The estate of late Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds has filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The lawsuit accuses them of using his likeness to promote a new album. It also claims they failed to properly compensate his estate.
The legal action details the estate’s claims regarding the band’s use of Hinds’ image following his death. Hinds died on August 20, 2025, in Atlanta. His Harley-Davidson motorcycle collided with an SUV. The estate also disputes the buyout of his shares in the band’s business ventures.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, “Members of Mastodon said they were wracked with grief when their cofounder and former guitarist was killed in a motorcycle crash last summer. Now, their late bandmate’s estate is suing, claiming the group used his likeness after his death to promote a new album.”
“Hinds’ estate says in the lawsuit that Mastodon and its members never bought the guitarist out of his share of the band and its related businesses before his death, and that, despite the acrimony while Hinds was still alive, they used an image of his face on an album cover after he died, cashing in on the tragedy,” they continued.
“The lawsuit claimed that Mastodon’s camp issued Hinds’ estate a check for $80,000 in relation to buying out his interests in the band, however, the estate were claim they weren’t provided proper accounting of how the band came to that number,” the statement ended. “As such, they claim to have refused to cash the check.”
The lawsuit references Mastodon’s 2026 album cycle for their album Marrow Deep. The estate claims the band used Hinds’s image on the album cover to promote it without compensation.
The lawsuit claims that Mastodon’s camp issued Hinds’ estate a check for $80,000. This check was intended to buy out his interests in the band. However, the estate claims they did not receive a proper accounting of how the band calculated that number. Consequently, they refused to cash the check.
Mastodon issued a tribute following Hinds’ death. They stated that they lost someone incredibly special to them. They called Hinds one of the most imaginative and beautiful souls they had ever encountered.
The legal dispute remains ongoing as both parties address the claims.
