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The Mastodon<\/strong> drama has been ongoing ever since it was announced that vocalist Brent<\/strong> Hinds<\/strong> was relieved from his duties<\/a> in Mastodon<\/strong> on March 5th. <\/p>\n After 25 years, the founding guitarist and vocalist had “mutually decided to part ways” with Mastodon<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0but as time has gone on, it’s come into question just how amicable the split was.<\/p>\n In the band’s original statement posted in March, they said:<\/p>\n “Friends and Fans, Then, Mastodon<\/strong> played a show two days later<\/a>, with well-known YouTuber Ben<\/strong> Eller<\/strong> as the guitarist.<\/p>\n About a week after it was announced Hinds was leaving Mastodon<\/strong>, remaining guitarist Bill<\/strong> Kelliher<\/strong> chatted to Guitar World<\/a>, giving a bit more insight to the situation<\/a> without delving into what happened behind the scenes that led to the split:<\/p>\n “What can you say about the legacy of\u00a0Mastodon<\/strong>‘s first 25 years with\u00a0Brent<\/strong>? It’s been a fun, wild fucking ride, that’s for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined. There’s been Grammys, touring with our heroes, like\u00a0Iron Maiden<\/strong>,\u00a0Metallica<\/strong>,\u00a0Motorhead<\/strong>, and\u00a0Tool<\/strong>. I cherish all of that. Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for\u00a0Brent<\/strong>\u00a0in chasing his dreams.<\/p>\n “You know, it’s amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us. I mean, it’s like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree. That we managed to do it this long, I feel like that’s a feat in itself. You could never replace any of us because we [are the] the sum of four parts.<\/p>\n “That doesn’t mean there’s not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction. I think I’ll just leave it there, you know? It was a hard decision we all had to make. It’s just\u2026 it was just time.”<\/p>\n By the 15th of March, it was well-known that Mastodon<\/strong> was looking for Brent<\/strong> Hinds<\/strong> replacement, and the band played several sets with fill-in guitarists while Hinds<\/strong> played sets of his own with other projects<\/a>, Mastodon<\/strong> eventually mentioning that Hinds<\/strong> was not going to be on the new record<\/a>, and the band truly wanted to focus on an all-around collaboration<\/a> on the next piece of work released.<\/p>\n Then, in late June, Hinds<\/strong> made headlines<\/a> when he finally made a public comment about the split for the first time, even despite his passive aggressive jabs here and there, and it wasn’t what people expected. <\/p>\n When a picture posted to Mastodon<\/strong>‘s Instagram celebrating the fact that Once More ‘Round The Sun<\/em> had turn ten that day, a fan commented that “Halloween” was their favorite track and they’ll miss\u00a0Hinds<\/strong>\u00a0being in the band.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hinds<\/strong>\u00a0didn’t hold back: “I want [sic] miss being in a shit band with horrible humans.”<\/p>\n After that once-off comment, Hinds kept relatively to himself until yesterday (9th August) when a photo reportedly surfaced that was screenshots that Hinds had left on another Instagram post. ThePRP<\/em> says <\/a>the comment seems to be related to a 2012 live video of Brent<\/strong> Hinds<\/strong>‘ guitar solo in “Crack The Skye,” in which the ex-Mastodon<\/strong> vocalist says the following:<\/p>\n “My Guitar sounds great, but\u00a0Troy<\/strong>\u00a0[Sanders<\/strong>] and prawn [supposed nickname for\u00a0Brann<\/strong> Dailor<\/strong>] sound absolutely horrible ..they are way out of key ..embarrassing and they kicked me out of the band for embarrassing them for being who I am ..but what about who they are ? They are two people that can\u2019t sing..together live or anywhere else in the world ..everything they try to sing in the studio is manipulated by autotune because they\u2019re incapable of singing in key..fuck these guys ..only I know who they really are ..they are the biggest fans of them self\u2019s .. I\u2019ve never seen anyone in my life look in the mirror more than\u00a0Troy Sanders<\/strong>. He thinks he\u2019s God\u2019s gift to anything. I\u2019ve never met three people that were so full of themselves. It\u2019s disgusting.” <\/p>\n\n
After 25 monumental years together,\u00a0Mastodon<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Brent Hinds<\/strong>\u00a0have mutually decided to part ways.
We\u2019re 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\u00a0Mastodon<\/strong>. As we move forward, all 2025 touring plans will remain intact. We look forward to seeing you on the road.”\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n