Mastodon are said to be facing a lawsuit from the estate of their former member, the late Brent Hinds. The group ejected Hinds from their roster in early 2025, leading to hostility from Hinds, notably across a number of social media comments he made online, disparaging his former bandmates.
As the band went on to reveal this past summer in this mini-documentary on Hinds‘s time in Mastodon, the decision to part ways with him was done so reluctantly. The group cited Hinds‘ growing chaotic behavior and alleged penchant for substance abuse as being the reasons for the split. Vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders said of Hinds in that above-mentioned mini-doc, ‘The Mastodon In The Room‘:
“The dark tones, and the alcohol, and the things that had their grips — had their nails in him — harder than ever before. And there’s always been ups and downs for the 25 years of our band, but I think it was at its peak unfortunately during these past five years.”
A report over at the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, states that Hinds‘ estate has newly filed suit against the band, claiming they have cashed in on his likeness after his death. The estate also put forth that Hinds still retained a share in the band and related business ventures, despite his ousting.
While negotiations were said to be underway before his passing, the business of divesting Hinds interests was not fully resolved ahead of his untimely death via a motorcycle accident in August of 2025.
This suit was filed on September 03rd and argues that Hinds‘ estate is owed proper compensation for his shares in the related business ventures and the usage of his likeness in album artwork and promotional material released by the band in the wake of his passing.
The lawsuit claimed that Mastodon‘s camp issued Hinds‘ estate a check for $80,000 in relation to buying out his interests in the band, however, the estate were claim they weren’t provided proper accounting of how the band came to that number. As such, they claim to have refused to cash the check.
The estate are apparently also unhappy with the Mastodon camp disclosing private aspects of Hinds‘ life in wake of the two parties separating.
