthem to one of the selected empty or unused spaces in Montreal that the band pays homage to in the album. The choir continues through the first half of this 16 minute track before the band takes over with the lovely instrumental section, driven by violin and guitar. Eventually, the music builds in intensity and emotion, making for a lovely crescendo and when the music hits its apex, it can set your heart and mind racing.

"Babylon Was Built on Fire / StarsNoStars" begins with warbling guitars chiming softly creating a sparse atmosphere. After 3 minutes, violins emerge from the haziness of the music, and slowly build as guitar effects push them on. A feeling of an atmospheric dirge is created, but before the 6 minute mark, the echoing background stops and Efrim's vulnerable vocals start. Those familiar with his vocals know what to expect, but otherwise they may be a bit of a shock to some with his appealing yet amateurish sound. Later a guitar and violin duet help increase the intensity a bit, but even with the tortured sounds further in the back ground, this still remains somewhat minimal. A few melodies come and go through the vocals, and the use of building intensity through repetitive vocals eventually takes hold, and soon contrasting melodies and vocals are layered over each other, and there is that frantic feeling you get as the themes fight against each other in voices and instruments. The intensity breaks before the ending and things quickly calm as the violins continue a pizzicato passage to take things to the end.

"American Motor Over Smoldered Field" begins with jangly guitars and with Efrim singing quietly. Soon the strings come in (there is a small string quartet played among the group members) and the music gets a stark, yet lush feel as the vocals build tension. The drums kick in suddenly after 4 minutes when the vocals end and the small orchestra becomes full with a nice harshness to it. At 7 minutes, the intensity subsides suddenly and a solo violin plays against a minimal guitar. The core group forms their own layered wordless vocals as the music builds, then Efrim's vocals start again with a repeated lyric as the music throbs along until the end.

"Goodbye Desolate Railyard" utilizes the amateur choir again. This starts with Efrim singing a homage to the old train yard before it is removed with a melody that isn't as dark as you would expect since the lyrics look back to the days that were better when the trains were still running. The music converges to a drone-like quality at the 4 minute mark. This intensifies until it fades to railway sounds at 8 minutes. A lone acoustic guitar finally comes in after 10 minutes and hesitant vocals join in and the choir slowly joins in to the repeated lyrics.

Except for maybe the last track which is not quite as interesting, I think this album is judged a little too harshly. I had a hard time with it at first, but the more I hear it, the more I think it is pretty amazing how the band can describe the emotions of loneliness and sparseness, that it's not always just sadness and quietude, but it is also anguish and rage. A Silver Mt. Zion can express all of this in their music. Many complain about Efrim's strange vocals, but honestly, I can't see how any other vocals could fit this music. This album definitely deserves a little more love, and to get that, it needs to be given a chance. It's true that the last track is lacking a bit, but the other tracks are definitely 5 star material, so this album easily deserves at least 4 stars.

 Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2001
3.59 | 78 ratings

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Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars Originally made up of 3 members from 'Godspeed You! Black Emperor', 'A Silver Mt. Zion' (SMZ) recruited 3 more members to expand their band for their second album 'Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward'. The original members were guitarist Efrim Menuck who founded the band to work on ideas that didn't fit into the music of GY!BE and he enlisted violinist Sophie Trudeau and bassist Thierry Amar. The new members that were brought on for this album were guitarist Ian Ilavsky, cellist Becky Foon and violinist Jessica Moss. Drums on this album are played by Eric Craven who was not an official member. The name off the band was also expanded to 'The Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band'.

The music would also begin to rely more on vocals sung mostly by Menuck who has a very distinctive voice that can be hard to listen to at first, but also has very emotional delivery that you get used to. The music is also based on the post rock/punk sound. Menuck uses punk rock sensibilities in his music but with much expansion in the basic unrefined sound made famous by the punk movement.

The first track is 'Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling From the Sky!' Starting out with echoing percussive sounds, the track seems ambient at first, but soon strings start playing a mournful, yet lovely melody which is a little unsettling with a slight dissonance. Soon, the strings back off a bit and a new, pensive melody is introduced by a piano. Intensity increases some as layers of strings get added along with an atmospheric bowed guitar, but it mostly stays soft.

'This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Birds Fallen' starts with some interesting sounds possibly to imitate birds, then atmospheric guitars, one high pitched and one lower, play spooky counter melodies, and then strings come in later giving the coldness more depth. As it continues, the music seems to shimmer like reflecting light.

'Built Then Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!)' begins with subdued spoken word like the reading of some dramatic passage. Soon violins and echoing guitars fade in slowly, again with a slow and pensive melody. There isn't much of an increase until you reach the end there is a sudden noisy crescendo and the track follows directly into the next track.

'Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River' continues to build from the last track and is the first time on the album that Efrim sings. Tense strings continue to churn under his intense and abrasive vocals. Guitars play a drone that increases in volume until around the 3 minute mark, then they drop out. Strings continue to build tension and soon vocals begin with a new melody and things intensify again and then drop off at 5 minutes to the sound of chirping birds and a very subdued drone that you have to listen closely to even hear.

'Could've Moved Mountains . . . ' starts off very quietly as a lone guitar softly plays slowly over a quiet drone. If you listen closely, you can hear soft vocals singing, almost indiscernible. The guitar slowly increases in volume while another guitar chimes along quietly. At 4 minutes, a violin establishes a more discernable melodic line and the guitar becomes more dynamic. After a while, more strings join in and the guitar is pushed to the back until they eventually fade and we're left with the lone guitar again, but more intense this time, and the vocals become slightly louder. Soon the strings return, bringing percussion with them this time, though it is quite minimal. Intensity builds and then levels off and we are left with voices.

'Tho You Are Gone I Still Often Walk W/You' emerges from the last track with a cello and piano playing off of each other.

'C'monCOMEON (Loose an Endless Longing)' immediately begins at full volume with the full band and a lot more percussion than what we have heard so far on the album. Even though there have been a few loud sections in the music to this point, they have usually been slow to develop. This track is a complete contrast of all of that with a lot more noise and sound. It all drops off at 3:45 and suddenly becomes atmospheric, with effects coming from soft feedback. A layered brass section fades in from this and churning guitars get dragged in with them, then chaotic percussion quickly fades in. This establishes a huge wall of noise by 5:30 and continues until it fades at the end at just after 8 minutes.

'Triumph of Our Tired Eyes' starts with a guitar playing an arpeggio and Efrim provides vocals again and it's joined by melodic strings and minimal percussion.

This album uses dynamics through repetition by increasing volume and layers as in the first album, but also relies on vocals and minimalism more. There are still loud passages, but even with the expanded line up, the power is in the quieter sections. The music is beautiful but it also has an underlying tension and some noisy pay offs, just fewer times than some of their future albums. It is good to hear the band experiment and not just rely on copying the GY!BE sound, but expanding on it. However, the bad thing is that with trying new things, SMZ shows their vulnerability. This will improve at times, but there are other times when the punk sentimentality just goes a bit over the top. However, SMZ still remains one of my favorite post rock/experimental bands.

 Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2014
3.88 | 48 ratings

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Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by ainasio

3 stars I find some excerpts from this album to be really exciting. The litany of "What We Loved Was Not Enough", of course, and "Rains Thru the Roof at Thee Grande Ballroom (For Capital Steez)", with its saddened mellotron. However, I don't think all the material is as good or inspirational. What bothers me the most is sound quality, a kind of low-fi, dirty and fuzzy. Not that I like crystal-clear recordings, far from it. I enjoy the opacity of old records like "Foxtrot", one of my favorites. But this deliberate dirtiness (I don't know if it's the right term in English) erodes the nuances almost to the point of making them disappear.
 Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2001
3.59 | 78 ratings

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Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars Efrim Menuck meant for his first release as A SILVER MT ZION to be a one-off tribute to his beloved dog Wanda who passed away while touring as a band member of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, but since it was met with such such positive enthusiasm, he decided to keep releasing new albums as a side project and therefore since this was indeed a new band instead of merely a solo tribute project he expanded the three full time members on the first release and doubled it to six (adding contrabass, cello and extra violins). There also remain three additional session musicians as on the debut with the addition of trumpet and trombone. Menuck also followed the changing-up-the-name game inspired by the great Sun Ra who would change his backing band name every few albums. So on this second release, BORN INTO TROUBLE AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD is credited to THEE SILVER MT ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA & TRA-LA-LA BAND. Now isn't that a mouthful? Sometimes it begins with THE SILVER etc so i assume the THEE came about as a database issue.

Musically speaking BORN INTO TROUBLE etc continues the same kind of apocalyptic and mournful classical chamber music mixed with post-rock that suited the tribute to Wanda so well. The album contains eight sprawling tracks but none overly long that utilize the typical post-rock playbook and create riffs that build loops which are then accompanied by other instruments joining in until reaching a climax of some sort. For the most part the "rock" part of the equation doesn't play much of a part in the second album like the first as it is primarily built upon slow brooding violins accompanied by the other instruments merely adding disheartening atmospheric moods but on some tracks like "Take These Hands And Throw Them In The RIver," the pace picks up after the lugubrious intro and unlike most of the album has sung vocals (there are some spoken word parts as well). The heavier passages are very similar to the softer ones except that they have a much more frenetic delivery of the repetitive loops of violin riffs with a cacophonous din of accompanying sounds that make it sound more like the Godspeed! project. "C'monCOMEON" is probably the most rock oriented track as it has heavily distorted guitar and the most energetic percussive elements on the entire album.

Overall the music on BORN INTO TROUBLE AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD is much more diverse with all the different instrumental parts sounding more like the first Godspeed! album than the first SILVER MT ZION one but still retains a significant amount of the funeral march anthemic styles of the debut. The subject matter is supposedly inspired by the Book Of Job from the Bible with the title also purportedly taken from the scriptures. Menuck successfully found new ways to expand the debut's sound and even though many of these new ideas came directly from his Godspeed! You Black Emperor style, the album sounds completely distinct as it less hypnotic than Godspeed! releases and creates more of a classical chamber rock type of feel with more melodies that at times sound a tad Floydian in a space rock sort of way accompanied with lots of echo guitars. Add the heavy outbursts although sparse and the weird electronic atmospherics and voila! a satisfying near hour experience of musical bliss. No sophomore slump on this one. In fact i actually prefer listening to this second offering for it has a grander scope of moods and emotional explorations than the extremely misery focused vibe of the first.

 Kollaps Tradixionales by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.61 | 42 ratings

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Kollaps Tradixionales
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

4 stars Takes Longer but Grows on You.

I just submitted my review of their most recent album when I noticed this album gets weaker reviews than most of their other albums. In a way I can understand - this one takes longer for its merits to become clear and it is less likely to grab reviewers on first listen. However, after having listened to this album for six years now, I think this is up there with their best albums. Probably the reason for the lower scores is Efrim's singing is a bit more tortured than usual on this one, and his singing is right up from on the long opening piece "There is a Light". I have to admit not being as keen on this song when I first heard it, but it has really grown on me, and is today one of my favourite songs of theirs. There is a very similar feel to the long closer, "Piphany Rambler", which has Efrim singing (rambling indeed) all over this, with much of the same feel as "There is a Light". This one probably takes even longer to warm up to, but again, after first being a bit turned off by it, I (now) really like it. In the middle are some more great pieces. "I Built Myself a Metal Bird" is distorted hard-driving progressive punk (in fact, the tune is in 7/8 time!), but what I find particularly great about the middle part of this album is that the band is here improvising at length. "I Fed my Metal Bird the Wings of Other Metal Birds" is the improvised extension of the first Metal Bird track. Similarly the two Kollaps Tradixionales pieces include improvisation, and so while these are (for me) the weaker tracks on the album, they are still quite good and indeed essential to the listening experience of the album. I like this album a lot more than 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons, which is less well put together and less musical over all. I also like it better than Horses in the Sky, which has some great songs but for me is uneven. Similar to their most recent album (which I just reviewed), I find Kollaps to be consistently good all the way through.

Some albums are easy to 'get' on first or second listen. Some albums rise quickly at first, but then fall just as quickly after a few listens. This one started lower but kept rising, and only started to plateau after around 20 listens. Even though it is fairly long, I now always listen to this one all the way through - once it is on, I am drawn to hear it out. While most listeners will probably prefer their most recent album over this one on first listen (so, you should get that one first), I actually rate this one a tiny bit higher (after many years). How much you eventually like the album will depend on how much the opening and closing tracks grow on you. But I think it is well worth the time-effort. I give this 8.7 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which also translates to high 4 PA stars.

 Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2014
3.88 | 48 ratings

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Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

4 stars Real, Heartfelt Music.

The most recent full album (2014) from A Silver Mt. Zion is excellent through-and-through. I love this band (and their cousins/alter-ego but larger Godspeed You Black Emperor-GYBE) for the integrity they bring to the act of making music. They make music they want to play, and say what they want to say, for its own sake damn the consequences. They also write out of passion and gut feeling, rather than (say) logic or aspiration, so the music is full of raw emotion and is personal. As a result, their music comes across as heartfelt, feeling, and authentic. When I listen to this, I am always reminded of a Roger Waters quip (from the Pompeii video) where he says that the only thing that matters in music (or any art) is whether it moves you. SMZ is moving and thought-provoking. While a number of commentators don't like Efrim's singing, I think it fits perfectly, and just adds to authenticity of their statement. The singing would in fact be considered poor judged against the criteria set out by vocal coaches and music schools - it is frequently out of tune, he can't reach some of the high notes he is trying to reach, his voice often cracks, etc - but to me this is beside the point. The point of this band is to be real, warts and all, and thus implicitly to challenge paradigms and stereotypes of what the experts might say music should be. But even disregarding this, I actually think the singing is very musical. Few would ever say Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix are good singers, but their vocals are perfect for the songs they sing, with a lot of unique character and instant recognizability, and they add to the music they accompany rather than take away from it. The same applies to Efrim's vocals, which add a personal element to the music that raises it even higher and makes me want to listen to it.

This album continues in the same mode as their previous album (Kollaps Tradixionales), in mixing a harder rockingier approach with progressive acoustic and ethereal soundscapes, generally in the service of longer but well-structured vocal-based tunes. The album begins with a hard-guitar driving punky piece that shifts part-way through into a longer statement which sets the musical and political tone for the album. There is a great shorter tune ("Take Away These Early Grave Blues") as well as two innovative and evocative short pieces ("Little Ones Run" and and "Rains Thru the Rooft"). However, the real gems here are the two longest pieces. The 14-minute "Austerity Blues" is a fantastic piece that begins on acoustic with Efrim's unique voice up high, then morphs into a truly original and musical political statement about the idea of (government, economic) austerity. It's counterpart is "What We Loved Was Not Enough", a beautiful dirty lament from the heart. Both of these are among SMZ's best compositions, and are the primary reason I keep wanting to put on this album. They have entered my list of essential music. But in fact the entire set flows very well and there is not a bad tune on the album. Silver Mt Zion is making exciting and original music that deserves to be listened to. They are my favourite still-touring Canadian band. On balance, I give this album 8.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which is at the high end of 4 PA stars.

 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2008
3.70 | 76 ratings

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13 Blues For Thirteen Moons
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

3 stars Rough, Ragged, but a Beautiful Closing Track.

Silver Mt Zion (SMZ) once again change direction with 13 Blues. Mostly jettisoning the more structured folky approach of 'Horses in the Sky', here they go for the jugular, opening with a full-on onslaught of sonic and lyrical heaviness. If on 'Horses' it seemed the band wanted everyone to hug ('Hold on to each other'), here they are in a more rough and tumble mood, probably the most rough of all of their albums. Perhaps they thought 'Horses' sounded too safe, or something, or perhaps they found themselves angered and discouraged. At the very least, such tension can be creatively productive, although on this album I am not sure it is channelled as well as it could have been on every track. Hence the roughness. The opener, '1,000,000 died to make this sound' is the most rough. Like a school teacher trying to get the class'es attention by dropping a garbage can or chair in the middle of the room, it opens with loud intermittent (drum) bangs, which then morph into a tortured slow, but loud and grungy, guitar-based theme full of distortion. The lyrics sound like a cry for help. It gets your attention - it MAKES you pay attention - although I don't find this first piece (all 14 minutes of it) very musical. The two middle pieces improve on this one. Although still ragged, they don't seem as drenched in anger, and are able to conjure up some evocative imagery and landscapes. The third track, ('Black Waters Bowed/Engine Broke Blues') is the better of these. Indeed, while 'Horses' began with its best tune (with the musical quality mostly decreasing with each subsequent tune), '13 Blues' gets better with each subsequent song. And the closing track, 'Blind Blind Blind', is excellent. Still very ragged and tortured, here this is really well channelled into the music and lyrics so the audience really feels it. Softer, and soulful, but hurt, it ends with a rousing repeated sing-along chorus whose melody sticks in your head. Very emotional and musical. On the whole, I find this album harder to take that any other SMZ album, although with the brilliant closing track it is better than 'Born into Trouble' (which really has no stand-out tracks). I give this one 6.7 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

 Horses In The Sky by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2005
3.87 | 85 ratings

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Horses In The Sky
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

3 stars Critical Anti-War Folk-Tinged Post-Rock.

Silver Mt Zion (SMZ) have always been political, as have Godspeed You Black Emperor. However, while previous SMZ albums drew more on ethereal, classical and avant-garde musical styles, here they veer in the direction of a more traditional American (in both senses, i.e. both continental and US) anti-war folk styles. The pieces are more structured, and use more traditional chord changes, and indeed, evoke (if just a touch) the ghosts of Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs in terms of their use of clever lyrical phrases and repeated sing-along choruses. The opening piece here, 'God Bless Our Dead Marines', is simply amazing, and the best on the album (and among the very best ever SMZ songs). It has a very clear three-part structure musically, while the lyrics provide some of the most direct and hard-hitting anti-war criticism of SMZ's entire catalogue. Here, Efrim has written lyrics that do the job of the various radio spots, street chatter and sound effects found on early Godspeed albums, and they do it very well. Killer track (literally). The song lasts almost 12 minutes, but the live version (you can find them on youtube) lasts upwards of 17 minutes. Really excellent music and lyrics, if perhaps necessarily US-centric (Canada, the home of SMZ, does not have a marine corps). The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to this fantastic opener though. The next strongest tunes follow right after the opener. The title track, 'Horses in the Sky', is to my mind the second-best track on the album, again (for me) harkening back to some of the classic American anti-war folk troubadours, and 'Mountains Made of Steam' is the third-best track. These are, after many years of listens now, usually the only ones I listen to, as the last three songs are just not as musical. 'Hang on to each other' is similar in style and format to 'Horses', but not quite as clever or emotive, so it feels a bit whiney, as does 'Ring them bells'. However, I think it is wonderful that SMZ took it upon themselves to stretch out beyond their usual comfort zone into more a folky vernacular, as the exercise produced three really great songs. Especially, 'God Bless Our Dead Marines' remains for me among the top five songs ever written by Efrim and SMZ/GYBE - it sends chills up my spine every time I listen to it. Given the whole album is mixed, I give this 7.0 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

 The Pretty Little Lightning Paw  E.P. by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2004
3.27 | 24 ratings

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The Pretty Little Lightning Paw E.P.
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

3 stars Microphones in the Trees!

An excellent release from Silver Mt Zion, this EP contains four great tracks that do a good job at encapsulating their sound in the mid-2000s. Like their first album, this one contains no drummer, but instead uses repeated percussion sounds and quiet drum machines selectively in their place on some of the tracks. The title track is one of the more notable pieces, both here and of their repertoire in general. But it is "Microphones in the Trees" that is the real stand-out track. Built around a 5/4 bass/cello line that modulates between four chords in repeated pattern, it starts quiet and builds to a climax backed by pointed political lyrics and eery rising/sawing violins. The melody is highly memorable and the song will stick with you. Check out this EP version, and then check out the amazing 2008 live version from Lees Palace in Toronto (available on youtube). Just amazing. The other two tunes on this release are good, but not quite essential, making the overall rating of this one 7.7 out of 10, which is just shy of 4 PA stars. So, high 3 PA stars.

 This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing by SILVER MT. ZION, A album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.23 | 50 ratings

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This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing
A Silver Mt. Zion Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Walkscore

5 stars The Best SMZ Album!

This is not only their most progressive, but most musical and most emotional album. I am shocked by the lower scores for this here. This sees the band writing extended epics - one on each side of the double vinyl album - and in turn developing their musical ideas over longer overlapping themes with quieter, sensitive violin and guitar compositions, while still remaining true to their post-apocalyptic post-punk ethos. Each of the four pieces on this album is unique and distinct - not only from each other, but from the rest of their catalogue. Side 1 ("So Some Lonesome Corners So Many Flowers Bloom") features a rag-tag improvised choir and a slow-building crescendo that is very musical despite representing an almost free experiment. The song is very hypnotic and beautiful, almost in a Floydian way (indeed, sections of this piece actually remind me of (though very different from) Atom Heart Mother). Side 2 ("Babylon Was Built On Fire/Starsnostars") is to my mind SMZ's most musical song (not only on this album, but their entire catalogue). It begins with some amazing soundscapes, slowly introducing the main themes. The vocals are here are very effective, slowly building until each of the song's different themes are all being sung at once by different singers, bouncing off each other in a beautiful rag-tag counterpoint of overlapping melodies. Awesome music! Side 3 ("American Motor Over Smoldered Field") is another of SMZ's most musical songs ever. Containing some rare but beautiful (in a post-apocalyptic way!) vocal harmonies, the song remains subdued for the first 4.5 minutes, but then the drums and bass/cello/guitar pulses kick in. Check out the section that begins just before the 9 min mark which then continues to the end with the 'choir' singing the lyrical theme. So innovative yet deeply musical and emotional music. Side 4 ("Goodbye Desolate Railyard"), characterized by acoustic guitar finger-picking in a major key overlaid with piano and sunrise-violin lines, has a very American feel to it. Very happy-sad melancholy, shifting into musique concrette with thunderstorm and railway soundscapes, and then back to the main theme on acoustic guitar with the key lyric then repeated by the band. While I find the other three sides to be even stronger, this is a great closer for this great, original album. Of course, you have to like Efrim's/the bands' tortured, out of key singing, and this one will take a few listens before the underlying musicality emerges (you are probably not likely to get it on first listen). But this is definitely worth the effort. For me, this is the second-best album out of the entire GYBE/SMZ catalogue, after "Lift Yer Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven". I give this 9.0 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 5 PA stars. One of the most original, authentic, innovative, musical and moving albums.

Thanks to useful_idiot for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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