Earlier this month word leaked out that GRAMMY Award-winning progressive sludge metal outfit Mastodon are facing legal action from the estate of their late former guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds. That legal complaint disputes the accounting of divesting Hinds from the band’s business-related interests — a process that had yet to be resolved prior to Hinds‘ untimely August 20th, 2025 death in a motorcycle accident.
That suit further accused the band of continuing to profit off the likeness of Hinds, with promotional materials and elements of his likeness being featured in the “Marrow Deep” artwork. Furthermore, the suit also took issue with the band’s public disclosure of alleged substance abuse issues suffered by Hinds.
Mastodon themselves issued a public statement on September 11th in regards to the suit, stating:
“Sadly, a private business dispute with the estate of our dear departed friend Brent Hinds was made public. We strongly deny allegations of ill intent on our part and intend to vigorously defend what we believe is a meritless lawsuit. We don’t intend to speak publicly on this going forward, as we feel this wouldn’t honor Brent‘s memory or the legacy of his musical gifts.”
Now Hinds‘ estate have also issued a public statement of their own regarding the matter, it reads as follows, per Guitar World:
“Unfortunately, public discussion has largely focused on Mastodon’s inclusion of Brent’s image in artwork for a new album and has sometimes portrayed the lawsuit as an effort by his family to obtain a windfall. That is not what the case is about.
After Brent was excluded from Mastodon, he sought an accounting, valuation, and orderly separation of interests he held in entities owned by the founding members. He passed away before that process was finished…Brent had not yet received compensation for any of his interests.
More specifically, it relates to whether Brent’s exclusion from the band discontinued his, and now his Estate’s, entitlement to share in Mastodon’s merchandising revenue.
The remaining members maintain that Brent did not participate in Mastodon’s new album, yet the band chose to use a recognizable image of him to market that album and did so without the estate’s consent. This illustrates that Brent remains relevant to Mastodon’s brand even after his exclusion and death.
The estate maintains that the band cannot fairly invoke Brent’s identity when it is commercially useful, while simultaneously denying the continuing relevance of his contributions when accounting for his interests.”
The statement is said to concluded in stating that it’s not asking for, “anyone to choose sides or diminish what Brent and his bandmates created together. Nor does it ask the public to judge anyone’s grief or intentions.”
Per the complaint filed by the estate, Mastodon are alleged to have cut the estate an $80,000 check for Hinds‘ business interests, but the estate are said to have refused to cash it, instead seeking a full accounting of what they believe they are entitled to.
Hinds was fired by Mastodon in early 2025, with a statement announcing his dismissal having been issued on March 07th of that year. It was clear from various jabs and shots taken at his former bandmates on social media by Hinds that the split was not amicable.
The band however, largely remained silent regarding the circumstances of his ousting, up until the release of their ‘The Mastodon In The Room‘ short film, which found them celebrating the life of Hinds and opening up about what led to his departure. Bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders was quoted in that film as stating of Hinds:
“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.”
“I mean ‘Hushed & Grim‘, those few years of touring on it, was the weakest band solidity and performance that we had had in a decade. And I knew in my heart that this was possibly going to plateau. And then what happens after it plateaus is it goes down.”
