Tributes have poured in following the sudden death of Brent Hinds, the guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of Mastodon, who died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta on August 20. He was 51.
According to Atlanta police, Hinds was riding a Harley-Davidson late Wednesday night when he collided with a BMW SUV at the intersection of Memorial Drive SE and Boulevard SE. He was found unresponsive at the scene and pronounced dead shortly after. The driver of the SUV remained and spoke with investigators.
Hinds, known for his unorthodox playing style and fiery stage presence, co-founded Mastodon alongside Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor, and Bill Kelliher. Over 25 years, the band released eight acclaimed studio albums, won a GRAMMY Award, and earned a reputation as one of heavy metal's most forward-thinking acts.
In a heartfelt post, guitarist Bill Kelliher reflected on his decades-long bond with Hinds: "It's been hard to get a grip on my emotions this week. We had our good and bad times just like in any relationship. All that we accomplished after that first fistfight in the van 25 years ago. I didn't think you'd be taken from us like this, absolute loss of a true one of a kind guitar wizard extraordinaire.
"Keeping up with you taught me a lot. You were a brother, we were a family, you were a wild man not to be tamed, you could f*ck up bowling ball with a feather. You weren't perfect but you were always DIRTY-B!! Your vagabond/gypsy/wild child lives on through your music, I will miss your crazy ass Manimal."
During Mastodon's August 21 show in Alaska — a milestone gig marking the 50th U.S. state the band has played — drummer and vocalist Brann Dailor delivered an emotional tribute from the stage: “We lost somebody very special to us yesterday. Brent Hinds, 25 years with us as our guitar player, one of the most creative, beautiful people that we've ever come across in this world, tragically left us. Very, very unfortunate. We loved him so, so, so very much.
"And we had the ups and downs of a 25-year relationship. You know what I mean? It's not always perfect, it's not always amazing, but we were brothers to the end. And we really loved each other and we made a lot, a lot of very beautiful music together. And I think that that's gonna stand the test of time, evidenced by you people here tonight.
"So we will continue to play [Hinds]'s beautiful, beautiful music that he helped us make, that we formed this band together and traveled the world together, slept in a van together, laid our heads down on beds of fucking kitty litter, got way too drunk to remember anything the next day about a thousand, million times over and over again with the love that we shared and the beauty, all the audiences that we played, for all the stages we stepped on.
"I don't know. We're just at a loss for words. We're absolutely devastated and crushed to lose him and to be able to never have him back again. But you guys made it okay for us to come on stage and do this tonight. So that was for fucking [Hinds], okay?! Thank you guys so much. We will see you real soon. Okay? I'm gonna give you guys some fucking pieces of wood, okay? We love you.
"Thank you, Alaska, for having us. It's the 50th state for us to cross off of our bucket list. So thank you for the amazing milestone and thank you for helping us get through that one. It was fucking tough for us, but you guys are fucking amazing, so thank you, thank you, thank you once again. We'll see you real soon, okay?! We love you, we love you, love you, love you so much. Good night."
Brent Hinds' wild spirit, idiosyncratic style, and unpredictable personality made him both a fan favorite and one of the most unique guitarists of his generation. From the groundbreaking Remission in 2002 to 2021's Hushed and Grim, his riffs and melodies became the backbone of Mastodon's identity.
Now, as Mastodon continue without him, his bandmates' words underline the profound impact he left not only on their music, but on their lives. Hinds was more than a guitarist — he was a brother, a wild man, and, in Bill Kelliher's words, "a true one of a kind guitar wizard extraordinaire."
