Brent Hinds’ Estate Issues New Statement Concerning Mastodon Lawsuit

The estate of late Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds has issued a new statement after news of the lawsuit against the band made the media rounds a little over a week ago. The estate has attempted to clarify why the lawsuit was filed and makes a plea to the fanbase for peace and compassion as the legal process plays out.

Shortly after the initial lawsuit was filed and made public, Mastodon's members also shared a statement expressing their unhappiness over what had been a private business matter had now been made public. They also strongly denied allegations against them while voicing their intent to defend themselves "vigorously."

What Did the Brent Hinds' Estate Say About Their Lawsuit Against Mastodon?

In a statement issued to Guitar World, the Brent Hinds estate shared, “Unfortunately, public discussion has largely focused on Mastodon’s inclusion of Brent’s image in artwork for a new album and has sometimes portrayed the lawsuit as an effort by his family to obtain a windfall. That is not what the case is about."

“After Brent was excluded from Mastodon, he sought an accounting, valuation and orderly separation of interests he held in entities owned by the founding members. He passed away before that process was finished…Brent had not yet received compensation for any of his interests,” they added.

As for the usage of Hinds' image, they express that it matters because "it illustrates a broader commercial issue related to merchandising revenues. More specifically, it relates to whether Brent’s exclusion from the band discontinued his, and now his Estate’s, entitlement to share in Mastodon’s merchandising revenue."

They add, “The remaining members maintain that Brent did not participate in Mastodon’s new album, yet the band chose to use a recognizable image of him to market that album and did so without the estate’s consent. This illustrates that Brent remains relevant to Mastodon’s brand even after his exclusion and death."

"The estate maintains that the band cannot fairly invoke Brent’s identity when it is commercially useful, while simultaneously denying the continuing relevance of his contributions when accounting for his interests,” they conclude.

In addition, the statement shares that the intent was never asking "anyone to choose sides or diminish what Brent and his bandmates created together. Nor does it ask the public to judge anyone's grief or intentions." But, as the Estate claims, members of Brent's family have been “subjected to personal attacks and harassment based on speculation and secondhand interpretations” and they are calling for “compassion and respect while the legal process moves forward."

What Is the Brent Hinds Estate Lawsuit Against Mastodon About?

According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the suit claims that while the band had made overtures to buy Hinds out of his share in their band-related businesses, the guitarist had not yet signed the paperwork at the time of his death and therefore still retains his stake in those companies.

It's stated within the suit that the band wrote a check for $80,000 to buy out the guitarist from his interests. But there was allegedly no accounting for how the band arrived at that number. As a result, the Hinds estate did not follow through on cashing the check following the guitarist's death until a full accounting could be done to see exactly what Hinds shares in the company would have been.

The other item of contention is a claim by the Hinds' estate that the guitarist's image was used in promoting the Marrow Deep album despite his not appearing on the record and without his permission.

READ MORE: Up, Down, But Never Out: Going 'Marrow Deep' With Mastodon (Interview)

The artwork for Marrow Deep depicts three distinct figures on the cover (seen below). The band has said that the three figures are representative of the Fates from Greek mythology. However, below one of the figures, the cover also depicts a bearded, tattooed face visible amongst the skulls in a garment worn by the bat-faced Fate. It is the contention that this particular image is meant to represent Hinds, while another face represents drummer Brann Dailor's late mother.

Mastodon - Marrow Deep

"Nevertheless, Defendants 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," claimed the estate in their filing, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

What Happened Between Mastodon + Brent Hinds?

Mastodon officially parted ways with guitarist Brent Hinds in March 2025 after a 25-year-run together.

A statement on the matter read: "Friends and fans: After 25 monumental years together, Mastodon and Brent Hinds have mutually decided to part ways. We're deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we've shared and we wish him nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavors. We are still very inspired and excited to show up for fans in this next chapter of Mastodon."

Though not addressing what happened in the split, the band members remained complimentary and respectful of Hinds' contributions in public comments made after the split.

Hinds, however, twice blasted the band on social media after the split. In responding to one social media post saluting the group's Once More Round the Sun album, Hinds responded to one fan's comment stating, "I want [sic] miss being in a shit band with horrible humans."

A few weeks later, Hinds took another shot at the group n the comments of an Instagram post related to the group's Crack the Skye album, this time attacking the group's members over the vocal abilities and vanity.

Hinds was killed in a motorcycle accident in the band's hometown of Atlanta in August 2025 after he was struck by another driver. He was 51.

See how we ranked Mastodon's albums from worst to best in the gallery below.