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Over the past few days, many people have paid tribute to ex-Mastodon<\/a> guitarist\/vocalist Brent Hinds <\/a>following his tragic passing on Aug. 20 (in a motorcycle accident<\/a>). In particular, Bush<\/a> frontman Gavin Rossdale<\/a> recently reflected on his friendship with the late musician, and in doing so, he credited Hinds for stopping his Xanax exploration.<\/p>\n Rossdale posted his tribute to Hinds yesterday (Aug. 23), calling Hinds\u2019 death \u201cterrible and useless\u201d before diving into how he helped prevent Rossdale\u2019s \u201cself sabotage\u201d regarding the drug.<\/p>\n Rossdale wrote:<\/p>\n We lost Brent .this is just terrible and useless . What a musician . And he was directly responsible for stopping me on a self sabotage back to the\u00a0\u00a0fatally dangerous world of Xanax when our paths crossed that i had already escaped . he spoke about its actual deadly effects.the slowing down of the body .the barely breathing . I will always be grateful for that advice . This life can be ended in a literal moment . I should have taken guitar lessons from Brent .<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Many fans and friends \u2013 including former Between the Buried and Me<\/a> guitarist Dustie Waring<\/a> \u2013 shared supportive remarks and emojis. For example, one user replied: \u201cLosing someone whose wisdom touched your life in a profoundly positive way is devastating. Grief is not 7 linear stages. It\u2019s cyclical and rears up when you least expect it. I\u2019m so sorry for his passing and so sorry for the loss of your friend. May his memory be a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n A few people even commented on Rossdale\u2019s earnest acknowledgement of his history with Xanax.<\/p>\n For instance, another person responded: \u201cThanks for the Xanax share, I had recently pondered it. I\u2019m glad you sealed the deal to not bother. I\u2019m sure he was an excellent guitarist may he RIP. Long live the arts! Long live rock and roll.\u201d Likewise, someone else confessed: \u201cBenzodiazepines are the devil. A doctor had me on a high dose for 12 years. During a doctor assisted taper I ended up having 2 strokes. The withdrawal off Benzos is the most inhumane withdrawal a person can experience.\u201d<\/p>\n One Mastodon follower shared their personal connection to Hinds as well: \u201cHis sweet Mom, Dean, cut my hair for over 10 yrs. I went to school with Brent. What he did with his life was amazing! RIP Brent!\u201d<\/p>\n You can see Rossdale\u2019s post (including those replies and others) below:<\/p>\n READ MORE: Mastodon Pays Tribute to Brent Hinds at First Show Since His Death<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rossdale\u2019s recent post isn\u2019t the first time he\u2019s acknowledged both his prior struggles with Xanax and<\/em> Hinds\u2019 involvement in his recovery.<\/p>\n Specifically, Rossdale discussed those things on Steve-O<\/a>\u2019s podcast \u2013 Steve-O’s Wild Ride!<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 in June of 2023. In the episode (uploaded to YouTube on June 5, 2023), Rossdale admits:<\/p>\n I was addicted to Xanax for, like, four years or something like that when I was working a lot internationally. . . . I was like, \u201cOh, look, If I take this, I think I\u2019m gonna sleep.\u201d I\u2019m going to go sleep for eight hours. . . . [It became] this habit, and suddenly, before I knew it, it was three or four years and I couldn\u2019t even think of sleeping without Xanax. I then decided I should stop, so I just stopped and I did two weeks where every night, it was like I\u2019d been in a shower [from sweating] and then I got into bed. . . . People told me after that it was super dangerous [to] . . . stop [Xanax] dead.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Further into their conversation, Steve-O asks Rossdale, \u201cYou\u2019ve been able to not do Xanax since then?\u201d Rossdale answers:<\/p>\n You know, I had the most moment and \u2013 you know, it\u2019s a willful namedrop, \u2018cause it\u2019s fun for the program. I had an incredible moment \u2013 Mastodon is one of my favorite bands. I love that band, and we were playing Rock am Ring<\/a> last year. . . . We were on the same stage . . . and I went to watch them. . . . They\u2019re so heavy, and I didn\u2019t know if they\u2019d \u2013 you know, when you see heavy bands, you\u2019re like, \u201cAre they going to be friendly?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He continues:<\/p>\n I went over to them and we took pictures with them. I\u2019d just met Brent really quickly, and he asked me how I was doing. I\u2019d been having trouble with my voice, and I wasn\u2019t feeling good. I was like, \u201cWhen I\u2019m in Europe, fuck it. I\u2019m just going to take the Xanax. I\u2019m just going to go back to my Xanax, and I had my little pill bottle with me. I was like, \u201cI\u2019ll stop in a month, when I finish the tour. I just have to get through this tour with my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n I was telling myself all the reasons why I should take the Xanax. . . . And I said to [Brent], \u201cI\u2019m doing alright\u201d and I rattled this thing in my pocket. I said, \u201cBut I think that I shouldn\u2019t probably do it, right? I think I\u2019m gonna go back on this train.\u201d He goes, \u201cDon\u2019t!<\/em>\u201d . . . I said to him, \u201cYeah, I don\u2019t feel good with my voice and I don\u2019t feel very healthy. I\u2019m being an idiot but I really think I might spend the month doing shows and eating Xanax so I can get through this.\u201d<\/p>\n He then went on to tell me his journey with it. How he was addicted to it for way<\/em> longer, of course. Way heavier than me and way longer than me on Xanax and he was telling me about how, actually, it makes you \u2013 everything slows down to the point of close to death. All your organs. Everything. Completely. Everything slows down. I just hugged him and was like, \u201cYou just saved me because your wisdom and insight and experience have made me not do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You can view the full clip below:<\/p>\n In a 2022 chat with Guitar World<\/a><\/em>, Hinds reflected on his past with Xanax and anxiety:<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve lived with anxiety for 20 years and I was hooked on [the anxiety Benzodiazepine] Xanax for 15 years and I had to wean myself off of it a little bit at a time \u2018cause it was compromising my breathing. Of course, I was partying on it and it\u2019s really bad to do that. I was never prescribed things so I was buying from people on the streets all the time. One time I couldn\u2019t get it and I had two seizures. So, I finally weaned myself off. It took years, but recently I discovered that you need to be anxious and fucking deal with it and that keeps you on your toes and motivated to keep doing shit. Now I try to feed off the anxiety and play guitar.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Clearly, Hinds was extremely supportive of anyone else going through the same struggle(s).<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Loudwire included Bush (who hail from London) in our last of the \u2018Big 4\u2019 of Non-U.S. Grunge Bands<\/a> (alongside Sweden\u2019s Salt<\/a>, Australia\u2019s Silverchair<\/a> and England\u2019s Swervedriver<\/a>).<\/p>\n Back in June, Rossdale joined Loudwire Nights<\/a><\/em> to discuss Bush\u2019s latest LP \u2013 I Beat Loneliness<\/em> \u2013 which released last month<\/a>. \u201cI just want to make music that’s vital \u2014 and then the day it’s not vital, I don’t need to make it anymore,\u201d he told host\u00a0Chuck Armstrong<\/a>. Beyond that, Rossdale talked about the difficulties of touring, his love of changing studio technology, his delayed interest in Black Sabbath<\/a> and more!<\/p>\n As Loudwire<\/a> reported last week, Brent Hinds \u201cdied\u00a0on Wednesday (Aug. 20) in a motorcycle accident in the band’s hometown of Atlanta,\u00a0Atlanta News First<\/a>\u00a0reports.\u201d He was 51, and he was \u201criding his Harley Davidson when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while making a turn, police said.\u201d<\/p>\n The news is especially tragic given the unreconciled\u00a0tension between\u00a0Hinds and his former bandmates\u00a0that’s come to light after\u00a0Hinds\u2019 departure from Mastodon in March of 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the time, the Atlanta group stated that they and Hinds \u201cmutually decided to part ways,\u201d and subsequently, Mastodon played with fill-in guitarist\/YouTuber Ben Eller<\/a> while Hinds continued working with other people on other projects<\/a>. That said, Hinds repeatedly slammed his former bandmates, including calling them \u201chorrible humans\u201d<\/a> and stating that vocalist\/drummer Brann Dailor and vocalist\/bassist Troy Sanders can\u2019t sing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Mastodon have not only shared a heartfelt statement about Hinds\u2019 death<\/a>, but they also paid tribute to him during their show at the Alaska State Fair this past Friday<\/a> (Aug. 22). \u201cWe lost somebody very special to us yesterday,\u201d Dailor began, adding:<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019s gonna stand the test of time, evidenced by you people here tonight.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Several other rockers \u2013 such as Lamb of God<\/a>\u2019s Mark Morton<\/a>, Testament<\/a>\u2019s Alex Skolnick<\/a>, Slash<\/a> and Alice in Chains<\/a>\u2019 William DuVall<\/a> \u2013 have posted fond memories of Hinds as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds died Aug. 20, 2025 after he was reportedly involved in a motorcycle accident near his Atlanta home. Here is a look back at his life, both on and off the stage, through the years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat Gavin Rossdale Said<\/h3>\n
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Gavin Rossdale\u2019s History With Xanax + Hinds<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Gavin Rossdale Discusses Xanax + Brent Hinds on Steve-O\u2019s Wild Ride!<\/em> (June 5, 2023)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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More About Gavin Rossdale + Bush<\/h3>\n
More About Brent Hinds + Mastodon<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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21 Photos of Ex-Mastodon Guitarist Brent Hinds Through The Years<\/h2>\n