Tragically, former Mastodon guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds has died at the age of 51 following a car crash in southeast Atlanta, Georgia. The incident occurred on Wednesday night, August 20, and was confirmed by the Fulton County medical examiner’s office.
Initial reports of Hinds’ death began circulating online after Tool guitarist Adam Jones posted a photo of the musician on his Instagram Story. The news was later confirmed by Atlanta News First.
The Atlanta Police Department released an official statement detailing the circumstances of the collision:
“Upon arrival, officers located an unresponsive male who was involved in the collision. The male appeared to be operating a Harley Davidson during the time of collision. Medical personnel pronounced the male deceased. The other driver involved, a female who occupied a BMW SUV remained on scene. The APD Accident Investigations Unit responded to the scene to determine the circumstances. Preliminary investigation indicates the male was traveling West on Boulevard. The female operating the BMW SUV failed to yield while turning left and collided into the male victim who was operating the Harley Davidson. The investigation remains active at this time.”
Hinds was a founding member of Mastodon and served as a lead guitarist and vocalist for the band for 25 years. The band’s lineup remained constant for all eight of their studio albums, from 2002’s Remission to 2021’s Hushed and Grim.
In March, the band had announced that they and Hinds had “mutually decided to part ways.” In a statement posted on March 7, Mastodon wrote: “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.”
Mastodon enlisted two different musicians to fill his spot for recent live shows. The band was joined by Ben Eller, a guitarist known for his popular YouTube channel, for their performance at Tool‘s Tool In The Sand festival in the Dominican Republic this past March. For their subsequent spring 2025 tour, Mastodon recruited Canadian musician Nick Johnston.
