The tragic passing of ex-Mastodon, etc. guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds this past August in a motorcycle accident was yet another bitter pill in a year that saw the light of countless metal and hard rock luminaries snuffed out. 2025 has been particularly merciless for our community, claiming the lives of pioneers like Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley (ex-KISS, etc.), Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates, Disfear, etc.) and Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit), along with alumni of Judas Priest, Baroness, Comeback Kid and more.
Hinds‘ unexpected passing at the age of 51 hit particularly hard, arriving not only in the wake of Osbourne‘s death a month prior, but also roughly half a year after his bitter split from Mastodon in the opening months of 2025. While some fans held out hope that the progressive sludge outfit would eventually be able to reconcile with Hinds and return stronger for it, fate unfortunately had other plans.
However, while Mastodon was easily his most known venture, Hinds had his fingers in many pies, including West End Motel and Fiend Without A Face. According to Duane Trucks, drummer of the latter, Hinds also had an unreleased solo album in the can prior to his passing. Trucks told Metal Hammer that he was given a copy of that record personally by Hinds. Trucks said of it, “Brent’s got an entire album that hasn’t seen the light of day. He sent me the whole album of tunes and it’s cool as shit.”
That same interview also found Trucks reflecting on his late bandmate and friend, offering, “You rarely meet someone with so many facets who does things in such an honest, vulnerable way. He really fucking meant what he was playing. It was not a put-on. He wasn’t just doing this for a check.”
