Silent Old Mtns' began in 2010 as a solo project by lead singer Andrew Bromhal. Bromhal would play various coffee shops and bars in the Baltimore-Washington area before expanding to a trio with the addition of Pat Acuña and Thom Huenger in the spring of 2011. Though the expansion was originally only intended to last one night, it was so well received that the move was made permanent and Silent Old Mtns became a band. Shortly after their first performances, local poet Samuel Whalen began to perform spoken word before and during the Mtns' set's. Eventually he was adopted as a banjo player, and became a cornerstone of their live performance, described by Trebuchet Magazine as... "Sam is the Silent Old Mtns’ resident poet. Live, Sam is an IED. At first the crowd is usually confused when a madman next to the drum set starts screaming poems at them. But by his last line, the place has frozen. They’ve just watched a Gypsy king with shooting stars in his crown. And they’re not sure what they feel, but it’s enough to take their iPhones out and get the videos streaming." By mid-2011 Steve Younkins, nephew of Kix guitarist Ronnie Younkins, was added on bass guitar, creating the original lineup.

Silent Old Mtns began recording their debut album, Velvet Raccoon, in August 2011 at the Key Facility in Monrovia, MD with producer Myles Vlachos. The album was named after a velvet painting of a raccoon that drummer Pat Acuña purchased at a flea market while living in Nashville, TN. It's lead single, Dead All The Time, was released along with a music video on March 22, 2012. This was followed by the release of the album on June 19, 2012. Critical response to Velvet Raccoon was generally positive, receiving an 8/10 when reviewed by Live Music Guide, calling it "...the first step of a visionary band with an honest and original sound." While Muzik Dizcovery's Casey Whitman wrote "Velvet Raccoon is hard to classify and unconventional, but the band has made an enormous leap, blowing away even my high expectations."

In summer 2012 Silent Old Mtns began touring heavily to support Velvet Racoon, and were featured in a live performance and interview on The Blue Plate Special Radio Show in Knoxville TN. Between touring schedules, they were also invited to serve as the house band for the Maryland Ensemble Theatre's original production, The All New Grand Ole Hee Haw Hootenanny Howdown Jamboree. Members of the band were featured in sketches and other musical routines. The show ran for 16 performances and was well received, earning 4 out of 5 stars from dcmetrotheaterarts.com.

During this time Joe Jalette was added as the bands first lead guitarist. In a 2013 interview Pat Acuña was quoted as saying, “I can’t believe we played this long without Joe. It’s such a gaping hole in the music when we perform without him, and it blows my mind that we got to the point we have without that dynamic.”

In a January 2013 interview with Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie the band confirmed they would be entering the studio to work on their second record with producer Matt Cramer. The first single off the album, Beautiful Animals, will be released in summer 2013. During a sneak preview of the track Gorilla Magazine's Andrew Bailey described the new song: "Although it isn’t the final mix, the new song represents a leap forward in the method of capturing the band’s live signature. The sound is fuller and the playback more closely resemble what you’d get from a stage show versus the polish of a studio." Though he is featured on Beautiful Animals, Steve Younkins announced his departure from the band during this time.

In March 2013 Silent Old Mtns partnered with Daytrotter Studios in Rock Island, IL to stream a live performance via the Daytrotter website. The session was recorded to tape and was released in June 2013. Shortly after this performance touring member, Colin Shultzaberger, of The Merrylanders was named as the Mtns' new full-time bassist.

For the one year anniversary of Velvet Raccoon's release, Silent Old Mtns announced via facebook that they would be releasing a new album titled Naked Raccoon. The album contains all 10 of the tracks featured on Velvet Raccoon performed acoustically, as well as poetry inspired by the album. It was released on June 19th, 2013 and was well received. In Trebuchet Magazine's review of the album, they write... "Naked Raccoon works so well. A stripped down, track by track, acoustic replica of their first album. Released on June 19th, Naked Raccoon brings the curtain down on a full year of recording and touring under the ten tracks that we first heard on the plugged-in big brother, Velvet Raccoon." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.