The estate of the late ex-Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds has issued a response after the band denied allegations it made in a lawsuit last week.
Hinds departed Mastodon in March last year before his shock death just months later. Since then, the band has released their first album since his passing, Marrow Deep.
Last week, news broke that the estate filed a complaint over the $80,000 buyout Hinds was entitled to when he left the group. It also alleged that Mastodon have used Hinds' image after his death to promote their new record.
Last week, Mastodon issued a statement saying they “strongly deny allegations of ill intent,” and that they would “vigorously defend what we believe is a meritless lawsuit.”
The latest statement from the Hinds estate elaborates on the context behind the lawsuit.
“Unfortunately, public discussion has largely focused on Mastodon’s inclusion of Brent’s image in artwork for a new album and has sometimes portrayed the lawsuit as an effort by his family to obtain a windfall,” the statement reads. “That is not what the case is about.
“After Brent was excluded from Mastodon, he sought an accounting, valuation, and orderly separation of interests he held in entities owned by the founding members. He passed away before that process was finished…Brent had not yet received compensation for any of his interests.”
The use of Hinds’ image, it then says, is only one part of the picture, but it matters “because it illustrates a broader commercial issue related to merchandising revenues.
“More specifically, it relates to whether Brent’s exclusion from the band discontinued his, and now his Estate’s, entitlement to share in Mastodon’s merchandising revenue.
“The remaining members maintain that Brent did not participate in Mastodon’s new album, yet the band chose to use a recognizable image of him to market that album and did so without the estate’s consent,” it continues. “This illustrates that Brent remains relevant to Mastodon’s brand even after his exclusion and death.
"The estate maintains that the band cannot fairly invoke Brent’s identity when it is commercially useful, while simultaneously denying the continuing relevance of his contributions when accounting for his interests.”
The statement concludes by acknowledging that Hinds’ legacy means a great deal to fans. It stresses that the lawsuit is not asking for “anyone to choose sides or diminish what Brent and his bandmates created together. Nor does it ask the public to judge anyone’s grief or intentions.”
Furthermore, it believes grieving one of heavy metal’s most unique guitar players and pursuing legal action can happen at the same time.
Brent’s family, it also claims, has been “subjected to personal attacks and harassment based on speculation and secondhand interpretations” and has called for “compassion and respect while the legal process moves forward.”
Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher, meanwhile, has detailed his difficulties working with Hinds in his final period with the band, and Troy Sanders has opened up on rebuilding the band with new guitarist Nick Johnston.
