The estate of late Mastodon co-founder Brent Hinds has filed a lawsuit against the band and its remaining founding members, alleging unresolved ownership interests and unauthorised use of his likeness following his passing.
The civil complaint was filed in Fulton County Court on September 3rd and names Troy Sanders, Bill Kelliher and Brann Dailor among the defendants (per Lamb Goat).
According to the lawsuit, Hinds retained ownership interests in Mastodon and several related businesses when he died, with a proposed buyout following his departure from the band never completed.
The estate alleges Mastodon subsequently issued an $80,000 cheque as an aggregate buyout of those interests without providing an accounting explaining how the figure was reached, the cheque has reportedly not been cashed.
Another part of the complaint concerns Mastodon’s new album, Marrow Deep (above), released on August 28th.
The estate alleges the artwork contains a recognisable image of Hinds and that his likeness was subsequently used in connection with the promotion and sale of the album and associated merchandise. Hinds did not perform on the record.
The lawsuit seeks compensation over that alleged use, the filing also disputes the circumstances surrounding Hinds’ departure from Mastodon last March, while the band initially described the split as mutual, the estate alleges Hinds was informed of his dismissal via email.
The Mastodon in the Room
It also takes issue with the surviving members publicly discussing aspects of Hinds’ private life following his death, after Mastodon addressed the breakdown of their relationship in the documentary The Mastodon in the Room.
None of the allegations have been adjudicated.
The lawsuit arrives less than two weeks after we spoke extensively with Sanders about Marrow Deep, grief and Mastodon’s attempt to move forward following Hinds’ departure and subsequent death.
“We just wanted to make our statement and put it out to the world and try to be as authentic and transparent as we could be,” Sanders told us in that interview.
Speaking about the album itself, Sanders said the band had attempted to channel the upheaval into the record.
“We tried to channel all these these emotions that we’ve been dealing with the past couple years, and we tried to channel it through the art that we call Mastodon.”
Hinds sadly passed in a motorcycle crash in Atlanta last year, he was only 51.
Mastodon and representatives for Hinds’ estate had not responded to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s requests for comment when its report was published.
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