Mastodon shockingly split with co-founding guitarist Brent Hinds on March 5. The band has since played one show at Tool's Live In The Sand festival with guitarist Ben Eller filling in (who was very grateful), but the question of why Hinds is out of Mastodon remained.
While there are still no concrete answers, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher spoke a little to Guitar World about what happened. In short, Kelliher is amazed that Mastodon made it a quarter of a century with the same guys in the band, and that it was simply time for Hinds and Mastodon to split.
"What can you say about the legacy of Mastodon's first 25 years with Brent? It's been a fun, wild fucking ride, that's for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined. There's been Grammys, touring with our heroes, like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead, and Tool. I cherish all of that. Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams.
Kelliher continued: "You know, it's amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us. I mean, it's like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree. That we managed to do it this long, I feel like that's a feat in itself. You could never replace any of us because we [are the] the sum of four parts."
"That doesn't mean there's not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction," he concluded. "I think I'll just leave it there, you know? It was a hard decision we all had to make. It's just… it was just time."
Kelliher doesn't reveal if Eller will be a part of Mastodon, or who they've got in mind, only noting that "we look forward to a new chapter of Mastodon."
Mastodon is set to tour with Coheed And Cambria and Periphery this May and June. The tour kicks off on May 10 at Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA and wraps up about a month later on June 8 at Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee, IA. Tickets are available here.
5/10 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center
5/11 Knoxville, TN Knoxville Civic Coliseum
5/13 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheater
5/15 Wilmington, NC Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park
5/16 Charleston, SC Firefly Distillery
5/17 Augusta, GA William B Bell Auditorium (no Mastodon)
5/19 Estero, FL Hertz Arena
5/21 Huntsville, AL Orion Amphitheater
5/22 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
5/24 Virginia Beach, VA The Dome
5/25 Bridgeport, CT Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
5/26 Saratoga Springs, NY Broadview Stage at SPAC
5/28 Portland, ME Cross Insurance Arena
5/30 Syracuse, NY Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
5/31 Scranton, PA The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
6/1 Youngstown, OH Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre
6/3 Fort Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
6/4 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center Arena
6/6 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
6/7 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
6/8 Waukee, IA Vibrant Music Hall
