Brent Hinds Wanted to Be 'an Awesome Guitar Player'

Brent Hinds, former lead guitarist and singer in the heavy metal band Mastodon, has died. He was killed Wednesday in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, the Grammy-winning band announced. "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," the members' statement said, per USA Today. Hinds, 51, co-founded Mastodon in 2000 with bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. His departure from the band was announced in March.

Mastonon became known for its Southern-twinged heavy metal sound and psychedelic album art. The band released eight studio albums, starting with Remission, per Rolling Stone. Its mainstream breakthrough came with Crack the Skye in 2009, and its latest album is 2021's Hushed and Grim. The magazine listed Leviathan as one of its 100 greatest metal albums of all time and "Blood and Thunder" as among its 100 greatest heavy metal songs of all time. Mastodon was nominated for Grammy Awards six times and won for best metal performance for "Sultan's Curse" in 2018.

An Alabama native, Hinds started out on banjo at his father's insistence. "So I was learning all this hillbilly music with my uncle, and then I focused on being an awesome guitar player," he said. "My mom would come in and say, 'Are you OK? You haven't been out of your room in two days.'" Hinds said he assured her that he was fine, he was just playing guitar.