Mastodon cofounder Brent Hinds, 51, dies in Atlanta motorcycle crash

Brent Hinds, the cofounding guitarist and vocalist of the Atlanta metal band Mastodon, has died at age 51 following a motorcycle crash in Atlanta on August 20. Police and medical authorities confirmed that Hinds was riding a Harley-Davidson when a BMW SUV failed to yield at an intersection, leading to a fatal collision. The Fulton County medical examiner’s office verified his death, ending decades of influence on a generation of heavy music.

Hinds helped found Mastodon in 2000, linking with Troy Sanders, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor to forge a band that would become one of the defining acts of 21st-century metal. Born in Helena, Alabama, Hinds began on the banjo, a foundation that informed his fluid, percussive guitar style and the hybrid phrasing that became a hallmark of Mastodon’s sound. The quartet’s early work, including Leviathan (2004), Blood Mountain and Crack the Skye, positioned Mastodon at the forefront of sludge metal while incorporating progressive rock textures and Southern-rock sensibilities. Hinds contributed not only guitar work but also vocals and substantial songwriting across the band’s eight studio albums, continuing through 2021’s Hushed and Grim.