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Brent Hinds

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Brent Hinds
Hinds is shown while signing autographs
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Brent Hinds
Born(1974-01-16)January 16, 1974
Helena, Alabama, U.S.
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedAugust 20, 2025(2025-08-20) (aged 51)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
Years active1991–2025
Spouse
Raisa Moreno
​
​
(m. 2017; div. 2024)​

William Brent Hinds (January 16, 1974 – August 20, 2025) was an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He shared guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor in the band.

Hinds was also lead guitarist/singer for the surfabilly band Fiend Without a Face, and was involved in other projects including classic rock bands The Blood Vessels, West End Motel, Four Hour Fogger, The Last of the Blue Eyed Devils, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, and Legend of the Seagullmen.

Background

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Hinds attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts, a statewide public magnet middle and high school in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] Hinds moved to Atlanta in pursuit of a music career. At that time that he met Troy Sanders, a future member of Mastodon. According to Sanders, he "lived in his van for the next five years", becoming a member of Sanders' then band, Four Hour Fogger. The first practice he attended with the band he allegedly "showed up so wasted he couldn't even play".[2]

Once Four Hour Fogger fell apart, the two stuck together, eventually meeting Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher at a High on Fire concert in "their friend's basement". The four began a new musical venture with Eric Saner who was a singer at the time, touring the southern U.S., working 40-hour weeks and playing in the band in their spare time. The band's mainstream success ensued after Saner left the band, pushing Hinds to the forefront not just as a guitarist, but also as a vocalist. Saner and Sanders shared duties as a singer.

With Mastodon, Hinds composed the score to Jonah Hex, a 2010 film. In June 2011, Hinds' projects Fiend Without a Face and West End Motel released a split-double CD debut studio album.[3] In 2012, Hinds formed the supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra with fellow guitarist Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan fame, Jane's Addiction former bassist Eric Avery, and The Mars Volta former drummer Thomas Pridgen.[4]

Hinds began working with psychedelic rock supergroup Legend of the Seagullmen along with Danny Carey of Tool and others. Their eponymous debut album was released in February 2018 on Dine Alone Records.[5] Mastodon announced Hinds' departure by mutual decision in March 2025.[6] However, in August 2025, before his death, Hinds publicly disputed this account, stating that he had been “kicked out” of the band for allegedly “embarrassing them.”[7]

Death

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On August 20, 2025, Hinds died aged 51 in a traffic collision while riding a motorcycle in Atlanta. According to local authorities, the collision occurred when the driver of an SUV failed to yield at an intersection, striking his motorcycle.[8][9] He was pronounced dead at the scene.[10]

Equipment

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Hinds at Ursynalia 2012 Festival in Warsaw, Poland, June 2012

Guitars

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Hinds favored Gibson Flying V's, typically in silverburst finishes, but owned a wide variety of guitars including a Goldtop Les Paul, a Les Paul Florentine, a Lucite Flying V built by the Electrical Guitar Company, a Gibson SG, a Gibson SG Custom, Gibson Explorers, an Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Guitar which was used in the video for "Oblivion," and a Michael Kelly Phoenix Hollowbody. He also had two custom First Act guitars: a 6-string used in the video for "Colony of Birchmen" (which has asymmetrical horns such as those seen on a Mosrite guitar, a Bigsby vibrato, silverburst finish, and a Mastodon logo inlaid on the headstock) and a 12-string DC Lola, also with a silverburst finish, used on the Unholy Alliance 3 tour to capture a fuller sound while guitarist Bill Kelliher was too ill to perform. Hinds owned a guitar similar to this one, although his had only nine strings. He used a 1964 Fender Stratocaster and a 1952 Fender Telecaster while recording "Crack the Skye".

During live performances, Hinds favored his various Silverburst Flying V's. He often performed the solos and more melodic parts, whereas Bill Kelliher took rhythm duties.[11] As of 2014, Hinds had also added a PRS Starla to his collection, as seen in the Motherload video as well as live performances of the song. As revealed in the "Tune-Ups" section of the October 2007 issue of Guitar World, the two guitarists used three tunings: D Standard (E standard down one whole step, D G C F A D), Drop C tuning (D Standard tuning with the low D string tuned down an additional whole step, C G C F A D), and a third tuning similar to Drop C, but with the lowest string tuned down to A (A G C F A D).

In April 2016 Epiphone Guitars announced a signature guitar for him based on his Silverburst Flying V Custom and featuring his signature Lace Hammer Claw pickups.[12]

Straps

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Hinds used vintage-style guitar straps with psychedelic prints including custom models from Overdrive Straps.[13]

Amplifiers

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Hinds was featured in Marshall magazine as a JCM 800 2203 player, although since 2010 had favored Orange's Thunderverb Series Amplifiers. In 2014, he was back to using Marshall JMP series amplifiers and a Diezel VH-4. In 2018 Orange released a Brent Hinds signature Terror head.[14] In 2021, Hinds began endorsing the Victory Amplifiers Super Sheriff amps with custom Victory 412 speaker cabinets.

Effects

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Hinds used a Boss Compressor CS-3, Boss Tuner TU-2, Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9, Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, and Voodoo Labs Pedal Power. In 2014, he was seen using a Boss Digital Delay (DD-6), an ISP Technologies Decimator, an MXR Phase 90, MXR GT-OD, an Ernie Ball VP Junior, and a Dunlop 105Q bass wah.[15]

Guitar rig and signal flow

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A detailed gear diagram of Brent Hinds' 2014 Mastodon guitar rig is well-documented.[16]

Influence and style

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Hinds performing at Gods of Metal in Monza, Italy, June 2009

Originally while playing the banjo, Hinds learned his "signature style" of fast hybrid picking by emulating banjo fingerings on guitar. He frequently utilized the minor pentatonic, natural minor, and the harmonic minor scales in his playing as well as many hammer-ons, pull-offs, and legato slides. Hinds grew up listening to country, but when he entered his late teens he started listening to Neurosis and Melvins, bands which had a profound influence on his musicianship. He said that he was a big fan of the progressive and psychedelic rock genres, especially from the 1970s.[17]

In June 2007, Hinds and bandmate Bill Kelliher won the Metal Hammer Golden Gods award for best shredders.[18] Hinds performed clean and harsh vocals in Mastodon, where he shared lead vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor.

Discography

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Mastodon

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Main article: Mastodon discography

Fiend Without a Face

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  • Fiend Without A Face (1998)
  • Brent Hinds Presents: Fiend Without a Face & West End Motel (2011)
  • Fiend Without a Face (2017)

West End Motel

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  • Brent Hinds Presents: Fiend Without a Face & West End Motel (2011)
  • Only Time Can Tell (2012)
  • Bad with Names, Good with Faces (2017)

Giraffe Tongue Orchestra

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Legend of the Seagullmen

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  • Legend of the Seagullmen (2018)

Guest appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Mastodon guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds dies at 51". NPR. August 22, 2025. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  2. ^ "Mastodon Talks Origins". idiomag. April 23, 2009. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  3. ^ "Mastodon's Brent Hinds Presents: WEST END MOTEL And FIEND WITHOUT A FACE". Mastodon. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
  4. ^ GIRAFFE TONGUE ORCHESTRA Feat. ALICE IN CHAINS, MASTODON, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN Members: 'Crucifixion' Song, Blabbermouth.net, June 19, 2016
  5. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Legend of the Seagullmen - The Fogger (Official Audio)". January 12, 2018 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Mastodon and Guitarist Brent Hinds Mutually Part Ways". Therockrevivial.com. March 7, 2025.
  7. ^ Singh, Surej (August 12, 2025). "Brent Hinds reveals he was "kicked out" of Mastodon in scathing social media comment: "Fuck these guys"". NME. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  8. ^ "Former guitarist, co-founder of heavy metal band Mastodon dies in Atlanta motorcycle crash". Atlanta News First. August 21, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  9. ^ Kennedy, Mark (August 21, 2025). "Brent Hinds, former Mastodon singer-guitarist, dies at 51 in motorcycle crash". Associated Press. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  10. ^ Adams, Gregory (August 21, 2025). "Mastodon Co-Founder Brent Hinds Dead at 51". Revolvermag.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  11. ^ Al-Sardar, Ali (October 3, 2023). "Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds Name Top 10 Heaviest Mastodon Riffs". Rockinformer.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  12. ^ "Epiphone | Explore the Flying V Collections". Epiphone.com.
  13. ^ "Mastodon's Brent Hinds guitar straps". Overdrivestraps.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  14. ^ "Brent Hinds of Mastodon - Orange Terror Amp Interview". March 9, 2018 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Rig Rundown: Mastodon". Premier Guitar. December 3, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  16. ^ Cook, Steve (November 26, 2014). "Brent Hind's 2014 Mastodon Guitar Rig", Premierguitar.com
  17. ^ "Mastodon's Brent Hinds: "I Never Liked Heavy Metal in the First Place"". Guitarplayer.com. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  18. ^ "Winners List". Metal Hammer. December 6, 2007. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  19. ^ Kennelty, Greg (August 23, 2025). "Brent Hinds Dead at 51". Metal Injection. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  20. ^ Dumarey, Tom (March 29, 2014). "Black Lips – Underneath The Rainbow". Punk Rock Theory. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  21. ^ "Mastodon to Score JONAH HEX Movie". Mastodon. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  22. ^ "Mastodon's Brent Hinds in burrito commercial". Zmemusic.com. June 2, 2011.
  23. ^ Lawler, Kelly (June 2, 2015). "You may have missed this awesome cameo on 'Game of Thrones'". USA Today. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  24. ^ Astley-Brown, Michael (February 10, 2022). "Matt Pike takes a surprise blues turn with Brent Hinds on new solo track, Land". Guitar World. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
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