Brent Hinds, the co-founder of Grammy-winning heavy metal group Mastodon who played with the group for 25 years before his departure earlier this year, died on Wednesday. He was 51.
Brian Jost Reents, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Investigator of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, confirmed Hinds’ death to Rolling Stone. According to local news outlet Atlanta News First, Hinds was killed in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta when his Harley Davidson collided with a SUV.
The Atlanta Police Department added that the accident occurred around 11:35 p.m. “Upon arrival, officers located an unresponsive male who was involved in the collision,” the report stated. “The male appeared to be operating a Harley Davidson during the time of collision. Medical personnel pronounced the male deceased.” A preliminary investigation concluded that the driver of the SUV “failed to yield while turning left and collided” into Hinds. “The investigation remains active at this time.”
Hinds co-founded the Grammy-winning group in 2000 with bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. In March, the band announced that they parted ways with the guitarist. “We’re deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we’ve shared and we wish him nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavors,” the band wrote.
“We are in a state of unfathomable sadness and grief,” the band wrote on social media Thursday. “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.”
The lineup of Hinds, Sanders, Dailor, and Kelliher recorded eight studio albums together over the past 25 years, including their 2002 debut Remission, 2009 mainstream breakthrough Crack the Skye, and their most recent LP, 2021’s Hushed and Grim.
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In a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Hinds explained how he learned to play guitar. “My dad’s cool as hell,” he said, “but in an asshole move, he made me learn the banjo before he would buy me a guitar. So I was learning all this hillbilly music with my uncle, and then I focused on being an awesome guitar player. My mom would come in and say, ‘Are you OK? You haven’t been out of your room in two days.’ I’d be like, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not masturbating, I’m playing guitar.’”
Leviathan, the band’s critically acclaimed 2004 album, was named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, with single “Blood and Thunder” earning a spot on the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time.
“Mastodon were like sailors as we drove around and played basements and clubs for years,” Tailor told Modern Drummer of Leviathan. “We were on a quest for something that might not even be there, and we were sacrificing a lot by leaving our families and friends behind. It was a mixture of Ahab’s craziness and Ishmael’s lust for life and adventure.”
“The listener is buffeted by surging waves of guitars, guttural screams and relentless squalls of drum fills,” Rolling Stone wrote of the album. “Deeper tracks like the fully unhinged ‘Megalodon’ and the slow-building opus ‘Hearts Alive’ only drag us deeper into Mastodon’s dark sound and vision.”
Like the best Mastodon records, the lyrics are Leviathan are packed with surreal images. In 2009, Hinds explained how he wrote them. “It comes from us doing too much acid,” Hinds said. “Acid is the best drug in the world. It did the most amazing things for my creative psyche, and it still is doing it for me.”
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Their 2006 LP Blood Mountain was an even bigger success than Leviathan. “The Atlanta band consists of four guys who look like tattooed auto mechanics, but they sound like they should be wearing capes and spitting fire,” wrote Rolling Stone. “Blood Mountain transforms potentially lame self-help bromides about overcoming great obstacles into a sternum-rattling sci-fi journey through a land infested with all manner of beasties, including a cyclops (‘Circle Cysquatch’), warrior tree people (‘Colony of Birchmen’) and some sort of sleeping giant.”
On 2010’s The Hunter, a return to simpler songs after a series of ambitious works, Mastodon cracked the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 for the first time. “There are moments of leftfield eccentricity: the swamp-beast psych of ‘Creature Lives,’ or ‘Spectrelight,’ an over-the-top blitzkrieg with guest roaring from Neurosis’ Scott Kelly,” wrote Rolling Stone. “Mainly, though, The Hunter demonstrates how contemporary radio rock can still be made with imagination, precision and a majestic sense of force.
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They won their first Grammy in 2018 for Best Metal Performance for “Sultan’s Curse.” The group earned six Grammy nominations total, including Best Rock Album for 2017’s Emperor of Sand.
Last September, Mastodon and Lamb of God teamed up for the new single “Floods of Triton,” which would end up being Hinds’ last recording with the group.