BRENT HINDS's Estate Sets Record Straight On MASTODON Lawsuit, Calls For 'Compassion And Respect'

The estate of the late former MASTODON member Brent Hinds has issued a statement clarifying its claim that the guitarist is still owed money for his share in the group.

On September 3, the estate filed in Fulton County Court claiming that Brent had never been bought out of his share of MASTODON and its related businesses before his death. The estate also accused MASTODON of using Brent's likeness after his death to promote the group's recently released album "Marrow Deep".

MASTODON members later released a statement denying "allegations of ill intent" on their part and expressing their regret that "a private business dispute with the estate of our dear departed friend Brent Hinds was made public."

In a new statement released to Guitar World magazine, Brent's estate wrote: "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." The use of Hinds's image, it says, matters "because it illustrates a broader commercial issue related to merchandising revenues. 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 goes on to say that the lawsuit is 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." Brent's family, the statement claims, has been "subjected to personal attacks and harassment based on speculation and secondhand interpretations" and has called for "compassion and respect while the legal process moves forward."

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the estate's civil complaint, which was filed in Fulton County Court, reveals MASTODON wrote the estate a check for $80,000 as a buyout of Hinds's portion of the band after sending him a document summarizing the terms of their separation. However, Hinds never signed that agreement and the estate has held off on cashing the check until a full accounting to be done that will determine the actual number Hinds's estate is owed for his share in the MASTODON companies.

Despite the fact that Hinds did not contribute musically to "Marrow Deep", the album cover, which was inspired by the Three Fates who control the thread of human destiny, includes the face of Brent as well as that of Michele Jeanne Lawrence, mother of MASTODON drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor, who also passed away in 2025. The faces are subtly hidden beneath Atropos — the Fate associated with cutting the thread of life.

In the lawsuit, the estate takes issue with the fact that Brent's face appears on an album which he did not contribute to, writing: "Defendants selected and placed a recognizable image of Brent on the album cover of 'Marrow Deep' and disseminated that cover to advertise, market, distribute, and sell physical albums, digital downloads and streams, merchandise, and related goods or services."

The lawsuit also criticizes Dailor, MASTODON bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders and guitarist Bill Kelliher for revealing personal information about Brent, including implying that his struggles with substance abuse led to his exit from the group, in the recently released documentary titled "The Mastodon In The Room". In the emotional 35-minute feature, Dailor, Sanders and Kelliher addressed Hinds's passing directly, saying they wanted fans to hear their story after seeing the speculation and headlines surrounding his death.

While the lawsuit does not directly address the substance abuse allegations, it calls out Dailor, Sanders and Kelliher for disclosing "details about [Hinds's] private life that they learned in confidence — details he chose to keep private while he was alive."

In March 2025, 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 Sanders, Dailor and Kelliher.

MASTODON's lineup had remained the same for 25 years, recording eight studio albums, beginning with 2002's "Remission" until the band's 2021 LP "Hushed And Grim".

Hinds later claimed he had been ejected from MASTODON and called his former bandmates "horrible humans" in a social media post.

Brent was reportedly riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late on August 20, 2025 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 a crash report, investigators found that Hinds was at fault for the accident because he was speeding. Relying on video of the intersection, investigators calculated that the musician was going between 63 and 68 mph, which is roughly twice the speed limit at the crash site, the report said.