Brent Hinds has died at age 51. He founded Mastodon in 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia, and was the lead guitarist and co-vocalist for the band. He and the group parted ways earlier in 2025. Reports said the breakup was "mutual," but there is some question about that.
According to Atlanta News First, Hinds was riding a Harley Davidson at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Boulevard when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield, and the motorcycle and vehicle struck each other. The accident happened close to midnight on August 20.
It should be noted that at this point, the investigation is still ongoing, and no fault has yet been attributed. The fact is that Hinds died due to his injuries from the accident.
Mastodon Brett Hinds tragically killed in motorcycle accident
Mastodon posted a response to the news on social media, in part saying, "We are in a state of unfathomable sadness and grief."
Hinds founded the band along with bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. In his time with Mastodon, the band produced eight studio albums and became one of the most exciting live bands in metal. The group also could genre-bend and play with quite a few different elements of hard rock.
Hinds was born in Helena, Alabama, on January 16, 1974, and moved to Atlanta in the late 1990s. Besides Mastodon, he played with several other bands. The list includes the Americana-feel West End Motel, rockabilly-infused Fiend Without a Face, and Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.
The latter group was a supergroup made up of Alice in Chains vocalist William DuVall, lead guitarist Ben Weinman of the Dillinger Escape Plan, drummerThomas Pridgen of the Mars Volta, and bassist Pete Griffin of Dethklok. The group put out one album in 2016 called Broken Lines.
According to Billboard, Brett Hinds said that his leaving Mastodon was not a mutual decision and that he had been "kicked out." He also posted on social media in June that he would not miss touring with the band and claimed his bandmates were not good people.