What starts as creative drift turns into a public blow-up. From early cracks to scorched-earth comments, here’s how Brent Hinds and Mastodon went from brothers-in-arms to open war—and where both sides stand now.
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The Short Version (for the skimmers)
- Mastodon announced a “mutual” split with co-founder Brent Hinds on March 7, 2025.
- The band kept touring—Ben Eller filled in immediately, then Nick Johnston took the guitar slot for the spring/summer runs.
- Hinds later torched the “amicable” narrative, calling Mastodon “a sh*t band with horrible humans,” and accusing bandmates of relying on autotune.
- As of August 11, 2025, Mastodon are moving forward on the road; Hinds keeps firing from the sidelines.
The Set-Up: Friction You Could Hear Between the Riffs (2015–2018)
The seeds were there. Years before lawyers or press releases, Brent Hinds was saying the quiet part out loud—he didn’t love the “heavy metal” box and he was cooked on the grind. In 2015 he vented that he “never really liked heavy metal,” a line he’d later try to soften, but the message was clear: genre walls and obligations were wearing thin.
By 2018, the strain wasn’t just philosophical. Hinds missed the Grammys after a hit-and-run motorcycle crash; afterward, he bristled that he wasn’t acknowledged from the stage when Mastodon won. That kind of slight—real or perceived—sticks to a band’s chemistry like tar.
Drift Becomes Distance (2019–2024)
Touring cycles, side projects, and four lifers tugging in different creative directions: none of it was dramatic enough to split the atom, but it pushed the core further apart. The exterior looked steady; the center was wobbling.
The Clean Break That Wasn’t (March 7, 2025)
On March 7, Mastodon told fans they and Hinds had “mutually decided to part ways,” stressing gratitude for 25 “monumental” years and promising that all 2025 tour plans were intact. On paper, it sounded like pros handling adult business.
Two days later, the machine had to run. At Tool’s Live in the Sand festival on March 9, YouTuber/ace hired gun Ben Eller stepped in on guitar and the set ripped as planned. The message: the show goes on.
The New Normal: A Moving Guitar Chair, a Diplomatic Band (Spring–Summer 2025)
By May, the “temporary” fix became a touring plan: Canadian fusion shredder Nick Johnston joined for spring dates and beyond. He talked openly about how a casual coffee hang with Brann Dailor led to the gig—no drama, just timing and trust. Bill Kelliher, for his part, struck the don’t-poke-the-bear tone: like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart; we wish Brent the best.
The Gloves Come Off (June–August 2025)
June 25 detonated the “mutual” story. Under a Mastodon Instagram anniversary post, Hinds replied to a fan, “I [won’t] miss being in a sh*t band with horrible humans.” The comment vanished, but screenshots and write-ups didn’t. The subtext became text.
On August 11, Hinds escalated. Reacting to a fan-shared performance clip, he wrote that his former bandmates were “way out of key,” claimed studio autotune props them up, and ended with a napalm “fk these guys.”** It wasn’t cryptic. It was a burn notice. (These are Hinds’ allegations; the band has not engaged.)
What It Means for Fans
- If you’re Team Mastodon: The live show didn’t collapse. Eller proved the band could pivot on a weekend’s notice; Johnston brings slick precision and different colors to the catalog. Expect continuity with flashes of new feel rather than a total rewrite.
- If you’re Team Brent: Hinds will always be a tone architect of the classic era—expect side projects, guest spots, and maybe something that leans closer to his country/surf/rockabilly DNA when the dust settles.
Sources
- Pitchfork — “Brent Hinds Leaves Mastodon 25 Years After Co-Founding Band” (Mar 7, 2025). Pitchfork
- Loudwire — “Setlist + Video – Mastodon Play First Show Without Brent Hinds, Reveal Fill-in Guitarist” (Mar 10, 2025). Loudwire
- Guitar World — “How Nick Johnston ended up replacing Brent Hinds in Mastodon on tour” (Jul 18, 2025) and follow-up feature (Aug 6, 2025). Guitar World+1
- Blabbermouth / Loudwire — coverage of Hinds’ “sh*t band with horrible humans” comment (Jun 25–26, 2025). BLABBERMOUTH.NETLoudwire
- Louder (Metal Hammer/Classic Rock) — “Ex-Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds hits out… in scathing social media post” (Aug 11, 2025). Louder
- Context: Hinds’ long-standing genre fatigue and burnout (2015–2018).
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One response to “Brent Hinds vs. Mastodon: How a 25-Year Partnership Fell Apart”
[…] But Brent’s own words told a harsher story. In an Instagram post, he blasted his bandmates as “horrible humans.” We covered that messy breakup in detail in our recent piece, Brent Hinds vs. Mastodon: How a 25-Year Partnership Fell Apart. […]