An Atlanta Police Department incident report and 911 calls have offered new insight into a motorcycle crash that killed former MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds.
Brent was reportedly riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late on August 20 when he was hit by an SUV turning left and failing to yield at the intersection of Memorial Drive SE and Boulevard SE, less than two miles from downtown Atlanta, according to Atlanta police.
Hinds was found unresponsive by officers who responded to the crash around 11:35 p.m. and was pronounced dead by medical workers.
According to the police report, which has been uploaded online by the Atlanta Police Department at this location, the driver who hit Hinds remained at the scene and spoke with investigators. She told the police that she was “positive the light was green” as she turned and kept going straight when she hit Hinds on his motorcycle. However, one witness who spoke to officers said that he looked at the light at the time of the incident and saw it was red. The same witness and a second witness both said that Brent was “driving fast” when the crash occurred.
A 911 caller who said one was “two cars back” from the accident described seeing Hinds going “up in the air” immediately following the impact and spinning “a couple of times. And then he fell. It looks like his left leg buckled over his right leg. I was two cars back, so I didn’t get to see the full impact, but I heard the impact and [saw Hinds] spinning.”
The reporting police officer wrote: “At the moment I arrived on scene [Hinds] was breathing and moving with visible injuries to his head, arms and torso. He was transported … to Grady [Memorial Hospital] where he perished from his injuries.”
Hinds‘s official obituary revealed that a “celebration of life” for the MASTODON guitarist will be held in Atlanta at a later date. No further details are currently available.
MASTODON drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor paid tribute to Hinds at the end of the band’s August 22 concert at the Alaska State Fair as part of the ConocoPhillips Alaska Concert Series at the Borealis Theatre in Palmer, Alaska, Dailor stepped out to the front of the stage and told the crowd: ”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 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.”
Brann continued: “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, for all the stages we stepped on.”
He added: “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.”
A few hours after Brent‘s death was made public, MASTODON commented on his passing in a statement on social media, writing: “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.”
In March, MASTODON revealed that the band and Hinds had “mutually decided to part ways” after “25 monumental years together.”
Since 2000, Hinds had served as lead guitarist and vocalist for MASTODON, alongside bassist/singer Troy Sanders, Dailor, and guitarist Bill Kelliher.
MASTODON‘s lineup had remained the same for 25 years, recording eight studio albums, beginning with 2002’s “Remission” until the band’s latest LP, 2021’s “Hushed And Grim”.
When MASTODON announced Brent‘s departure from the band on March 7, they wrote in a statement: “Friends and Fans, After 25 monumental years together, MASTODON and Brent Hinds have mutually decided to part ways.
“We’re deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we’ve shared and we wish him nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavors.
“We are still very inspired and excited to show up for fans in this next chapter of MASTODON. As we move forward, all 2025 touring plans will remain intact. We look forward to seeing you on the road.”
Hinds later claimed he had been ejected from MASTODON and called his former bandmates “horrible humans” in a social media post.
Hinds was involved with several music projects apart from MASTODON, including the group GIRAFFE TONGUE ORCHESTRA — alongside members of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and ALICE IN CHAINS — as well as LEGEND OF THE SEAGULLMEN and the long-running project FIEND WITHOUT A FACE.
More recently, Hinds had a tour, “An Evening With Brent Hinds”, set for November and December throughout Europe.
“I’m a free spirit,” Hinds said in the MASTODON documentary “The Workhorse Chronicles”. “I enjoy life and I live it to the fullest.”
Brent played his first show since exiting MASTODON on March 21 with his band FIEND WITHOUT A FACE at 529 in Atlanta, Georgia.
MASTODON has had nine Billboard 200-charting albums and has been nominated for a Grammy Award six times. The band won a “Best Metal Performance” Grammy for “Sultan’s Curse” in 2018.
MASTODON‘s latest album, “Hushed And Grim”, was a double LP recorded at the band’s Atlanta studio, West End Sound.
MASTODON recruited Ben Eller, a guitarist known for his popular YouTube channel, to step in for Hinds when the band played at TOOL‘s “Tool In The Sand” festival in the Dominican Republic in March. For MASTODON‘s spring 2025 tour and other recent shows, the band enlisted Canadian musician Nick Johnston. Johnston has six solo records under his belt, and has also worked with POLYPHIA, Guthrie Govan, PERIPHERY and many others.
