A Silver Mt. Zion
A Silver Mt. Zion is a Canadian post-rock band formed in 1999 by Godspeed You! Black Emperor musicians Efrim Menuck, Sophie Trudeau and Thierry Amar. According to an interview with VPRO Radio in the Netherlands, originally the project was for Efrim to learn how to score music, but the idea was soon abandoned as Efrim decided that he preferred music not to be defined by rules, preferring simply what sounds best. Despite this, he continued the project out of a desire to experiment with ideas that would not work within the context of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The decision to record an album was partly inspired by the death of his dog Wanda, who had died while Godspeed You! Black Emperor was on tour. He wanted to record an album in her memory, but did not feel that he could effectively do this through Godspeed's collective, consensus format.
Unlike Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion's music often features vocals. The last album they released contained no purely instrumental tracks. Efrim confessed that he was uncomfortable with this at first, feeling "foolish" and uncomfortable with the role of the singer in music generally. That is, he did not want to be the focus of the band's music but rather wished to use vocals as a stylistic tool. Some fans were initially ambivalent about the use of vocals, but Efrim's poetic lyrical style is now well respected among fans. Furthermore, A Silver Mt. Zion's fan base has expanded, and they are no longer seen merely as an offshoot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor but as a unique and separate entity.
There are strong political motifs in the band's music. The instrumental "13 Angels Standing Guard 'round the Side of Your Bed" is apparently directed toward black bloc anarchists, according to liner notes. The song "Triumph of Our Tired Eyes" could be interpreted as lamenting the present state of the world while espousing strong hope for the future. It also references the old anarchist song, "To the Barricades," sung by anarchists during the Spanish Revolution. The band's most recent album, Horses in the Sky, contains ostensibly political tracks, including "God Bless Our Dead Marines" and "Ring Them Bells (Freedom Has Come and Gone)." However, it is worth noting that when asked about the political elements of A Silver Mt. Zion's songs after a concert in Nottingham, England in December 2004, Efrim Menuck said that the band are not trying to be 'political' per se with their songs, but write songs about the sorts of things they talk about with their friends.
According to their official website, they are currently working on a live album that is tentatively titled "Fuck You Drakulas", which may be released in the mid-summer of 2007.
Past and future dates this band has played:
