Overview
- On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Mastodon published a 35-minute short film titled The Mastodon in the Room in which the three surviving founding members speak on camera about their 25-year relationship with Brent Hinds.
- In the film the band members describe Hinds as a complex figure who battled substance use and mental-health problems and explain that those issues undermined performances and prompted repeated interventions.
- Mastodon says the March 2025 split with Hinds was a decision taken for the group's wellbeing while Hinds later posted that he had been ejected, and the film is presented as the band's account of that breakdown.
- Brent Hinds died in a motorcycle crash in Atlanta on August 20, 2025, and investigators concluded he was speeding and at fault for the collision.
- The band is continuing to tour with replacement guitarists, has released the tribute single “Your Ghost Again,” and finished a ninth studio album without Hinds with touring guitarist Nick Johnston reported to appear on the record.