The promotion of drummer Matt Mendians to full-time status, after their 2004 NEARfest show, has really paid off big for the band, beginning with his stunning work on The Inconsolable Secret and now with his performance here. The permanent addition of a gifted young guitarist like Wallimann to the band could have an even greater impact on Glass Hammer's sound. With the help of these two guys, all of these live performances easily outshined their album counterparts.

Live at Belmont was recorded at Belmont University's Massey Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, where Glass Hammer headlined last year's Past Watchful Dragons conference, an event that features Inklings scholars from all over the world, and, obviously, some great musical entertainment. Glass Hammer were the perfect band for this event, as the themes of many of their albums and songs are inspired by the works of C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other similar writers.

Where the Lex Live DVD focused mostly on the Lex Rex album, Live At Belmont concentrates mostly on The Inconsolable Secret material. Shadowlands and Lex Rex also get a couple of nods each, and the only repeats from Lex Live were the songs "One King" and "When We Were Young". Although the set list is only nine songs deep, the performance lasts over 90 minutes, thanks to a few epic-length songs - most notably "Knight Of The North", which clocks in at over 22 minutes. Hey, it's prog-rock.

There were many highlights during this show, but my favorite one was the incredible performance of "Run Lisette", from the Shadowlands album. Unfortunately the massive pipe organ that made the studio version sound so powerful, could not be dragged up on stage with him, but Fred Schendel did an admirable job at reproducing that huge sound on his keyboard. Then again, there isn't any sound this wizard hasn't mastered on his keyboards. The added depth of the string quartet, and the stunning vocal performance by Susie Bogdanowicz really put this version over the top.

A few of my song choices would have been different than what the band chose this night, but it is hard to complain about this set list. I would have preferred to hear "So Close, So Far" instead of "Farewell To Shadowlands", from the Shadowlands album, although both would have been great. "One King" is pretty much a mandatory part of any Glass Hammer set list, but the two other Lex Rex choices, "When We Were Young" and "Heroes And Dragons" are not two of that album's strongest songs. I would have killed to hear "Tales of the Great Wars" or "Cup Of Trembling" performed by this stellar lineup. The mellow, acoustic mood of "Heroes And Dragons" also made for a very anti-climactic encore, especially following the rousing, 150-person choir led closer, "Having Caught A Glimpse".