A Silver Mt. Zion really is one of the more perplexing groups I've ever listened to, if not the most. They went from instrumental to all-the-time vocals and even a capella parts. I hated the vocal material when I heard it on the album, and then I saw them live a few years ago and they were sublime, and I learned to love the new material. They were pretty far outside of the mainstream when they were instrumental, and possibly became even more so when they started singing. All these elements combine to make them extremely hard to recommend. Having seen them twice now, though, I'm going to go ahead and say that their live shows are a must-see.

A Silver Mt. Zion is comprised of a string quartet - two violins, cello, and bass - two guitars, and drums. This gives them the ability to play music that's that particular kind of pretty that only violins can manage, and also allows them to be heavy and hard like only a rock band can be. And with seven instruments, when everyone is playing full tilt, the music is very powerful. A Silver Mt. Zion has perhaps the best command of dynamics of any band I've ever seen; they go from quiet and almost inaudible to loud and frenzied with perfect precision. During the subdued parts, it was quiet enough - both in the audience and among the musicians - that Efrim actually stepped far away from the microphone and sang completely unamplified.

Surprisingly, A Silver Mt. Zion only played one song from their new album, 1,000,000 Died to Make this Sound, a tribute to all the musicians that have died poor and alone. They performed a few of my favorite older songs that I'd not yet heard live, namely Could've Moved Mountains, which was significantly different than the album version, and Mountains Made of Steam. The latter was particularly awesome, especially the end, which features one of the loveliest violin parts I've ever heard. While one of the two violinists played that line, the other sang an accompaniment into the microphone attached to her violin, which was in turn hooked up to various effects. It was impressive.

Actually seeing the band members work from a few feet away was interesting in that regard. A Silver Mt. Zion's first song was a new one, called I Built Myself a Metal Bird, I Fed My Metal Bird the Wings of Other Metal Birds, and it began with a distorted violin part that sounded like a crushing guitar part. In my estimation, it was easily the best song of the set, and I am seriously looking forward to getting a recorded version of it. They finished the standard set with another new piece, There is a Light, which had something of a gospel feel to it. Microphones in the Trees was the encore, and another instance of a song that was better live than on the CD. There wasn't a song played I didn't enjoy.

It's also worth noting that a lot of people tend to look at A Silver Mt. Zion as being pretentious. With an ever-changing band name that's horrendously long, and similarly difficult to handle song names, it's rather understandable. I was actually of that opinion myself, but it's impossible to think that after seeing them live. They crack jokes, they converse with random members of the audience, and they generally seem very down to earth. What seemed like pretentious artsy music now takes on a sort of folkish appeal. Those a capella choruses and full band vocal-rounds now sound like an invitation to sing along.

A Silver Mt. Zion is quite unique and unconventional, and really isn't for everyone, but they are an absolutely superb live show, among the very best I've ever seen. Even if you have some misgivings, I really do recommend going to see them live.