Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor has opened up about the band’s decision to part ways with guitarist Brent Hinds. His candid account came as part of a 35-minute video the band released on their official YouTube channel. The video addresses their relationship with Hinds, who departed in March 2025 and tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident five months later.
Dailor revealed that he was the last member to accept the decision, holding out hope that Hinds would turn things around. He spoke candidly about the toll of watching Hinds struggle on stage and the emotional weight behind the band’s choice.
“I was sort of the last hold out,” Dailor said. “I kind of was thinking he would be able to turn it around at some point, but I mean, how many times can you get up on stage with somebody, and go out there, and the person is just — you can tell they’re just inebriated, you know? And you’re like this performance might fall apart.”
Dailor described the situation as deeply painful, making clear that the decision came from a place of love rather than frustration.
“It was horrible, you know? It was really depressing and sad and fucked up,” he continued. “And we just wanted that beautiful, amazing creature, Brent Hinds, to be out there serving up the honey baked ham and screaming his head off and playing, ripping amazing, incredible, beautiful solos.”
“We desperately wanted that guy, but he showed us time and time and time and time and time again that that person wasn’t coming back without some kind of dramatic change.”
He also addressed the band’s mindset at the time of the firing, framing it as a necessary boundary set out of care for both Hinds and themselves.
“We really were coming from a place of love,” Dailor said. “It’s like maybe this will be like some kind of bottom for him. You know what I mean? You never know. We had to set some boundaries and we had to take care of our own sort of mental health.”
Dailor also reflected on Hinds’ public reaction following his exit, saying he never took it personally and always expected a reconciliation.
“[After his exit,] we’re all like, he’s, you know, talking shit on the internet, you know what I mean?” he said. “And I knew that that was going to happen. And I just kind of rolled my eyes when I would see it and I’d be like, ‘Okay.’ But I knew like he didn’t mean any of that shit, and as soon as we saw each other, I’d be like, ‘Dude, what was all that bullshit?’ You know? He’d probably laugh and we’d hug and say, ‘I love you.’ and get back to it. That’s what I thought was going to happen.”
Hinds’ passing in August 2025 meant that reunion never came. The full video from Mastodon remains available on their YouTube channel.
The video marks the most detailed public account the band has given of the circumstances surrounding Hinds’ exit. At the time of his departure, the situation was framed very differently and would only grow more complicated in the months that followed.
Mastodon officially announced on March 8, 2025, that Hinds had mutually decided to part ways with the band after 25 years together. The statement described the split in warm terms, with the band saying they were “deeply proud” and “beyond grateful” for their shared history. All 2025 touring plans were confirmed to remain intact, and the band expressed optimism about the next chapter ahead.
That narrative was directly challenged by Hinds himself. Nearly half a year after the announcement, in June 2025, Hinds took to Instagram to state that the departure was not mutual — that he had been kicked out. He also directed sharp criticism at Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor, calling them “horrible humans” who could not sing in tune. Dailor responded by sharing a fan clip of a live performance with the caption “Sounds in tune to me,” offering a pointed but measured rebuttal.
Guitarist Bill Kelliher also weighed in on the split in the weeks following the announcement. He described the separation as something agreed upon by both parties and likened it to a marriage where people simply grow apart. “It’s amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us,” Kelliher said, framing the end of the lineup as an inevitable evolution rather than a sudden rupture.
Hinds died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta on August 20, 2025, at the age of 51. His death came just months after the public back-and-forth between him and his former bandmates, leaving the conflict unresolved. The reconciliation Dailor had envisioned was permanently out of reach. The 35-minute video released by Mastodon stands as the band’s most thorough attempt to address that unfinished chapter and honor the guitarist they clearly still held in deep affection.
