Brent Hinds, the co-founder of acclaimed Atlanta 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 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.
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.
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.”
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.
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