Mastodon are reportedly being sued by the estate of the late Brent Hinds, which filed a civil complaint at the Fulton County Court, in Georgia, on September 3.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that original Mastodon members Troy Sanders, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor are defendants in a filing that lists a number of complaints, including the unauthorized use of Hinds’ image, that Hinds continued to have owned interests in merchandise, and that the buyout of these interests was never finalized before his death.
The estate also alleges that the surviving members of Mastodon made claims about Hinds’ substance abuse, and the complaint is made in regards to private information being made public after Hinds’ death
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Hinds died in a motorcycle accident on August 20, 2025, aged 51. Just months earlier Mastodon had announced his exit from the band. Bill Kelliher told Guitar World it was like a marriage coming to an end.
“It’s been a fun, wild fucking ride, that’s for sure,” he said. “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, Motörhead, 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.”
Hinds’ exit from the band was mutual. At least that was the story at the beginning. Hinds subsequently described his former bandmates as “horrible humans” and alleged that he was kicked out of the band (the estate alleges he had been notified of his departure via email).
Rumors of discord had been rife before Hinds’ exit. When drummer Brann Dailor appeared in public with a black eye, people jumped to conclusions.
“Brent texted me when that was all stirred up, and he was like, ‘Dude, I can’t believe people think I punched you in the face!’” Dailor told the Guardian in July.
Mastodon paid tribute to Hinds on their latest studio album, Marrow Deep. The cover art, an illustration by Paul Romano, features Hinds’ image.
This brings us back to some of his estate’s legal complaints.Hinds never contributed musically to the album. The estate is seeking compensation for its use on the album and merchandise sales.
The the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the estate alleges the band “selected and placed a recognizable image of Brent on the album cover of Marrow Deep and disseminated that cover to advertise, market, distribute, and sell physical albums, digital downloads and streams, merchandise, and related goods or services”.
Furthermore, it alleges that the $80,000 to buy-out offer for Hinds’ share of Mastodon’s business interests was never fully explained in their accounting, and the subsequently never cashed the check.
