Mastodon’s Hinds: I hate metal

By Scott Munro
published

Guitarist Brent he’s constantly trying to steer bandmates away from genre

Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds says he has no time for heavy metal – and keeps trying to steer the band away from the genre.

He grew up in Alabama playing country music, surf rock and rockabilly – and desrcibes metal as just a phase he went through in his 20s.

Hinds tells Guitar Player: “I thought it was rebellious to play heavy metal. Then I met Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher, and they were really into heavy metal. Ever since then I’ve been trying to get Mastodon to not be such a heavy metal band

“I fucking hate heavy metal and I don’t want to be in a heavy metal band.”

Hinds says he also hates doing interviews, saying: “It frustrates me because I have to talk about things I’ve talked about over and over again. There’s nothing we can talk about that involves Mastodon that I’ll get excited about. After 15 years of doing this every fucking day of my life, the last thing I want to do is talk about doing it.”

Earlier this month the band appeared in an episode of hit HBO series Game Of Thrones and issued a promo for the track Asleep In The Deep. The band are featured in the latest edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now in print, digital and via TeamRock+.

Mastodon tour dates

Jun 24: Alzette Rockhal Esch Sur, Luxembourg

Jun 26: Dublin Olympia Theatre, Ireland

Jun 27: Cork Savoy, Ireland

Jun 28: Belfast Ulster Hall, Northern Ireland

Jul 01: Malmo KB Hall, Sweden

Jul 02: Rosklide Festival, Denmark

Jul 03: Turku Ruisrock, Finland

Aug 07: Montreal Parc Jean Drapeau, Canada

Aug 12: Oya Festival, Norway

Aug 14: Dinkelsbuhl Summer Breeze, Germany

Aug 15: Elb-Riot Festival, Germany

Aug 16: Dornbirn Conrad Sohm, Austria

Aug 18: Koln Essigfabrik, Germany

Aug 19: Berlin Kesselhaus, Germany

Aug 20: Hasselt Festivalpark Kiewit , Belgium

Aug 21: Pukkelpop Festival, Belgium

Aug 25: Saint Petersburg SKK Arena, Russia

Aug 27: Moscow Olimpiyskiy Arena, Russia

Aug 29: Reading Festival, UK

Aug 30: Leeds Festival Leeds, UK

Aug 31: Istanbul 100% Metal Headbangers, Turkey

Sep 02: Thessaloniki Principal Theater Club, Greece

Sep 03: Athens Gazi Hall Entertainment Stage, Greece

Sep 05: Reykjavik Rokkjötnar, Iceland

Sep 25: Rock In Rio, Brazil

Sep 27: Sao Paulo Anhembi, Brazil

Sep 28: Comes Louder Festival, Chile

Mastodon & Clutch: Minority Report

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.