The family of the late Brent Hinds – the former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Mastodon – have issued a new statement with regards to their lawsuit against his estranged former bandmates Brann Dailor, Troy Sanders and Bill Kelliher.
The estate had filed the lawsuit against the band earlier this month, alleging unresolved ownership interests and unauthorised use of his likeness following his 2025 passing at the age of 51.
According to the suit, Hinds still had ties to the band in a business sense that were unresolved at his time of death. The estate claimed that a cheque for US$80,000 as an aggregate buyout was presented; an account of how that figure was reached, however, was allegedly not provided, and the cheque has allegedly not been cleared by the estate either.
The band quickly responded after what they described as “a private business dispute with the estate” made the news.
“We strongly deny allegations of ill intent on our part, and intend to vigorously defend what we believe is a meritless lawsuit,” the surviving band members wrote in a joint statement shared to social media.
“We don’t intend to speak publicly on this going forward, as we feel this wouldn’t honor Brent’s memory or the legacy of his musical gifts.”
The new statement from the estate, as obtained and shared by Guitar World, refuted coverage and “public discussion” about the suit that determined it “an effort by [Hinds’] family to obtain a windfall”.
“That is not what the case is about,” the statement read.
“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.”
The estate further noted that the suit intended to determine “whether Brent’s exclusion from the band discontinued his, and now his estate’s, entitlement to share in Mastodon’s merchandising revenue.”
A point about the band’s latest album (and first without Hinds) Marrow Deep was also raised. The Hinds estate is claiming that “selected and placed a recognizable image of Brent on the album cover… and disseminated that cover to advertise, market, distribute, and sell physical albums, digital downloads and streams, merchandise, and related goods or services.” When zoomed in on, Hinds’ face can be seen in the Paul Romano artwork’s centre right – placed next to what appears to be Ozzy Osbourne.
“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,” the estate wrote.
“This illustrates that Brent remains relevant to Mastodon’s brand, even after his exclusion and death.”
The surviving members of Mastodon are yet to respond to the estate’s latest statement. However, given their inistence to not “speak publicly” on the issue, it remains unlikely that they will.
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