REST IN PEACE: BRENT HINDS - CO-FOUNDER & FORMER MASTODON GUITARIST

*Brent is the guitarist on the left side of the stage.

I don't want to create a YouTube video talking about this because I have conflicted feelings about gaming the algorithm for financial game due to someone's passing. It just feels scummy and I don't want that kind of karma. But I do want to say something because this situation does have an affect on me.

I won't pretend to be the biggest Mastodon fan on Earth because I'm not. I really don't know a whole lot about the band other than I walked into the auditorium at San Francisco's Masonic in 2019 while they were performing and it felt like something straight out of an 80s or 90s movie. 

A scene from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective comes to mind, where Ace walks into a concert hall during a performance and everyone is headbanging, hair flying everywhere. He asks some headbanger a question and the headbanger just keeps nodding his head to the music without flinching. This environment felt very similar. I've been to probably over 300 concerts in my lifetime, and this moment has stood out to me ever since. It was one of the most badass environments I ever got to see a concert in. 

Maybe this is just the norm at heavy metal shows, and I've always been much more of a punk & alternative guy. Maybe this is just the scene in California's Bay Area where a lot of major heavy metal bands like Metallica began, and I am someone who has mostly attended shows in Los Angeles. Or maybe this was a magical moment in time where these elements combined to make one amazing experience.

I was there to see Coheed & Cambria perform but it was Mastodon who stole the show that night. The riff from 'Black Tongue' stood out to me and was the song I was able to connect with on Spotify following the show. Over the years, I would explore a bit more of their catalog.

In recent months, I began making videos talking about the meanings of a few of their songs. It was doing this research that helped me learn more about the band, the members names, and their roles in writing the music. Mastodon went from a band that I merely enjoyed a few songs from, to one that I really started to respect, and want to learn more about.

Brent Hinds in particular seemed like a pretty awesome character. Quirky, not without flaws, but ultimately good-hearted. At least that's the impression I was left with. He seemed like the type of guy I would have enjoyed chatting with at the bar over a glass of good sipping whiskey. Just talking about rock music.

As this website and channel grows, it would be great to be able to interview some of the artists that I admire and respect. It breaks a part of my heart to know that I won't be able to make this particular wish to sip whiskey with Brent come true one day. It also hits home on a personal level due to the nature of his passing, a motorcycle accident where it appears he was not at fault. 

A few years after graduating high school, a buddy dropped me off at home while he went to go meet up with another former high school classmate to go see The Devil's Rejects, which was in theaters at the time. That former classmate never made it to the movie because he crashed his motorcycle into a vehicle that pulled in front of him to make a left turn without realizing he was there. 

Motorcycles are undoubtedly badass, ingrained in American culture, and I would never take away anyone's right to ride one. However, the unfortunate part is that on a motorcycle there is very little margin for error. And we often share the road with people who aren't paying as much attention as they should be.

We lost a good one on August 20, 2025.

Rest In Peace, Brent Hinds. 

Thank you for leaving this world with some very powerful music. You will be missed.