TDC - Brent Hinds, ex-Mastodon

[Brooks]

Mastodon co-founder Brent Hinds dies in Atlanta motorcycle accident

[Dave Scepter]

Dude failed to yield thus killing him 😢

[specialk]

BMW a$$hole!

[LucSulla]

I'm pretty broke up over this. I never met any of the Mastodon guys personally, but I know plenty of people who used to gig with them back during the Remission/Leviathan days. I had a chance to hang with them a few times when they were in Austin because a chick I was dating was really good friends with Troy Sanders, but it seemed too "star-fuckery" to do that. They've crashed with friends, gotten fucked up with friends, and so on. 

So aside from liking there music, they were a band of dudes roughly my age from the same scene in the Southeast who actually made it. I also thought Brent was one helluva guitar player, like some mad scientist merged Roy Clark and Robin Trower into a single player. Watching there studio vids where he'd just come into the studio nail something to death off the top of his head in a take or two, and then keep rolling was inspiring to watch. 

The outro solo on this pretty much sums him up. Hell, the whole song does. 
 

 

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Weird! You leave the band then within a few weeks you die in an accident where another person is at fault!!!

[polara]

Never met him, but we knew quite a few folks in common. He had a reputation around Atlanta that I suppose is much like a lot of folks who are battling some darkness, but I hope sun outshone the shadows for him.

[soli'd]

I never met any of those guys except Bill once, I was pouring a drink at my neighbor's Xmas party and I looked up and he was standing next to me waiting patiently for me to finish. Turns out he's buddies with my neighbors, @polarayou may know some of the same folks. 

But I saw Mastodon several times and Brent was the best part for me. That intersection is dangerous AF, always people trying to beat the turn light.  Incidentally, it includes the corner of Oakland Cemetery, the oldest burial grounds in ATL. 

[cmatthes]

Brent singlehandedly quintupled the value of the formerly near-worthless Norlin Silverburst LP Customs.   Those, and the BH Sig. models are gonna skyrocket now...

 

[Submariner85]

I got to see them live twice while he was still with them.  They played the entire Leviathan album last time I saw them. 

[RobB]

33 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

Brent singlehandedly quintupled the value of the formerly near-worthless Norlin Silverburst LP Customs.

I thought it was Adam Jones?

[cmatthes]

1 hour ago, RobB said:

I thought it was Adam Jones?

I guess Brent just played the Silverburst V?

[RobB]

21 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

I guess Brent just played the Silverburst V?

That sounds right. The silverburst and sunburst Norlin V's were the last to shoot up in value. There are a lot of dogs out there, but the good ones are really nice.

[LucSulla]

6 hours ago, polara said:

Never met him, but we knew quite a few folks in common. He had a reputation around Atlanta that I suppose is much like a lot of folks who are battling some darkness, but I hope sun outshone the shadows for him.

He had a bit of a reputation among my friends who knew him. He could be a complete sweetheart sometimes and the biggest prick you ever met at other times, according to them. He clearly had a lot going on upstairs. 

But if you go back and watch the videos for the Making of Crack the Skye, when he had recovered from the concussion and was straightened out, I think that's probably who the guy really was at the end of the day. Perhaps it was just hard for him to keep that guy front in center. 

The hell of it is, that's not even what got him. He died in one of the most mundane, common ways motorcyclists get killed - someone hanging a left at a light and not paying attention. 

Edited August 22, 2025 by LucSulla

[L2A3]

Wow, so saddened to hear this.  Saw him several times with Mastodon and got to meet him at a small show for his side project "Fiend Without a Face" (surf-rockabilly, check it out).  Awesome player and seemed like a fun guy the night I met him.  

RIP

[Brooks]

Mastodon is the "newest" metal band that I really dig. They have the ability to sound both progressive and raw at the same time, which is unique. It was love/hate when I 1st heard their 2nd album Leviathan; loved the riffs/drums/solos, hated the screamy vocals (apparently, they had a lead vocalist before their 1st album who quit the eve of their 1st van tour). Next album Blood Mountain had some singing, less screaming, even more killer riffs and arrangements. There's a chicken pickin' off-time section on Capillarian Crest that was amazing, sounded like the cd was skipping, one of the most original things I've heard in metal (at 1:39);

They removed almost all the screaming on Crack The Skye and subsequent albums, sounding almost mainstream metal (they caught some flak from hardcore fans but I preferred it). I kinda moved on after Once More 'Round The Sun;

My pal Dave texted me this morning. We had an acoustic duo for 15 years and a short lived country band, which ended when he moved to Alabama a few years ago. Brent Hinds is from that area. Dave now plays in a blues band w/ a mortician, they rehearse at his funeral home. Brents funeral is at that same place, they are borrowing Daves Bose PA for the service.

 

Edited August 28, 2025 by Brooks
fixed a fuckup

[LucSulla]

I did the responsible thing and ordered a Banker V Custom to commemorate Brent. Matthew Hughes, the owner, was nice enough to share a few good Brent anecdotes once I told him I was breaking my rule of no more expensive guitars and working out where to put a minor bit of a tribute on the back of the headstock.  None of them were particularly scandalous, but he was a character for sure. 

Hopefully the world is still around next September. 

[RobB]

20 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I did the responsible thing and ordered a Banker V Custom to commemorate Brent.

Sweet, dude! Silverburst?

[LucSulla]

1 hour ago, RobB said:

Sweet, dude! Silverburst?

Trans purple burst. I know Korina isn't that exciting, at least compared to maple, but I think it will look cool.

 

[RobB]

23 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

Trans purple burst. I know Korina isn't that exciting, at least compared to maple, but I think it will look cool.

 

Nice. I’ve never seen a purple burst in korina. If he can spray the purple with some transparency, it will be a unique finish for sure. 

[LucSulla]

2 minutes ago, RobB said:

Nice. I’ve never seen a purple burst in korina. If he can spray the purple with some transparency, it will be a unique finish for sure. 

I really went back and forth between doing a silver burst or a tuxedo. Somehow I resolved it by ending up with purple burst. 

All I need is a goldtop, and I'll have a real Mardi Gras thing going on between this guitar and the greenburst Shishkov.