The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra La La Band- Scala - 8th April 2008

The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra started off as a happy accident for lead singer Efrim Menuk. Taking time out in 1999 from his then current band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, he started it as a project through which he hoped to learn to read music. He soon gave up on this original plan, but A Silver Mt. Zion continued as a side project and has now lived on beyond the recently disbanded Godspeed You! Black Emperor, to become arguably the most recognised band in the post-rock genre.

There wasn't always seven members in the band, originally there were only three, but tonight, as they play their 143rd gig, it's hard to imagine any of the members missing, each has a key role to play in carrying out the mammoth songs that the band writes and records.

They kick off with a new song "I Built a Metal Bird and Fed it the Wings of Other Metal Birds", which on first listen seems like an uncharacteristically conventional song for Mount Zion. Eric Craven on drums holds down a steady rock beat whilst the rest of the band drive the song through several minutes of balls out rock that even seemed to contain a verse-chorus structure, something rare in the Silver Mt. Zion catalogue.

From there they play "Black Waters Broke/Engine Broke Blues" which starts off slowly but with one strong strum of his double bass Thierry Amar turns a gentle breeze into a full on tornado of sound. From here Mt. Zion are in their element, creating chaotic yet beautiful noise that extends for minutes on end. The strings create havoc over the top of the din being created by the rest of the band. They seem lost in a chaotic music storm and are furiously inviting the crowd to join in . Harmonies that seemed to falter in the first song are now pitch perfect. A brilliant performance.

As if to salute those imaginary comrades who didn't make it through the last song "1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound" is up next. This sees most of the band on vocals, producing ghostly harmonies that sound as if they could be sung by corpses. A truly eery effect that builds into a dizzying rock out that sounds as if it is soundtracking a gruesome and epic battle. This is a certain highlight.

Their music may be serious but we are glad to learn that they are down to earth and humorous people. The band are glad to engage the crowd in a conversation that goes off on more tangents than a circle, from water to giants to Pantera to New Jersey and finally ending up inexplicably on New Labour. This enjoyable little excursion produces much laughter from both sides and helps to bring the crowd and the band closer together.

They complete the rundown of their most recent album "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons" with the title track followed by "Blindblindblind". The latter is the certain highlight of the night. Menuk stands back from his microphone to produce powerful, wailing vocals that make you wonder if he actually needs it all. The song builds up into a crescendo like no other with all band members playing furiously to create a melange of noise that works against all odds. The crowd seem to be really getting into it, the majority of them furiously head banging in time with Amar's pounding bass lines that hold the band together and pin the song down. At the very finale six of the seven members are on vocals repeating the lines "Some hearts are true and some hearts aren't true" for several minutes in perfect harmonies. A truly breathtaking finale that stuck in my mind all evening. This is a great way to end the main set.

They return to rapturous applause to perform "Microphones in the Trees" from the "Pretty Little Lightning Paw EP", which sees more experimentation when violinist Sophie Trudeau sings into her violin to spooky results and sees out the song nicely. They leave the stage once more, but aren't gone for long, the crowd wants more.

They finish off with another new song "There is a Light". An extremely pretty song that rises and falls several times to great effect. Violin and cello take centre stage through this one, a song that is extremely delicate and will certainly be a highlight on their next LP.

What amazes me about A Silver Mt. Zion is that they have found in each other people that share enough talent and vision to produce songs as they do, of such grandiose and epic form, which is surely rare. Even more impressive tonight is the fact that they can carry off these songs on stage with just as much precision and even more energy than on record, often losing themselves in the music, but never losing sight of where they are heading.

Rating: 8.4/10
Best Moment: The epic finale of "Blindblindblind" with six part vocals.