rockandmetaljunkie
08.21.25 | I remember watching Brent's interviews, he always seemed such a cool guy to hang around with. He always joked around about silly things, and always made me laugh...
I have no idea how his relationship with the rest of the guys from Mastodon was, nor do I know how their friendship got to the point where they were forced to show him the door. He must have been difficult to work with, but I am not here to speak about such things.
He was a wonderful guitar player and he seemed to have a great sense of humor.
Rest in Peace, Brent. I hope you can finally lay your troubles aside and rest. Smoke a big, fat joint from up there buddy. |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.21.25 | This is a list of some of my favorite Brent solos. But it doesn't matter, I just wanted to post this shit-list so I can share some of the pain I feel right now... |
jrlikestodance
08.21.25 | Definitely a hard loss to cope with. Mastodon was one of those early bands that led me to my obsession with metal and other forms of extreme music. Still think Leviathan and Blood Mountain hold up as some of my favorite albums of all time. I'll need to jam their classics all over again soon |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.21.25 | Same here buddy, I hope you have a blast listening their albums anew, and I will do the same, I just feel that listening again will only augment my pain... |
JDubb
08.21.25 | Listened to Cold Dark Place today. Felt fitting. RIP Brent. |
RVAHC13
08.21.25 | Rest in Peace Brent. This has been another Summer 2009/Winter 2015 with all the musicians and celebrities passing away |
Confessed2005
08.22.25 | Very sad news. He was an incredible musician. |
budgie
08.22.25 | brents elephant man jam closing out remission is prob my fav piece of guitar work period |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.22.25 | @RVAHC13
It hits different when someone has his life removed vs someone who passes from natural causes/old age. 51 years old is a terribly young age to go... |
Emim
08.22.25 | I got a meet and greet pass with a couple buddies back in the day and Brent was the only one that actually seemed happy to be there and appreciative of us standing in 90° weather for two hours to see them. Big RIP |
Confessed2005
08.22.25 | I saw Mastodon a handful of times. They were a brilliant live act. |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.22.25 | @Emim
"Brent was the only one that actually seemed happy to be there and appreciative of us"
🙏
Exactly, it was this attitude that made him so sympathetic to me...
"I saw Mastodon a handful of times. They were a brilliant live act."
I saw them live twice. I cannot share the same feeling, they were average at best live, but that wasn't due to their skills, their songs are hard to perform faithfully live, their sound has so much down-tuned distortion, it's hard to play music live in such a low tuning with full distortion... |
budgie
08.22.25 | twice as well for me, but their performance in LA on the dethklok tour was prob the sickest act ive ever seen. 2009 or so not long after cts came out. ended with mother puncher. best shit ever |
Confessed2005
08.22.25 | I'm pretty sure I caught them live 3 times. The first was just after Blood Mountain was released - songs such as This Mortal Soil and Hearts Alive were insane. When I saw them at Hellfest they were disappointing; still, band were in a league of their own with their first 4 albums. |
budgie
08.22.25 | the other time i saw them they didnt sound super good but neither did baroness, i think it was the venue was just shit. house of blues san diego |
budgie
08.22.25 | TES UN BRETON ? |
jrlikestodance
08.22.25 | Wish I could've caught them in their prime but I saw them at Bonnaroo in 2014 and on the Leviathan 20 year tour. Both were great and I got my fav track, Hearts Alive at both shows which was amazing m/ |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.22.25 | "Wish I could've caught them in their prime"
same... |
Emim
08.22.25 | Yeah the whole show was just muddled sounding when I saw them. Blood and Thunder was worth the wait though.
TDEP and Red Fang were supporting and put on phenomenal shows. |
bananatossing
08.22.25 | I feel you op. Mastodon was one of the bands I listened to at a very critical moment of my life. It was one of the worst periods of my life and their music gave me a lot of comfort and motivation during that time.
I saw them live when they toured with Gojira (Mega Monsters Tour) and they kicked ass. Hard RIP |
Wructy
08.22.25 | Me too man. I’ve seen them numerous times from the tour cycle for The Hunter up to just a few months ago. I even met Brent and Brann just after OMRTS came out at a little Chinese restaurant next to the venue. I can’t believe this shit. I’ll never forget this one particular show I saw in 2017 on the tour with Primus. The show was supposed to be outside but a bad storm came through and damaged the place so it was moved to this really ornate indoor opera house type venue nearby. It was a weird setting to see them play because it was seating only but they sounded FANTASTIC. |
Wructy
08.22.25 | 2018^^ whoops |
Faraudo
08.22.25 | Brent was headed for a tragic ending given how he'd been living his life these past years, but still, this fucking sucks. It truly is a loss for all of us who grew up with Mastodon as the foundation for our taste in metal and heavier music. |
rockarollacola
08.22.25 | Definitely a big loss, especially tragic knowing he will never be able to reconnect and repair his relationships with his former bandmates. |
anode
08.22.25 | if you are heavily affected by the death of someone you dont even know then your life must be going pretty well. i really dont understand the need people have to manufacture drama. just be grateful for his music, people die every day |
keaton_86
08.22.25 | Jesus. Grow up anode. |
jrlikestodance
08.22.25 | Chat, is having empathy manufactured? |
Christbait
08.22.25 | No apparently it's fake and gay. You can't possibly be affected by the deaths of people whose music had a massive emotional impact on you.
Shut the fuck up, anode |
anode
08.22.25 | lols |
ScuroFantasma
08.23.25 | Wow you’re so cool and unaffected anode, it’s especially cool to login to sputnikmusic.com and signal to everyone how cool and unaffected you are. |
Sevengill
08.23.25 | it's been a cold, numb couple days. I've got his guitar pick on a necklace and signed LPs in my kitchen and studio. I finally met the band last year and got a picture with them. now he's gone, and he left full of bitterness and anger. it's absolutely unreal. |
bach
08.23.25 | leaving you behind was my lonesome song |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | @keaton_86, jrlikestodance, Christbait, ScuroFantasma
First of all, thanks for stepping up to my "defence" guys, but there's no need to dwell on such disagreements. Anode, is somewhat right.
@anode
You're in your right mind to be suspicious. After all we live in a hypocritical society. We see it every day. It is weird to feel sad about the passing of someone you didn't know. Indeed, I knew not Brent Hinds. But the sadness I feel is very real. So let me tell you why I feel this way;
I started listening to rock/metal around 2006-2007. At the time, I was listening only what was available to me, from rock stations, friends, metal soundtracks from video games and so on. I was introduced to Mastodon by my inner circle of fellow metal-heads in 2009. Right after the release of Crack the Skye, Mastodon was on the lips of every greek metal fan. I wanted to get into Mastodon cause I was sick of all the mainstream metal I was getting exposed to (mainly alt-metal & Nu metal) and I wanted to branch out. Crack the Skye became so popular it was impossible to escape it. When I first heard of it, it was a pass. 3/5 at the best. Then I started listening with headphones and I discovered all there is to discover on that album. And slowly, day by day, I was getting hooked. Crack the Skye is probably the only album I've ever listened to that I could truly call "a hard grower". It's one of the reasons I appreciate it so much. |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | Around 2010, I joined a conservatory where I studied electric guitar for two years. In that school I befriended two guys. These guys were probably the most laid-back, super-friendly and easy-going characters I ever met in my life. During the next years (right until maybe 2017) we were almost inseparable. We had a great time. All three of us played the guitar of course, and we used to jam outdoors (just for fun). One of our favorite place to hang was the Exarcheia Square in Athens. One of the two was occasionally smoking weed, the other smoked only cigarettes. But both guys were super fan to hang with. If you have seen interviews of a wasted Brent who just sits around talking bullshit and whatnot -that's how the smoking-weed guy behaved, which was funny as hell. As life would have it, after a few years of hanging out, we got separated. I still have their contacts on Facebook but since I am a selfish fuck, I'm not willing to make a move and get the crew back together.
Now, watching Brent hanging out on videos, talking about nonsense, guitar licks and whatever, I felt like I was back with my pals again. Because Brent's personality was literally the same! And now that he's gone, I know my ties of connection to that wonderful friendship have been severed for good.
And that is the reason of my sadness, anode. So be careful next time and don't be too hasty with your judgments on people. You don't know what they've been through. |
IsisScript80
08.23.25 | ^ That was gracious of you to give such an open and frank explanation, but unless you specifically wanted to share that, it truly needed no justification; it was a shitty comment on anode's part, and most folks here that aren't in a trolling mood KNOW where these feelings come from, as they're shared by many (including me).
Absolutely NOTHING to justify or be ashamed of. These figures--who we don't know personally--often bring us up more than most extended family we DO know. |
budgie
08.23.25 | hes just bein edgy dude nothin to do but ignore him, only a psychopath wouldnt think its genuinely possible for someone to be upset that someone they didnt know died |
anode
08.23.25 | There’s no judgement, just confusion. It’s hard to imagine being attached to something so abstract when my issues are so tangible and consuming. Much love man |
DocSportello
08.23.25 | It’s 2025. Ain’t everything kinda abstracted? |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | T.Y. guys!
"but unless you specifically wanted to share that, it truly needed no justification"
It kinda goes both ways if I am being honest. Anode's comment gave me a good reason to say a few things... |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | It's all good anode, no broblem! |
anode
08.23.25 | Also it’s only natural to not reach out to your old friends so I wouldn’t feel bad about that |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | I don't know if it's natural. I had a guy studying with me in the marine academy (I work as a marine engineer). That dude was always surrounded by friends (both men and women), part of it was due to his laid-back, easy-going personality. Whenever he lost touch with somebody, he always called, he was always the first person to make the move (if memory serves) and he wasn't ashamed of it, it came to him naturally (naturally as you would say). I am pretty much the opposite, more kind of a lone wolf type of guy and I always have been this way. Which serves me as I have my peace of mind, but it can be super lonely some times, if you're not getting used to it. Luckily, I am. But I don't know which kind of behavior is "normal", tbh. |
budgie
08.23.25 | anode is goin thru his 4chan phase its cute |
unclereich
08.23.25 | His problems are tangible we couldn’t possibly understand. |
Futures
08.23.25 | people form deep personal emotional connections with music and often connect it to moments in their life. it's a solo one on one experience mostly. how can you listen to music and not realize that? |
anode
08.23.25 | I just mean as you move on and things change, the relationships you had in the past tend to be a fixture of that time. There are some people who do continuously reach out but it’s definitely the exception and not the norm from my experience. I just wouldn’t beat myself up about it |
anode
08.23.25 | And yes guys I know we like to dogpile people with dissenting opinions here. But maybe take a hint from op that we don’t necessarily need to get entirely defensive every time someone shares a contrarian opinion |
anode
08.23.25 | I realize that futures but mortality to me isn’t a big deal and doesn’t affect me |
Futures
08.23.25 | oh yeah my bad i forgot you're the guy who said someone who was suicidal should just be allowed to off themselves and people shouldn't try to talk them out of it. you should realize those opinions are a bit demented and also sociopathic. i'll leave it at that! |
anode
08.23.25 | my friend, i never said "people shouldnt try to talk them out of it". when trying to frame an argument, maybe twisting peoples words and strawmanning them isnt the best approach. i believe i said you shouldnt insist they get committed to a mental ward. kinda different |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.23.25 | Guys, take it easy, relax. No need to get on each others throats. It is a silly subject. I never felt offended by anode. Just forget about it. |
anode
08.23.25 | na its cool man. im done coming on this site tho. dealing with the wackos aint worth the great ui and finding some cool new music every few weeks. maybe ill figure out how to navigate rym lol |
budgie
08.23.25 | omg uyr gonna leave the site cuz u didnt like how ppl reacted to u saying get over it in a thread memorializing a recently deceased artist now who's the drama queen |
jrlikestodance
08.23.25 | Alexa play Queen - "Another One Bites the Dust" |
Futures
08.23.25 | sounds like someone's emotionally effected! funny how that works! |
twlight
08.24.25 | Things will be ok. This will pass. Think about how amazing it is how many lives those dudes impacted and the positivity they pushed on this planet during their time here. It’s a good thing. Not death, but the fact thier life made that impact. |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.24.25 | preach |
twlight
08.24.25 | And feel it man. You’re empathic it seems. And this totally sucks and IS sad. But in these times important to remind yourself the positives too. |
rockandmetaljunkie
08.24.25 | 🙏 |
unclereich
08.24.25 | i don't understand how someone who cant fathom having empathy for strangers can let complete strangers online affect him so much he needs to leave the site |
Christbait
08.25.25 | Because he doesn't actually believe what he says. He truly wanted to air this grievance of his because I bet he thinks he operates on a higher plane of thinking simply because he "chooses" not to care. Yet he gave enough of a shit about a bunch of randos on a defunct music site to scare him off with his tail firmly between his legs. Let people feel without indulging the impulse of showing your ass. I think the term "read the room" aptly applies.
Junkie did way more than anode deserved trying to communicate his thought process. It's appreciated but empathy does not require an explanation in order to support the desire for someone to feel something because of loss. |
bananatossing
08.25.25 | @anode left talking some bullshit. anyone who doesnt feel what it could be like getting rid of a problematic member, seeing him struggling with mental issues through months, even staying silent while he was blasting them constantly in public forums only to hear about his sudden death and thus terminating any chance to make amends severely lacks empathy (ie is a sociopath). dont know what else to tell you. good riddance |
IsisScript80
08.25.25 | "Because he doesn't actually believe what he says."
Yeah, says it all when he self-described as a "contrarian".
People who naturally think of themselves as that, make it their own sense of identity. It's not truly believed, it's just a lame way to try and convince yourself that you're the smartest person in the room by deliberately taking an opposing stance, no matter what.
"Contrarian" sounds better as a label than "troll", but they function and amount to the same thing. |
keaton_86
08.26.25 | "i don't understand how someone who cant fathom having empathy for strangers can let complete strangers online affect him so much he needs to leave the site"
lmao |
