Mastodon honour late guitarist Brent Hinds at first show since his death: “Brothers to the end”
Metal band Mastodon have honoured their late guitarist Brent Hinds at their first show since his death at the Alaska State Fair.
Hinds passed away on August 20th due to a tragic motorbiking accident. He originally founded Mastodon alongside drummer Brann Dailor, guitarist Bill Kelliher and bassist Troy Sanders in 2000. He departed the group in March 2025.
His departure appeared an amicable decision, as suggested in a statement released by the band, which read in part: “Friends and Fans, After 25 monumental years together, Mastodon and Brent Hinds have mutually decided to part ways.”
In response to his recent passing, the band released an original tribute to the co-founder that began, “We are in a state of unfathomable sadness and grief… last night Brett Hinds passed away as a result of a tragic accident. We are heartbroken, shocked, and still trying to process the loss of this creative force with whom we’ve shared so many triumphs, milestones, and the creation of music that has touched the hearts of so many.”
Now, after taking to the stage for the first time since August 20th, the band addressed the crowd in a touching, emotional end to their set. They paid tribute to “One of the most creative, beautiful people that we’ve ever come across,” stating that they loved him “so, so, so very much.”
Brann Dailor then continued, “We had the ups and downs of a 25-year relationship, you know what I mean? It’s not always perfect, it’s not always amazing, but we were brothers to the end. We really loved each other.”
He added, “We made a lot of very beautiful music together, and I think that’s gonna stand the test of time.” Dailor then reminisced about their shared time together, in which they “travelled the world together, slept in a van together, laid our heads down on beds of fucking kitty litter, you know?”
He continued wistfully, “We got way too drunk to remember anything the next day, about a thousand million times over and over again.” He added that they are all “devastated and crushed, to lose him,” but thanked the audience for giving them the “strength” to go on, marking it as the 50th state they’d performed in.
Sadly, in recent months, it appeared that Hinds’ relationship with his former bandmates had deteriorated. He made a series of unfavourable social media comments about Mastodon, such as one posted earlier this month in which the guitarist said he was “kicked out” and wrote online, “I’ve never met three people that were so full of themselves. It’s disgusting.”
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