Mastodon Honor Brent Hinds with Short Film ‘The Mastodon in the Room’

As the first anniversary of Brent Hinds’ death approaches, Mastodon have released a short film that serves as both tribute and reckoning. The Mastodon in the Room, available now, gathers new interviews, archival concert footage, and behind-the-scenes material to trace the guitarist and vocalist’s profound impact on the band. Hinds died in a motorcycle crash in August 2025 at age 51, and the film is positioned as a shared space for grief—for the remaining members and their audience.

The documentary does not shy away from the complications of Hinds’ story. His bandmates speak openly about his struggles with substance abuse and his departure from the group months before his death. Co-founding drummer Brann Dailor describes the decision to set boundaries. “We really were coming from a place of love,” he says. “Maybe this will be some kind of bottom for him. We had to set some boundaries and take care of our own mental health.”

The film follows the recent release of “Your Ghost Again,” a single Mastodon dedicated to Hinds. Dailor recalled sensing his presence in the studio: “I’d see him on my right holding the guitar because that’s where he’d usually be. You get a little jolt of excitement because you think you’re actually seeing them, but then you remember they’re not here.”

Hinds co-founded Mastodon in 2000 alongside Dailor, bassist Troy Sanders, and guitarist Bill Kelliher. Their discography spans eight albums, six Grammy nominations, and a 2018 win for Best Metal Performance. The band’s final record with Hinds, Hushed and Grim, arrived in 2021. The Mastodon in the Room now stands as a deliberate, unvarnished look at the musician who helped shape that legacy.