Brent Hinds had been collaborating on new music with Bam Margera not long before his tragic passing.
The former Mastodon guitarist lost his life in a motorcycle accident on August 20 at the age of 51. Among those paying tribute was former Jackass star Bam Margera, who remembered him as both a close friend and creative partner.
The 45-year-old skater and musician revealed that they had only recently been recording songs together for the heavy metal project AMORE AD LUNAM.
Sharing a montage of clips of the two on Instagram, Margera wrote: “I am devastated and still processing the tragic loss of one of my closest friends, Brent Hinds. Around the time Ryan Dunn died, I met Brent at the Soundwave Festival in Australia and joked to him, ‘You look and act like Ryan Dunn, and we should just be best friends,’ and he said, ‘ok.’ From that moment we were. Brent and I had just been recording tracks for a new album with a band I’ve been singing for, called @amoreadlunam. It was an honor and a privilege to work with Brent. I will always treasure the time we spent recently working on guitar and vocals together. My friends Stevaughn Decay and Eman put together some clips and photos for a special tribute, ending with Brent accidentally breaking my arm with a golf club. R.I.P. brother @bhinds @mastodonrocks (sic).”
Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher praised Brent as “a true one-of-a-kind guitar wizard extraordinaire.”
Despite their ups and downs, the band’s rhythm guitarist said he always thought of Brent as “a brother” and admitted to being shattered by his loss.
Posting a carousel of photos of them through the years, he wrote: “It’s been hard to get a grip on my emotions this week. We had our good and bad times like any relationship. All that we achieved after that first fistfight in the van 25 years ago. I never imagined you’d be taken from us this way, an absolute loss of a true one-of-a-kind guitar wizard extraordinaire. Keeping up with you taught me so much. You were my brother; we were family. You were a wild man who couldn’t be tamed. You could f*** up a bowling ball with a feather.
You weren’t perfect, but you were always DIRTY-B!! Your vagabond, gypsy, wild spirit lives on through your music. I’ll miss your crazy a** Manimal (sic).”
Back in March, Hinds claimed he had been “kicked out” of Mastodon, though drummer Brann Dailor later emphasized that there was nothing but “love” for him within the group. Dailor paid tribute to Brent on August 22 during their performance at the Alaska State Fair.
