# Brent Hinds' estate is suing Mastodon

> Weeks after the guitarist died, his estate took his old bandmates to court over his image, his merch cut, and an $80,000 check.
- Title: Brent Hinds' estate is suing Mastodon · Guitar World
- Summary: Weeks after the guitarist died, his estate took his old bandmates to court over his image, his merch cut, and an $80,000 check. The suit turns on a buyout…
- Keywords: mastodon, brent hinds, lawsuit, metal, music business, Brent, Hinds', estate, suing, Guitar World
- Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/mastodon-are-being-sued-by-brent-hinds-estate
- Published: 2026-09-11T12:49:32+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mastodon, brent hinds, lawsuit, metal, music business
## The estate files suit
Brent Hinds' estate filed a civil complaint in Fulton County Court, Georgia, on September 3. The defendants are the three original Mastodon members he left behind.
## What they are claiming
The filing alleges unauthorized use of Hinds' image, that he still held interests in Mastodon merchandise, and that the buyout of those interests was never finalized before he died.
## A death weeks after the exit
Hinds died in a motorcycle accident on August 20, 2025, at 51. Mastodon had announced his departure only months earlier.
## Two versions of the split
The band framed it as mutual, a marriage running its course. Hinds later called his former bandmates "horrible humans" and said he was pushed out, by email according to the estate.

> Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things.
## His face on Marrow Deep
Paul Romano's cover art for the new album features Hinds, who played nothing on it. The estate wants compensation for that image across albums, downloads, streams and merch.

> selected and placed a recognizable image of Brent on the album cover of Marrow Deep
## The check he never cashed
An $80,000 offer was on the table for Hinds' share of the band's business interests. The estate says the accounting behind it was never properly explained, and he never cashed it.
## Key takeaway

The suit turns on a buyout that was never finished: Hinds still held merch interests when he died, and the band put his face on an album he never played on.