Really sad news. I'm glad they're continuing on but it'll never be the same without Brent. These four dudes were a well oiled machine for over 25 years.

massive band -- what a great 25 years

Yeah such a long standing line-up. Sad news, hope it all went down well.

What the hell? how does that band even begin to replace him? his fuckin' weird vocals and leads are iconic.

Bro is an absolute riff machine and workhorse (hehe). Tough loss for the band.

Brent was the heart, soul, and rock of the band in my opinion. The hardest member to replace. His leads and vocals were the most unique parts of their sound. That's tough.

^agreed

Band is fucking over, long overdue tbh

Yeah definitely it for them I think

A shame. Always got the feeling that if any member were to leave/go AWOL for some reason, it'd be him first.

Massive loss for the band... musically and in a soul sense.

shocked. one of the all time best metal guitarists and an integral part of the band. hope it all was amicable, but def takes the wind out of the sails for them going forward

he was my fav voice in the band and his songs always my favorite, he has other projects/music though and has openly admitted he prefers doing those because he has more control over them and in mastodon he just does his role sort of, it seems like hes had less songwriting over time in mastodon is the vibe I got and he wasnt happy so much with the direction/wanted his own thing

I was reading this has been in the works for nearly a decade. Had no idea. Good luck to him.

Really enjoyed his Fiend Without a Face work. Looking forward to his future projects

shame and all, but like seriously, can you imagine this dude in any other band? i can't say I lack imagination, but the dude just screams mastodon for me lol

as little as I care about the band these days..


hot damn that's a blow for them. will be interesting to see if they have the same following/support 5 years from now. wonder why they parted ways..

Long overdue [2]

Woahhhhhh can’t imagine these guys without him

I hope they call it quits. They're in a good spot for it.

damn, just got tickets to see them on their upcoming tour 0_0

They done. I mean they’ve been lame for a decade but yeah he was the spirit behind this group.

wow

come to think of it when i saw them in 2017 he did not seem to be enjoying himself

He probably didn’t wanna have to hear periphery every night on tour

Hell, Coheed is worse lol

@botb LOL

He probably didn’t wanna have to hear periphery every night on tour [2]

Yeah I didn't realize this has been a long time coming

Guess we'll see what the other dudes have in mind.

I mean yeah the guy hasn't seemed enthousiastic in years. Watching 'Making of...' videos he was there but not really in spirit lol. I thought he was either not enjoying himself or just stoned as fuck.

Aren't recording a new album or about to start recording one soon? Sad news, I feel like there's gonna be a massive fall off in riff quality.

Hushed and Grim is a solid way to go out if they do decide to call it.

Not sure how a new record without him would work at all

Not a huge mastodon fan but, at least vocally, Brent was always the weak link imo. Anytime he came on I’d check out.

But yeah, wild that he left. Definitely going to be a huge switch up for these guys

haven't made a decent album since 2014

relistening to remission, few bands riff harder during that era.

@wildcard yeah he couldn't sing live to save his life

Lamb of God blew these guys out the water on the anniversary tour cuz the vocals were so shit. Brent missed an entire part of Seabeast lol

so sad, this guy came up with some of the best riffs, loved his unique style and voice

"What the hell? how does that band even begin to replace him? his fuckin' weird vocals and leads are iconic."

Yeah I just can't imagine Mastodon without him. He is irreplaceable. Absolute bummer.

Gonna be a heavy loss for the band this. Brent was such an integral element of what made them unique.

Band hasn't been good since the early 2010s. I don't think this is that monumental at all lmao.

I had hoped that these guys would stick together for their entire career, but i guess it wasn't fated...

In all honesty, Brent had shown some early signs the last couple of years that he wasn't 100% with the band....

Definitely, the band will not sound the same again...

It's been a great ride. Even more surprised they are continuing without him. If it is over for them, Hushed and Grim is a hell of a sendoff.

damn i was just starting to get into them again

"mutually decided to part ways"

So they wanted him to leave.

His voice really is the main component of the band's sound for me. Really not sure how they keep going but I guess we'll see.

Is this really a surprise? Bro has always been pretty vocal about preferring to do other things.

wow, wasn't expecting this. Band is done

Why’d he leave?

Totally

Brent is going full acoustic now

no more mastodon guitar solos

sux, but I'm looking forward to what the rest of the band and Brent will put out in the future

Sounds like people may have been correct to question his diminishing presence in the band.

Man that’s a huge shame, not sure what the future looks like for these guys, as a massive fan this is sad news, pretty rare you get a band going solid for this long with no line-up changes, especially when each member is so distinct.

Aaaaaaaaaand there goes the band!

Yeah I don't see them replacing Brent

The band is dead…

ah wait, that happened in 2011!

Maybe a strong inner conflict led to this? Brann was seen yesterday with a black eye on an interview, maybe from Brent~

Big if true^

"He probably didn’t wanna have to hear periphery every night on tour"

Lmao

Iirc Brent has always been a wild card for the band and wasn't always on the best terms with everyone. It's hard to see this as anything but a loss for the band, but sometimes it's better to cut out a member than shutter the band.

Countdown for Mastodon extiction started..

Didn’t bRent hinds make some comments about how he hates metal?

Really sad ending to a legendary band. I hope they continue but I doubt it'll be the same. Nobody can replace Brent's vocals and his guitar technique was one of a kind. Not to mention his contributions as a riff machine.

Totally gutted about this tbh.

"He probably didn’t wanna have to hear periphery every night on tour" lmfao

But seriously, on the bright side, they had a good long run. I'm ok putting them to bed now

hol up, I'm listening to Fiend Without A Face now and it's better than anything from Mastodon since Crack the Skye wtf. This may be an awesome thing depending on what he does next

"Brann was seen yesterday with a black eye on an interview, maybe from Brent~"

Link? Google's not showing me anything.

Might have just been shavo again

I don't think you replace him.

This is the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAYhUzojcNk

Hushed & Grim feels like a good sendoff.

Sad news, I've listening to this band since Remission.

The run of these guys can only be compared to bands like Metallica, but as many here surmised, decline is inevitable, even for the best.

I barely remember their current next to last album, and I missed out onthe last one, holding no regrets whatsoever.

If management wasn't a thing in the music industry, bands would dissolve sooner than later, but I think that would be better for everyone in the long run, except for management.

hinds was the most interesting metal guitarist of the entire 2000s decade, and a funny fuckin dude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wy_mXuEsP0

Well this is gonna be interesting...

will my sadness ever end

this fucking sucks man. i liked the last album and even though their most recent material wasn't as great as the older material brent always brought something cool

Lol at all the clowns saying the band is done, they're too big to dissolve and he hasn't been fully committed for over a decade now. Honestly surprised he stuck around this long.

I don't think they mean the band is going to dissolve, I think they're saying they won't be worth listening to anymore. I was already there before he left anyways.

OP needs more Cold Dark Place, it's by far my favorite material they've released since Crack the Skye and apparently he had the heaviest hand in writing it.

Toe to Toes one of the best Mastodong singles easily.

-- they're too big to dissolve

That's management slang, has anyone cared what the artists really contemplate?

He seemed to not care anymore for at least a decade. I remember in the Emperor of Sand making of that he basically went in when the songs were almost done, played his shit, and left. Not being that much in the creative process.

He also stated numerous times that he hates heavy metal and wanna do something else like country.

honestly that's fair

"The [quote] was taken out of context. I said 'I fucking hate most heavy metal,' is what I said. I don't like a lot of it. There's a lot of cookie-cutter bullshit out there, in my opinion, and I don't like it. So I was just being honest. And they just took the 'a lot' out and just put 'Brent Hinds hates metal … These guys, I mean, they need people to come by and visit their web site, and how are they gonna do that without taking people's quotes out of context? They've gotta somehow sell magazines, so I can understand why they're doing it. But just keep me out of it. I don't really do that many interviews because of that kind of stuff."

i hate most metal too

They should just continue as a three piece rush style.

Either that or hire Dave Navarro.

he never looked like those vox were easy for him to do live, like ever. on the lamb of god tour last year he kinda didn't seem that into it either idk

they should hire Perry Farrell

I think Slash would fit them like a glove

hinds to slash would be the biggest downgrade in history

Vunter Slaush isn't real. I'm sorry. He was just one of your parents

"on the lamb of god tour last year he kinda didn't seem that into it either idk"

I finally ponied up for a meet-and-greet on that tour. everyone but Brent was super cool and friendly and happy to talk with their fans, but Brent hovered awkwardly for a few minutes and left without signing autographs. I think he's just tired of the procedural elements of being in a huge band, and I 100% get it.

Brent has always seemed a bit unhinged like Bam Margera. I'm surprised the rest of the guys put up with him for as long as they did tbh.

If you write a riff like the one in Last Baron (we all know which) I can see why they stuck with him

leave bam alone !!!!!!!

Yes please. I think I'd rather hang with most other people.

Fuuuuck that sucks. He did seem pretty checked out for the last few years based off their documentaries though. Still, he is pretty irreplaceable.

"If you write a riff like the one in Last Baron (we all know which) I can see why they stuck with him"

the one at 8:20? the one at 8:20

These are sad news but I think most people who cared about the band should see this coming for many years already
He had two songs of his own on the last album so it was clear he wasn't really into it that much

And as a progmetal fan, for me their best albums are easily the last one and Crack the Sky.. the others have some good songs but they are mostly ok but those progressive ones are beautiful
Hoping that their new stuff is still going to be progmetal/rock

"Brent has always seemed a bit unhinged like Bam Margera."

It's funny you mention that... and telling... they're very publicly buddies as per Instagram.

Bill has written most of the riffs since CtS anyways, so they should be in a fine spot from that standpoint. Brann would be the one member that if he left, the band would absolutely be finished. It's a huge blow to have Brent part ways, but I'm thinking they'll need someone like Isaiah Mitchell to fill in on the psychedelia/blues-rock attitude and soloing.

Band might go in a more punk/metal direction akin to something like 'Scorpion Breath' moving forward.

CTS is for sure my favorite Mastodon, but I love all their stuff to varying degrees. Without Brent they’re still going to produce cool stuff but it will suffer without him for sure, he’s a pretty unique figure.

Bill has written most of the riffs since CtS anyways, so they should be in a fine spot from that standpoint.


😬

"but I'm thinking they'll need someone like Isaiah Mitchell

yo he was my guitar teacher circa 2006. fuckin awesome dude i hung out with every saturday. havent spoken to him since like 2010 !

by hang out i mean my parents would pay him to teach me guitar in a lil studio behind a music shop in encinitas on the 101 but yea. hang out

budgie I hope you get mauled by a french canadian bobcat

solid

Are French Canadian bobcats more arrogant and rude than the regular kind

Stephen Brodsky was mentioned in a mastodonband thread, thought thatd be a cool way to keep on rockin

Yeah Brodsky could do it. Wouldn't mind that at all.

"Brann would be the one member that if he left, the band would absolutely be finished"

Nah lol. He's a great drummer but great drummers looking for bands are a dime a dozen. They could easily find someone to replace him and mimic his style

Brodsky would make them too cheese I think, he really leans into that with mutoid man and they’re his most mastodon-adjacent band

Ben Eller filled in for tool in the sand

Brent is a wacko. We’ll miss him.

@eak—It's not about technical precision, it's about feel. Brann has a feel for drumming that no other drummers could easily match. Not to mention his drum parts are unique and very organic to his style and the vibe of Mastodon.

I can technically play most, if not all, of Mastodon's songs on drums, but does that mean I'm going to fully capture Brann's feel? Heeeeell no.

Yeah saying Brann is easily replaceable is a silly take IMO. He's up there with Mario Duplantier as far as drummers that make the band what they are.

There are amazing drummers everywhere now. Easier to find replacements than ever with social media. Duplantier is world class and imo better than brann, but still at the end of the day, there are people that can effectively mimic his style and you'd probably barely notice the difference on an album recording

Ok then can we at least agree to disagree that Brann is the only one who can come close to rocking a cake neck tattoo?

tbh Mastodon as a whole has felt pretty replaceable for about a decade, but they've got plenty of laurels to rest on.

Yeah Mario is a better drummer, agreed

The Hunter was their last great album. I know a lot of people shit on it because they got catchier and less proggy on that album, but id argue that it made sense as a next step. They did the big epic proggy stuff and then they wanted to make something fun, it felt like an organic experiment rather than pandering, and there was still some weird and playful shit on that album. It wasn't until Once More that things started feeling very by-the-numbers and going-through-the-motions. For me, that was the album where they lost the spark, even though i still think it's a solid album. The next two though...

Do we think Ben Eller will become an actual member?

"Do we think Ben Eller will become an actual member?"

Technically, why not? Had to Google him, but if he's got the chops and is a fan of the band, it's a legit reason as any.

No different from an open audition, or for example, the process of having Greg Puciato join DEP
--whereby an unknown fan impresses enough to be the defining asset of their next era.

There's no direct replacement for Brent in the known musician (or potential supergroup) sphere, as far as I can tell. As for singing, the funny thing about the band that had three singers is that NONE of then ever started out intending to sing... they had a dedicated singer that left early, then they kinda just learnt their way around vocals as time went on.

We'll see... but the approach makes sense, IMO.

the AU where Eric Saner never left is probably wild. I always laugh at how they describe his departure. "he was the only one who knew the lyrics but we had a show that night so we just wrote some shit down on a napkin"

Can Uncle Ben pull those vocals off? I hope they don't use Brann to do them. Too much Brann vocally isn't a good thing. He's good in spots but he has no range.

They've been using too much Brann tbh. It was cool at first but that's part of my problem with their more recent stuff.

Eh, they're danger close to over use for me right now. He's great on Show Yourself, Pushing the Tides and More than I Can Chew.

I honestly hate Show Yourself lol.

I like to pretend that song just never happened, like Jaws sequels

jaws 2 was great bro.

it's still one of the better shark movies, I'll give it that.

No Shark Tale love? : [

When I saw them live troy sanders did nearly all the singing anyways. Hinds hardly contributed anything.

Mastodon't

He's Mastodone

No way