Has anyone addressed a very complicated band tragedy better? Mastodon may have just cracked the code on how to process losing an important band member.
The passing of guitarist Brent Hinds has been a tough subject for Mastodon and their fans for nearly a year.
Recently, we’ve been given a gift in a personal look at how Bill, Brann and Troy are processing it all.
How did they do it? If you ask me, there’s a few things they did that cemented this for me.
- They kept their statements respectful.
- In the Mastodon in the Room, they offered enough detail about Brent Hinds without mudslinging.
- They kept things fair in acknowledging Brent felt differently and didn’t disregard how he felt about his departure.
- They acknowledged the reality of the whole thing and didn’t pretend it was anything it wasn’t – they admitted it was hard, they admitted they were brothers and brothers fight, and they fully expected a reconciliation at some point and were upset about no longer having that opportunity.
They navigated the entire thing with intention and addressed it all before getting into the official album rollout and discussing both in such a timely manner that fans didn’t miss either occasion.
If they started talking about Marrow Deep without any conversation about Brent, that would’ve been weird. They knew their fans well enough to know we’d see it that way and feel that way. They went even further in recognizing fans were grieving too.
The thing about grief is that it doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes, grief looks like showing up, rehearsing, honoring commitments, and figuring things out one show at a time.
That’s exactly what Mastodon has done this past year with quiet periods in between. That’s something listeners can relate to. That’s realistic.
I also think two things can be true. One person can be essential to a band’s sound (they acknowledge Brent had an impact on what they put out) and Mastodon can also carry on in his absence too.
Alice In Chains has done it, AC/DC has done it, Metallica has done it. The identity evolves rather than disappears.
Who else is ready for this next era?
Vigorously with Val Kleinhans has new episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube weekly.
