See Mastodon Escape Death in Hilarious ‘Show Yourself’ Video
A beleaguered Grim Reaper struggles to do his job in the campy new video for Mastodon‘s “Show Yourself.” The song will appear on the Georgia metal outfit’s new album, Emperor of Sand, out March 31st.
The Robert Schober-directed clip finds a sad-sack Reaper losing a footrace to a woman in a walker and a chess match to a man in a hospital bed. With a disappointed wife at home and an angry boss at the office, the Reaper and his colleagues are charged with killing the members of Mastodon. Winner gets a new hearse, loser gets fired.
But Reaper’s clever attempts to dispose of the band fall short when guitarist Brent Hinds survives impalement, drummer Brann Dailor won’t fry in a locked tanning bed, bassist Troy Sanders withstands getting his head bashed with a copy machine and guitarist Bill Kelliher remains relatively unscathed after toaster bath. After getting fired, however, the Reaper lucks into a fatal accident that brings about Mastodon’s demise and earns him a brand new hearse.
The cheeky take on death in the “Show Yourself” video is an interesting shift in tone from Emperor of Sand, a concept album that deals with illness and mortality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dailor explained, “It’s about going through cancer, going through chemotherapy and all the things associated with that. I didn’t want to be literal about it. But it’s all in there. You can read between the lines.”