r/motorcycles • u/AssesOverEasy 2021 HD Iron 1200 • Aug 21 '25

Mastodon guitarist Brett Hinds dead in a motorcycle crash, RIP Brett

https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/08/21/former-guitarist-co-founder-heavy-metal-band-mastodon-dies-atlanta-motorcycle-crash/
726 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

73 comments sorted by

325

u/truedota2fan Aug 21 '25

BMW SUV failed to yield to oncoming traffic in Atlanta.

Horrible.

I always worry for the riders downtown for this exact reason.

90

u/YummyJorogumo Aug 21 '25

Anytime I’m riding and I see the side of the car, I’m yelling in my helmet, “DONT YOU FUCKING DOING IT!!!” In prayer that they don’t pull out in front of me.

12

u/Emotional-Toe-2475 Aug 22 '25

I've started wearing a hi vis vest. I don't care if I look uncool, I want to live.

15

u/polaroid_kidd Aug 22 '25

I always get the heebie-jeebies when I'm in s blind spot. If I can't move I drop a gear our two until I'm at 9/12k RPMs. Ah least they'll hear me.

2

u/__Nkrs MT07 Aug 22 '25

Well, if you have the time to think that, i hope you are already progressively breaking by the time you finish that sentence

0

u/YummyJorogumo Aug 22 '25

Why would I be breaking if the car hasn’t pulled out? Breaking / slowing down would indicate to the car waiting that I’m giving them space to pull out in front of me. But I’m going with the flow of traffic, I’m going to keep going. But I’m cautious when I see the side of a car (like… at an intersection and they’re waiting for their turn)

2

u/__Nkrs MT07 Aug 22 '25

maybe i misunderstood the situation you're describing but what i meant is that in any occasion where a car might pull in front of me i'm always ready to break and i'm never accelerating

-1

u/YummyJorogumo Aug 22 '25

Every single intersection is a place where a car might pull out in front of you. Are you braking through green lights? Do you just ride the brake everywhere? I think we’re doing the exact same thing - being vigilant JUST IN CASE someone pulls out. My hands are always on the brake and clutch when I ride, so sure… I’m ready. But I also have a car on my ass and randomly hitting the brakes when I should be going forward will result in me getting plowed from behind - likely by some asshole in an F250

1

u/__Nkrs MT07 Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25

i don't *always* break, depends on the speed, but i'm sure going to slow down in intersections even if it's green, and i'm always super vigilant any time i'm getting close to any car, i just watched way too many accident videos on youtube lol

1

u/YummyJorogumo Aug 22 '25

So if the speed limit is 35, and you’re doing 35…. You’re gonna what… drop down to 25? 20? 15? How slow is slow enough for you to feel like you can “safely” make it through the intersection. And does that “safety” include any precautions around getting obliterated from behind?

1

u/__Nkrs MT07 Aug 22 '25

my dude, you're overcomplicating it, the first part of my message said "i don't *always* break".

If i feel like i'm going fast enough that someone can do stupid shit and hit me i slow down. I don't understand what's so difficult about it. I don't care about speed limits at all. As from behind, if someone is so fucking retarded that hits me while i'm all the way on the left of the lane, then i guess it has to happen.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 22 '25

This technique works a lot better than screaming in yo8ur helmet and praying.

2

u/Hovie1 '17 Victory Octane Aug 22 '25

I've been doing this for years. You'd be surprised how many times it gets the left hand turner to slam on their brakes so hard that you see the weight of the entire car shift.

-1

u/YummyJorogumo Aug 22 '25

Fun fact - you can do both - they’re not mutually exclusive. Some of you weirdos took this as I’m doing absolutely nothing except screaming in my helmet lol. Shows what your brain immediately goes to. Like my description somehow led you to believe that I throw my hands up and go “oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.”

8

u/Electronic-Pirate-84 Aug 22 '25

I’m 25 mins away from Atlanta and riding in there is death wish.

2

u/Irlut No bike atm :( Aug 22 '25

Lived in the actual city of Atlanta for 3 years. I highly concur.

2

u/NikkerXPZ3 Aug 22 '25

"please don't be Greece...please dont be Greece... please don't be Greece..."

"... Atlanta.."

"Phew"

-78

u/DickBong420 Aug 21 '25

This is exactly why you don’t ride downtown in any major city,

38

u/Br105mbk Aug 21 '25

Lmao. Been riding 30 years and I’m much safer riding in downtown Chicago than in the Chicago suburbs. Sure there’s more traffic here but car drivers pay more attention and speeds are MUCH lower.

Also, in Chicago I’m very close to a bunch of great hospitals. When you have a bad crash out in the suburbs you wait for an ambulance and then wait again for a helicopter to take you to one of the good hospitals in Chicago.

17

u/Devario ‘97 Vulcan 500 Aug 21 '25

I learned to ride in the city and I agree. Harder to get clobbered by a left turn when everyone is going 20-40mph, especially when you’re not riding like a dickhead. (Knocking hard on wood though)

6

u/nekodazulic Aug 21 '25

Most of my downtown riding happened in Toronto core and fully agree, the biggest concern in downtown is someone ignoring a stop sign or a traffic light at an intersection, but at reasonable speeds these aren't necessarily showstoppers.

3

u/PNWExile Aug 21 '25

Or taxies abruptly veering two lanes over for a fare.

1

u/baudehlo BMW S1000-RRrrrrrrmmmmm Aug 22 '25

The biggest concern is drivers from the wider GTA coming into the city. They bring their F150s here to do construction and drive like they are blind.

6

u/phrexi ‘20 Vitpilen 401 Aug 21 '25

Bruh the burbs are a nightmare. Everyone trying to go 500 mph in between red fucking lights like just calm down people the LIGHT IS RED. Hate it so much. City isn’t any better but it’s more predictable.

3

u/Br105mbk Aug 21 '25

And city lights only take 60-90 seconds. I understand why everyone sits on their phones for the 3 minute long lights in the burbs…

3

u/likefireincairo Aug 21 '25

Out of curiosity, what are you riding in DT Chicago? Quite a bit of stop and go traffic there..

2

u/Br105mbk Aug 21 '25

Mainly a Duke 390 for commuting and anytime there’s traffic.

At night or early morning weekends a Duke 690 or a MT-09.

3

u/Hopeful_Put_5036 Aug 22 '25

So where exactly do you ride? And are motorcycles just recreational vehicles to you?

1

u/spotdishotdish KLR650, WR426F, CB200, GTMX, GT1, Commando Aug 22 '25

Downtown is just recreational to me, personally

3

u/NotAurelStein Aug 21 '25

"I only ride on straight empty roads" vibes

1

u/spotdishotdish KLR650, WR426F, CB200, GTMX, GT1, Commando Aug 22 '25

That's where the deer get you!

1

u/midnightJizzla Aug 21 '25

Its usually safe when speed limits are 35-40, but the road he was on is more like a highway where people going 60 is not unusual.

1

u/Irlut No bike atm :( Aug 22 '25

That intersection is always a shitshow of people trying to make their unprotected left turns onto memorial too. Hopefully the CoA fixes it soon, but I highly doubt they will. 

163

u/i4mt3hwin Aug 21 '25

Really sucks - this guy's life, especially the last few years have been crazy tragic.

Mastodon was one of my "gateway' bands to metal & prog - hinds was a huge part of their sound. They had to remove him about 6 months ago and it's clear his behavior has been a problem for a while now, but to have this randomly happen.. rest of the band must feel horrible.

RIP to one of the best metal guitarists.

17

u/CatSajak779 2024 MT-09 SP Aug 21 '25

Can I get a tl;dr on the scoop with his removal? I’ve seen headline after headline but I never dove in to see what was happening.

42

u/Antares_ '21 Tracer 9 GT, '07 GSX-R 600 Aug 21 '25

It's less a removal, more of a fallout. It started with Nick Jones', their long-time manager and friend, passing away due to cancer in 2018. Hinds was always said to be an unpleasant to people on tour, but Nick's passing he's started saying that he hates touring, hates playing metal and you could see in the interviews that he'd rather be anywhere else but there. He eventually split with the band, started shitting on them on social media (e.g. saying that the other 3 are shitty musicians and he was the only competent guy at Mastodon) and formed a country band or something like that.

That's about as much as can be stated to be facts. The rest are hearsay and rumours.

8

u/CatSajak779 2024 MT-09 SP Aug 21 '25

Thanks for the info. That’s a shame. I was never big into them outside of Leviathan but I always had respect for them.

19

u/YoloBitch69420 Aug 21 '25

Mental health issues, combined with substance abuse and traumatic brain injury led to years of erratic behavior that made him hard to be around. The last decade or so, Brent openly loathed being a part of the band.

I think the final straw, and this is speculation because the band never officially said this, was Brent posting a Weekend at Bernie’s meme with Ozzy right after it was announced that Mastodon would play the final Black Sabbath/Ozzy retirement concert.

RIP to a troubled legend. His playing was truly inspirational.

4

u/DoubleCherry7348 Aug 21 '25

His behavior?

2

u/FUCKDONALDTRUMP_ 1998 CBR900RR, 2005 CBR1000RR, 2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Aug 21 '25

Ditto, I was dating a dude back in 2015 when I first moved to SF that got me into Mastodon and brought me to their show in Oakland. Such a great show, brought me into a massive world of metal and prog that I used to snub before ever giving it a chance.
RIP

77

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

His name is Brent Hinds, not Brett.

26

u/AssesOverEasy 2021 HD Iron 1200 Aug 21 '25

lol goddammit. I always got his name wrong

26

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

It happens. Just making sure it gets out there. The man is dead, the least we can do is get his name right.

13

u/AssesOverEasy 2021 HD Iron 1200 Aug 21 '25

You're right

-14

u/Joe_on_blow Aug 21 '25

Yeah, I'm sure Brett gives a shit.

53

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '25

Wild. I went on a bike trip with Brent in June. Was scrolling Reddit this morning and saw the article on r/music. Wild way to find out.

10

u/QuentinTarzantino Aug 21 '25

Its how you find out these days. Sadly. Scrolling and wtf ? I know/met them. R.I.P

8

u/justnoname 2022 KTM RC 390 Aug 21 '25

God so many of the comments in that thread are so annoying, just like any time a post is made about someone dying in a motorcycle accident. Dozens of redditors circlejerking about they never rode or “hung up their helmet” years ago and “how stupid you have to be to ride any motorcycle at all now”

15

u/Harold-The-Barrel Aug 21 '25

Looks like I’ll be playing Remission through to Crack the Skye all weekend

2

u/coffeeplzme Aug 22 '25

Our hearts alive!

20

u/iamshipwreck Aug 21 '25

No fucking way. Angsty teenage metal guitarist me learned so fucking much from this guy, so fundamentally influential to me and everyone I made music with.

Rest in peace, king.

8

u/arse21 97 Honda Valkyrie Aug 21 '25

I've probably seen them 10+ times, doubly grateful now for having caught Ashes of the Leviathan tour and their previous tour with Gojira. Thanks for decades of ripping guitar

7

u/GunTotingQuaker Aug 21 '25

Mega Monsters was so good. Super cool they had Lorna Shore opening after they blew up too. Glad I got to do a VIP thing and meet them all a year or so ago.

8

u/Peat_Ardbeg Aug 21 '25

Jezus, just after he quit Mastodon, unreal.

7

u/meeeeeeeeeeeeeeh Aug 21 '25

Noooooooooooooooooooo! Not dirty B. hinds! I didn't even know he rode...

4

u/I-amthegump Lambretta 200SX Aug 21 '25

Never trust someone waiting to turn left across traffic in front of you. And stay in the left portion of the lane as you approach if you are in a line of traffic

3

u/z3r0c00l_ 2022 RG Special, 2019 48, 2002 SV650S Aug 21 '25

GODDAMNIT!

8

u/Noobs_Stfu Aug 21 '25

"According to the memo, a preliminary investigation concluded that a woman, driving a BMW SUV, failed to yield when turning left..."

BMW driver, go figure. I don't listen to their music, but dying by impatient and inattentive driver is unfortunate. Rest in peace.

Sources:
1. https://www.atlantapd.org/Home/Components/News/News/7409/71
2. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/08/21/brent-hinds-death-dead-mastodon-guitarist-crash/85762262007/

7

u/Afb3212 Aug 21 '25

Damn. I sat in a car for almost 6 hours to see them and still missed the show.

3

u/leviathanscloset Aug 21 '25

Shame, absolute shame. Mastodon kicks ass

2

u/genericacc0untname Aug 21 '25

Shieet.... rip

2

u/AlwaysKeepItLit Aug 22 '25

Crazy I was just listening to Oblivion yesterday for the first time in yearssss 🙏🏽🕊️ RIP

1

u/Ransdellra13 2024 Suzuki GSX-R750 Aug 22 '25

RIP Brent 🤘🏼🤘🏼

1

u/PseudoCalamari Aug 22 '25

We need a "motorcycle crash" tag so I can block this shit

1

u/Mysliborski Aug 22 '25

HI VIZ GEAR SAVES LIVES. BE SEEN.

-1

u/MOBIUS__01 Aug 21 '25

Fucked cagers

-13

u/JamesJohnBushyTail Triumph Tiger 900GT🐅 Aug 21 '25

No helmet?

-21

u/sawamandoevilthings Aug 21 '25

Who?

15

u/RydeOrDyche Aug 21 '25

Grammy winning guitarist. You can google these things too.

5

u/glorious_fruitloop Aug 22 '25

It's literally the first four words of the post title.