Brent Hinds, founding vocalist and guitarist of Mastodon, has died. The acclaimed metal musician passed away last night (August 20th) in a tragic motorcycle accident in Atlanta, Georgia. He was 51 years old.
Rumors of Hinds’ passing began to circulate early this morning (August 21st), with fans on Reddit trying to figure out the reasoning behind an Instagram story posted by TOOL guitarist Adam Jones, which presented an old photo of Hinds and was scored by Brian Eno’s “Silence.” Redditors also pointed to a late-night news bulletin from the Atlanta Police Department regarding a fatal accident between a Harley Davidson and a BMW SUV. The Fulton County Examiner (via Atlanta News First) confirmed today that the Harley rider was Hinds.
According to preliminary reports, the SUV had failed to yield while turning into an intersection and collided with the motorcycle. The rider was unresponsive when officials appeared on-scene. Medical personnel soon thereafter pronounced him dead.
“We are in a state of unfathomable sadness and grief…,” Mastodon shared in an Instagram post. “Last night Brent Hinds passed away as a result of a tragic accident. We are heartbroken, shocked, and still trying to process the loss of this creative force with whom we’ve shared so many triumphs, milestones, and the creation of music that has touched the hearts of so many. Our hearts are with Brent’s family, friends, and fans. At this time, we please ask that you respect everyone’s privacy during this difficult time.”
Born in 1974, Hinds first played in the mid-1990s act Four Hour Fogger with future-Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders. By early 2000, he was jamming with drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher, who were new to the city and looking to start a band. Hinds invited them to a High on Fire show in Atlanta where Four Hour Fogger were the opener so they could see Sanders on bass. Soon after, the four played together and formed Mastodon.
Throughout his two-and-a-half-decade run with the group, Hinds contributed heavy riffs, Southern-hickory soloing and his distinctive singing voice to eight revered full-lengths, including legacy-cementing sophomore LP Leviathan (2004), conceptual prog-metal efforts Blood Mountain (2006) and Crack the Skye (2009), and the Grammy-winning Emperor of Sand (2017). His last album with the act was 2021’s Hushed and Grim.
This past March, Mastodon announced that they had parted ways with Hinds “after 25 monumental years together.” Kelliher said in the spring that splitting with Hinds had been difficult, but he’d also described their journey together as a “fun, wild fucking ride.”
In more recent times, Hinds had described the split as being less than amicable, writing in a recent Instagram comment, connected to a live video of Mastodon, that he had been forced out of the band “for embarrassing them for being who I am.”
Hinds’ career beyond Mastodon included two one-album-and-done supergroups: Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, with members of Alice in Chains and the Dillinger Escape Plan, and Legend of the Seagullmen, also featuring TOOL drummer Danny Carey. Post-Mastodon, he had been focused on surfabilly act Fiend Without a Face and blues outfits West End Motel and Dirty B & The Boys. In April, he played a show in Atlanta with all three bands.
This is a developing story.