Brent Hinds, Mastodon cofounder, dies in Atlanta motorcycle crash

Brent Hinds, the guitarist and co‑founder of metal band Mastodon, died after a motorcycle crash in Atlanta on August 20, 2025, police and his family said. He was 51. According to an Atlanta Police Department incident report, Hinds was riding a Harley‑Davidson when an SUV struck him while turning left at the intersection of Memorial Drive SE and Boulevard SE late that night. He was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and later pronounced dead.

The police report released online said the SUV driver remained at the scene and told investigators she believed the light was green when she turned. Witness accounts filed with officers contradicted that statement, with one witness saying the light appeared red and that the vehicle did not have the right of way. Another 911 caller described a violent impact that sent Hinds airborne, saying he "went up in the air during impact, spinning a couple of times." The report also records that a responding officer found Hinds breathing and moving with visible injuries to his head, arms and torso before he was taken to the hospital. Some early accounts reported he was unresponsive at the scene. The Fulton County medical examiner later confirmed...