Mastodon delivered an emotional tribute to co-founding member and former guitarist Brent Hinds during a performance on Friday.
The show, which took place at Alaska State Fair in Alaska, marked the band’s first appearance since Hinds died in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday at the age of 51.
Drummer Brann Dailor addressed the crowd at the end of their set, saying: “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.”
“We loved him so, so, so very much. And 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.
“So we will continue to play Brent’s beautiful, beautiful music that he helped us make, that we formed this band together and travelled 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.
“We’re absolutely devastated and crushed to lose him and to be able to never have him back again. But you guys made it OK for us to come on stage and do this tonight. So that was for fucking Brent, OK?”
Hinds co-founded Mastodon in 2000 alongside bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. The band achieved significant commercial and critical success over their 25-year collaboration, recording eight studio albums together. Their 2004 release Leviathan earned a spot on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, whilst single “Blood and Thunder” was included in the publication’s 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time.
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The band’s trajectory included several landmark releases, from their 2002 debut Remission through to 2009’s mainstream breakthrough Crack the Skye and their most recent album, 2021’s Hushed and Grim. Their 2010 album The Huntermarked their first Top Ten entry on the Billboard 200, demonstrating their evolution from underground favourites to chart success.
Mastodon’s accolades included their first Grammy win in 2018 for Best Metal Performance for “Sultan’s Curse”, earning six Grammy nominations in total. The group earned recognition for Best Rock Album for 2017’s Emperor of Sand, cementing their status within the heavy metal landscape.
When the Good Things festival stopped by Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in late 2024, Mastodon flew high on the bill, and left an impression. “Mastodon is a highlight everywhere, every time they play. Good Things Festival 2024 was no different, as guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds and his band of road-toughened rock beasts punished the stadium’s speakers with “Black Tongue”, “Megalodon”, “Blood and Thunder”, and more,” Tone Deaf wrote following the show at Brisbane Showgrounds. “If you weren’t already a fan, you were by the time the next act plugged in.”
