Photos of BRENT HINDS’ Celebration Of Life Surface Online

Yesterday morning, user u/Appropriate-Pay9292 posted two photos to Reddit in the r/MetalForTheMasses, r/Mastodonband, and r/InMetalWeTrust subreddits, stating that the user had “the honor of attending Brent [Hinds‘] funeral.”

The caption beneath the two photos describe the celebration of Brent Hinds and his life:

“The arrangement was beautiful. He looked very peaceful and was holding a cross (that was later turned upside down at last goodbyes). The stories about him were flowing like Niagara Falls; and you could feel the energy of love and respect in the room which made the heat much more bearable. [Hinds]’ will be truly missed and the amount of good stories from every single person you could run into, showed that he did way more to help people and support people than what recent headlines would contradict. He was a force in this world and it won’t be the same without him. Rest in Power, Dirty B Hinds.”

I had the honor of being at Brent’s funeral
byu/Appropriate-Pay9292 inmastodonband

There were a variety of responses from others users, ranging from skeptical to curious, with one user, u/Vault204 asking, “I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but were any other band members there too?”

The original poster (OP), u/Appropriate-Pay9292, responded with: “All of OG Mastodon was there. Which made things bittersweet. They’ve chosen to forget the past that isn’t relevant to who he was. When you’re in a band for 25 years with someone; they tend to become family. Family goes through hard times and things may not always work how we might want it to, but at the end of the day [whether] chosen or not, family is the most important thing a man could have. [Hinds]’ Family, blood & chosen, all showed up and supported him at the time he needed it most.

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byu/Appropriate-Pay9292 from discussion
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Another user, u/BeginningMovie166, commented below the OP’s response, saying, “I hope this is not inappropriate to ask but has [Hinds] been laid to rest next to his brother?”

The OP responded with “Yes.”

Remarking that other attendees were also taking photos of the display, as a way to remember Hinds and pieces of him, the OP explained their decision to post the photos they took online after one user thanked them for not taking a photo of Hinds laid to rest (which isn’t that far of a fetch considering people’s comprehension of what is socially acceptable and what is not):

“I debated even posting this one but figured it needed to be seen because people may not get this side of the story anywhere, which is the real story. I could not even fathom doing something like that. But I will say, he looked like he coulda been up shredding on the nearest stage at any second. The professionalism and skill of the funeral home was top tier and I will be forever thankful to them for that.”

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Another user remarked that the arrangement that was photographed captured Hinds well, with a framed photo of Mastodon front and centre, a signing book, another photo of Hinds on his own with a guitar, various photos of Hinds with other family members, statues of an elephant, motorcycle, microphone stand, and guitars, alongside decorative signs about music, golfing, fishing, and guitars. There are other small pieces of Hinds and his life throughout the arrangement.

Two days ago, it was determined that Brent Hinds was at fault for the motorcycle accident that took his life. Police reports indicated that Hinds had been riding his Harley Davidson at nearly 70 miles an hour, nearly twice the speed limit in the area, when a BMW SUV turned at an intersection and collided with Hinds. The speed at which Hinds was riding was determined by traffic camera footage and witness accounts.

The Atlanta music community came together to celebrate Hinds‘ life and legacy on August 31st for a march with both fans, friends, and musicians in attendance, and Hinds‘ obituary from August 30th detailed a further celebration of his life at a later date.