Mastodon have shared a response to being sued by Brent Hinds’ estate, who are arguing that the late guitarist wasn’t fully compensated after his exit from the band.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hinds’ estate claims it received a check from the band for $80,000, seemingly reflective of the sum of the singer-guitarist’s interests. However, the estate has declined to cash the check and has alleged that the group used his likeness after his death to promote a new album.
The lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Court last Thursday (September 3), follows the release last month of ‘Marrow Deep‘, the first album from the Atlanta heavy metal band since Hinds died in a motorcycle accident last August, aged 51.
Despite Hinds’ Mastodon exit in March 2025, the band continued to use his photo in promotional materials, including, the suit claims, on cover art for their latest album.
The record, dedicated both to Hinds and to drummer Brann Dailor’s late mother, features cover art showing three figures. Based on the Fates from Greek mythology, one figure has a torso made of skulls, one of which appears to resemble Hinds. The estate argues the band “disseminated that cover to advertise, market, distribute, and sell” its music and merch.
In a statement issued on Instagram, Mastodon strongly denied allegations put forth in the suit, calling it “meritless” and saying they would “vigorously defend” themselves against it. “We don’t intend to speak publicly on this going forward,” they added, “as we feel this wouldn’t honor Brent’s memory or the legacy of his musical gifts.”
The lawsuit outlines alleged details of Hinds’ release from the band that Mastodon had said they initially hoped to keep confidential. The group said the remaining members would buy out Hinds’ share of Mastodon’s companies, according to the lawsuit.
Hinds never signed the agreement and was killed before terms were reached, his estate said.
NME paid tribute to Hinds when remembering the music legends we lost in 2025, writing: “The Alabama-born guitarist’s preference for bluegrass and Zeppelin-inspired noodling – he famously hated metal – also became a crucial part of their DNA right up to this year, when Hinds would depart from the group in March.
“The split was disputed – the band stated it was a mutual decision, while Hinds claimed he was ‘kicked out’. The tragedy that would soon follow would quash any hope of reconciliation between some of modern metal’s most creative minds, as Hinds died aged 51 from injuries sustained in a traffic collision.”
More recently, we spoke to Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor about new album ‘Marrow Deep’, and how its creation was impacted by Hinds’ death.
“It’s hard [to explain] the pain and the anguish of losing someone in those circumstances,” Dailor told NME, reflecting on how Hinds’ death impacted them. “This is someone we were so close with, and while we left on bad terms, we all thought that we were going to bury the hatchet at one point. I had hope that he was going to come back into the fold.
He continued: “When that [hope] had gone, it felt like the best thing for our group just to lean on each other during that moment and prop each other up with music. There was no scenario where any of us wanted the record to be about any of that stuff, and I’d trade every riff and every lyric to get those people back… but that’s not the reality of it.
“So the best thing that we could do for ourselves and our mental state was to power through and write about it. ‘Marrow Deep’ is the culmination of that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Dailor told us about enlisting Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme for the album, and spoke about whether Mastodon they ever considered calling it quits after the loss of Hinds.
