Yesterday, August 22nd, saw progressive sludge metal outfit Mastodon take to the stage for their first live performance since the death of their former vocalist/guitarist Brent Hinds. Tragically, Hinds died this past Wednesday, August 20th, as the result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, GA.
The 51-year-old musician, also known for his work with Fiend Without A Face, West End Motel and more, was fired from Mastodon this past March, and bitterly feuded with them in the months since his dismissal. In the wake of his death, Mastodon issued this statement, which read:
“We are in a state of unfathomable sadness and grief… last night Brent 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. Our hearts are with Brent’s family, friends, and fans. At this time, we please ask that you respect everyone’s privacy during this difficult time.
RIP Brent.”
Taking to the stage last night at the Borealis Theatre in Palmer, AK, vocalist/drummer Brann Dailor publicly expressed his and his bandmates grief at the loss, telling the audience:
“We lost somebody very special to us yesterday. Brent Hinds, 25 years with us as our guitar player. One of the most creative, beautiful people that we’ve ever come across in this world, tragically left us. Very, very unfortunate. We loved him so, so, so very much. And you know 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. And we really loved each other and we made a lot, a lot of very beautiful music together. And I think that that’s gonna stand the test of time — evidenced by you people here tonight.
So we will continue to play Brent‘s beautiful, beautiful music that he helped us make, that we formed this band together, and traveled the world together, slept in a van together, laid our heads down on beds of fucking kitty litter, got way too drunk to remember anything the next day about a thousand, million times over and over again with the love that we shared and the beauty, all the audiences that we played, all the stages we stepped on.
I don’t know. We’re just at a loss for words. We’re absolutely devastated and crushed to lose him, and to be able to never have him back again. But you guys made it okay for us to come on stage and do this tonight. So that was for fucking Brent, okay?! Thank you guys so much. We will see you real soon. Okay? I’m gonna give you guys some fucking pieces of wood, okay? We love you, we’re Mastodon.
Thank you, Alaska, for having us. It’s the 50th state for us to cross off of our bucket list. So thank you for the amazing milestone, and thank you for helping us get through that one. It was fucking tough for us, but you guys are fucking amazing, so thank you, thank you, thank you once again. We’ll see you real soon, okay?! We love you, we love you, love you, love you so much. Good night.”
