BRENT HINDS Slams MASTODON After Exit: "I Won't Miss Being In A Sh*t Band With Horrible Humans"

Mastodon surprisingly split with co-founding guitarist Brent Hinds on March 5, marking the end of an era for the Grammy-winning progressive metal band. Mastodon then played their first Hinds-less show on March 9 at Tool's Live In The Sand with YouTube Ben Eller filling in, and has since recruited Nick Johnston for their live shows. Though Mastodon committed to a permanent replacement for Brent Hinds full-time in the band just yet.

Mastodon's Bill Kelliher has spoken pretty extensively about Hinds' split with the band, saying in an interview with Guitar World around the time of the split that he was amazed that Mastodon made it a quarter of a century with the same guys in the band.

"What can you say about the legacy of Mastodon's first 25 years with Brent? It's been a fun, wild fucking ride, that's for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined. There's been Grammys, touring with our heroes, like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead, and Tool. I cherish all of that. Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams.

Kelliher continued: "You know, it's amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us. I mean, it's like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree. That we managed to do it this long, I feel like that's a feat in itself. You could never replace any of us because we [are the] the sum of four parts."

"That doesn't mean there's not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction," he concluded. "I think I'll just leave it there, you know? It was a hard decision we all had to make. It's just… it was just time."

Hinds has never made a public comment about what happened or how he feels about his split with Mastodon… though a comment on a recent Mastodon Instagram post about Once More 'Round The Sun turning 10 certainly sheds some light on that.

One fan commented that "Halloween" is their favorite track on the record and that they'll miss Hinds being in the band. Hinds responded: "I want [sic] miss being in a shit band with horrible humans." So I'm guessing this split wasn't exactly amicable.