Not Much To Show With Latest Mastodon Effort

Mastodon is back and they urge one and all to "Show Yourself". Unfortunately the Atlanta band doesn't have much to tell us that metal as a general rule hasn't already dished out to us already. If you've heard one valley in the shadow of death anthem you've pretty much heard 'em all. Not that vocalists Brann Dillor and Brent Hinds don't have talent, but it's not being put to the best possible use through a song like this. The standard drum acrobatics get their moment in the sun. Troy Sanders does a workmanlike job on bass but again the song works against his cranking his potential to fourth gear. The lyrics are deep and brooding with a splash of give 'em hell in between. We are urged to show ourselves, shed our skins, and lose ourselves among other things. We're warned that our safety is not as solid as we'd like it to be. Is our world a dream or cold reality. kind of a mixed message behind "Be afraid" which runs counter to "Don't be afraid". So which warning are we supposed to fall in line behind. Mastodon is guilty of using their combined rock aggression to throw a smokescreen over the song's lack of adding anything particularly innovative to the pot. "Show Yourself" isn't especially bad as rock tracks go. The problem lies in this being a voyage we could swear we've been on previously and in better chord selections. Give Mastodon the nod for lasting through what's going on 17 years. For any musical ensemble to stick around that long a pat on the back is warranted. Obviously the band does have a devoted following that's kept them out on the road year after year, giving the masses what they want. I will give them two points credit for the lyric "The truth will send a ripple through your body". That's meant to get those heart palpitations going full blast until you desperately need a crew of EMTs. However one cool lyric does not an epic effort make. Too much sound and not enough fury to go with it. Eventually the audio palate desires something that at least tries to be different. The creativity level of the accompanying YouTube drawing is higher than the tune it promotes. That's not much of an encouraging sign to say the least. In short "Show Yourself" reveals precious little that would suggest you should listen to it more than once.