A former bandmate of Brent Hinds has revealed the existence of a trove of unreleased solo material that was written and recorded by the late heavy metal guitar great.
In August, Hinds was killed while riding his Harley Davidson in a fatal motorcycle accident at the age of 51, prompting an outpouring of tributes from the wider guitar world. A few months prior, Hinds had left Mastodon – the outfit with whom he put his singular guitar style on the music map.
It was a style that took country music and other far-reaching influences into heavier waters, and one that took metal guitar into uncharted territory. And, according to Duane Trucks – a former bandmate of Hinds – more of that music exists in the form of an unreleased solo record that Hinds had created before his death.
“Brent’s got an entire album that hasn’t seen the light of day,” Trucks says in the new issue of Metal Hammer. “He sent me the whole album of tunes and it’s cool as shit.”
Trucks, who played drums in Hinds’ psychobilly side project, Fiend Without a Face, adds of the guitar great’s influence and legacy, “You rarely meet someone with so many facets who does things in such an honest, vulnerable way.
“He really fucking meant what he was playing. It was not a put-on. He wasn’t just doing this for a cheque.”
Speaking to Guitar World in 2022 about his unique approach to metal guitar, Hinds reasoned that his style had been shaped in such a unique way because he didn’t consider himself a metal guitarist in the first place.
“I’m not a metal guitarist,” he said. “Sometimes I stumble upon a metal riff and I’ve been influenced by [post-metal] bands like Isis. I get it where I can fit it, but I’m an oddball when it comes to the metal scene.
“I love country. My favorite country singer/songwriter is Johnny Paycheck and my favorite guitar-playing country artist is Jerry Reed. So I try to incorporate some country licks here and there. And sometimes I’m clever enough to find out where they can go in a tasteful manner.”
Last week, Mastodon – who recruited YouTuber Ben Eller and prog virtuoso Nick Johnston in the interim following Hinds’ departure – seemingly confirmed their new permanent guitarist after Bill Kelliher named the player who’d be featured on their next album.
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