Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher has shared a tribute to his late former bandmate, Brent Hinds.
“It’s been hard to get a grip on my emotions this week,” Kelliher writes in an Instagram post Monday. “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.”
Hinds, who played with Mastodon from the band’s 2000 inception up until his departure from the group in March 2025, died on Aug. 20 at age 51 of multiple blunt force injuries, according to Georgia’s Fulton County medical examiner. The Atlanta Police Department reported that a man had died riding a motorcycle that same night.
“You were a brother, we were a family, you were a wild man not to be tamed, you could f*** up [a] bowling ball with a feather,” Kelliher continues of Hinds. “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 a** Manimal.”
Upon announcing Hinds’ death on Aug. 21, Mastodon wrote, “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.” They later honored him during their show in Alaska on Aug. 22.
Meanwhile, Deftones paid tribute to Hinds during their concert Aug. 22 in Vancouver, dedicating the song “Entombed” to him.
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