Brent Hinds
Encyclopedia
Brent Hinds is an American guitarist
/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia
metal band Mastodon
, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher
and vocal duties with Troy Sanders
and Brann Dailor
.
Hinds is also lead guitar
ist/singer for the surfabilly band Fiend Without a Face, and is involved in other projects, including classic rock bands The Blood Vessels, West End Motel, Four Hour Fogger and The Last of the Blue Eyed Devils.
when not touring to promote the band.
Hinds left Alabama for Atlanta, Georgia in pursuit of a music career. It was at this time that he met Troy Sanders
, a future member of Mastodon
. According to Troy, he "lived in his van for the next five years", becoming a member of Troy's then band, Four Hour Fogger. The first practice he attended with this band he allegedly "showed up so wasted he couldn't even play".
Once Four Hour Fogger fell apart, the two stuck together, eventually meeting Brann Dailor
and Bill Kelliher
at a High on Fire
concert in "their friend's basement". The four began a new musical venture with then singer Eric Saner, touring the southern USA, working 40-hour weeks and committing to the band in their spare time. The band's mainstream success would ensue after Saner left the band, pushing Brent to the forefront not just as a guitarist, but as a vocalist also, the duties of which he would share with Sanders.
Hinds continues to concentrate on Mastodon, with the majority of his time spent touring or in the studio. He also enjoys promoting his lesser-known psychedelic rockabilly band Fiend Without A Face and his classic rock band The Blood Vessels. Hinds composed the score to Jonah Hex
.
On June 7, 2011 Hind's projects Fiend Without a Face and West End Motel released a split-double CD debut studio album.
In 2011, Hinds formed the supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra with fellow guitarist Ben Weinman
of The Dillinger Escape Plan
fame, Jane's Addiction
former bassist Eric Avery
and The Mars Volta
former drummer, Thomas Pridgen
.
guitars: a 6-string used in the video for "Colony of Birchmen" (which has asymmetrical horns such as those seen on a Mosrite guitar, a Bigsby vibrato, silverburst finish, and a Mastodon logo inlaid on the headstock) and a 12-string DC Lola, also with a silverburst finish, used on the Unholy Alliance 3 tour to capture a fuller sound while guitarist Bill Kelliher was too ill to perform. Bill Kelliher owns a guitar similar to this one, though Kelliher's has only nine strings. He also used a 1964 Fender Stratocaster and a 1952 Fender Telecaster while recording "Crack the Skye".
During live performances, Hinds favors his various Silverburst Flying V's. He often performs the solos and more melodic parts, whereas Bill Kelliher
takes rhythm duties. As revealed in the "Tune-Ups" section of the October 2007 issue of Guitar World
, the two guitarists use three tunings: D Standard (E standard down one whole step, D G C F A D), Drop C tuning (Drop D tuning down one whole step, C G C F A D), and a third tuning similar to Drop C, but with the low E string tuned down to A (A G C F A D). Due to these low tunings, they have to use heavy gauge strings to make up for the lower string tension.
Regarding amplifiers, in the past Hinds was featured in the Marshall magazine as a JCM 800 2203 player, though since 2010 has favored Orange's Thunderverb Series Amplifiers. In his pedal board, he currently uses a Boss Compressor CS-3, Boss Tuner TU-2, Monster Effects Mastortion, Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-9, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power, and the Enema FX Mingebox.
, Hinds learned his "signature style" of fast hybrid picking by emulating banjo fingerings on guitar. He frequently utilizes the minor pentatonic, natural minor, and the harmonic minor scales in his playing as well as many hammer-ons, pull-offs, and legato slides. Hinds grew up listening to country, but when he entered his late teens he started listening to Neurosis
and Melvins, bands that would have a profound influence on his musicianship. Hinds has also stated that he is a big fan of the progressive
and psychedelic rock
genres, especially from the '70s.
On June 12, 2007, Hinds and bandmate Bill Kelliher won the Metal Hammer
Golden Gods award for best shredders, the first time the Mastodon guitarists had been awarded for their guitar virtuosity.
Hinds was featured along with Kelliher on the cover of Guitar World's 300th issue alongside guitar legends like Jimi Hendrix
, Angus Young
, and Kirk Hammett
.
Hinds' vocal style is reminiscent of a more extreme Ozzy Osbourne
voice. Hinds performs clean and harsh vocals in Mastodon, where he shares lead vocal duties with Troy Sanders
and more recently, Brann Dailor
.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
metal band Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
and vocal duties with Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
and Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
.
Hinds is also lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist/singer for the surfabilly band Fiend Without a Face, and is involved in other projects, including classic rock bands The Blood Vessels, West End Motel, Four Hour Fogger and The Last of the Blue Eyed Devils.
Biography
In Mastodon's early years, Hinds would work as a full-time carpenterCarpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
when not touring to promote the band.
Hinds left Alabama for Atlanta, Georgia in pursuit of a music career. It was at this time that he met Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
, a future member of Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
. According to Troy, he "lived in his van for the next five years", becoming a member of Troy's then band, Four Hour Fogger. The first practice he attended with this band he allegedly "showed up so wasted he couldn't even play".
Once Four Hour Fogger fell apart, the two stuck together, eventually meeting Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
and Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
at a High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...
concert in "their friend's basement". The four began a new musical venture with then singer Eric Saner, touring the southern USA, working 40-hour weeks and committing to the band in their spare time. The band's mainstream success would ensue after Saner left the band, pushing Brent to the forefront not just as a guitarist, but as a vocalist also, the duties of which he would share with Sanders.
Hinds continues to concentrate on Mastodon, with the majority of his time spent touring or in the studio. He also enjoys promoting his lesser-known psychedelic rockabilly band Fiend Without A Face and his classic rock band The Blood Vessels. Hinds composed the score to Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex (film)
Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...
.
On June 7, 2011 Hind's projects Fiend Without a Face and West End Motel released a split-double CD debut studio album.
In 2011, Hinds formed the supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra with fellow guitarist Ben Weinman
Ben Weinman
Ben Weinman is an American musician, who is most notable for being the lead guitarist for the band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He is the founder and only original member remaining in the band....
of The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
fame, Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
former bassist Eric Avery
Eric Avery
Eric Adam Avery is an American musician and is the former bass player for the rock band Jane's Addiction. Avery played in Jane's Addiction initially from 1985 to 1991, and rejoined the band in 2008 before departing again in 2010....
and The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
former drummer, Thomas Pridgen
Thomas Pridgen
Thomas Armon Pridgen is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of The Mars Volta from October 31, 2006 until October 23, 2009, and currently the drummer for his own project The Memorials as well as hard rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.-Biography:Pridgen won the Guitar...
.
Equipment
Hinds favors Gibson Flying V's, typically in silverburst finishes, but also owns a wide variety of guitars including a Goldtop Les Paul, a Les Paul Florentine, a Lucite Flying V built by the Electrical Guitar Company, a Gibson SG,a Gibson sg custom, Gibson Explorers, an Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi Guitar which was used in the video for "Oblivion," and a Michael Kelly Phoenix Hollowbody. He also has two custom First ActFirst Act
First Act is a musical instrument manufacturer, which producers guitars, bass guitars, guitar and bass accessories, drum sets, percussion instruments, amplifiers as well as student-line clarinets, saxophones, and trumpets...
guitars: a 6-string used in the video for "Colony of Birchmen" (which has asymmetrical horns such as those seen on a Mosrite guitar, a Bigsby vibrato, silverburst finish, and a Mastodon logo inlaid on the headstock) and a 12-string DC Lola, also with a silverburst finish, used on the Unholy Alliance 3 tour to capture a fuller sound while guitarist Bill Kelliher was too ill to perform. Bill Kelliher owns a guitar similar to this one, though Kelliher's has only nine strings. He also used a 1964 Fender Stratocaster and a 1952 Fender Telecaster while recording "Crack the Skye".
During live performances, Hinds favors his various Silverburst Flying V's. He often performs the solos and more melodic parts, whereas Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher
Bill Kelliher is a guitarist in the Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon. He is a native of Victor, New York. He shares guitar duties with Brent Hinds, playing mainly complex rhythm parts. Kelliher is married, with two young sons—the eldest one named Harrison, after Harrison Ford of Star Wars fame...
takes rhythm duties. As revealed in the "Tune-Ups" section of the October 2007 issue of Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
, the two guitarists use three tunings: D Standard (E standard down one whole step, D G C F A D), Drop C tuning (Drop D tuning down one whole step, C G C F A D), and a third tuning similar to Drop C, but with the low E string tuned down to A (A G C F A D). Due to these low tunings, they have to use heavy gauge strings to make up for the lower string tension.
Regarding amplifiers, in the past Hinds was featured in the Marshall magazine as a JCM 800 2203 player, though since 2010 has favored Orange's Thunderverb Series Amplifiers. In his pedal board, he currently uses a Boss Compressor CS-3, Boss Tuner TU-2, Monster Effects Mastortion, Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-9, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power, and the Enema FX Mingebox.
Influence and style
Originally playing the banjoBanjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, Hinds learned his "signature style" of fast hybrid picking by emulating banjo fingerings on guitar. He frequently utilizes the minor pentatonic, natural minor, and the harmonic minor scales in his playing as well as many hammer-ons, pull-offs, and legato slides. Hinds grew up listening to country, but when he entered his late teens he started listening to Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
and Melvins, bands that would have a profound influence on his musicianship. Hinds has also stated that he is a big fan of the progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
genres, especially from the '70s.
On June 12, 2007, Hinds and bandmate Bill Kelliher won the Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
Golden Gods award for best shredders, the first time the Mastodon guitarists had been awarded for their guitar virtuosity.
Hinds was featured along with Kelliher on the cover of Guitar World's 300th issue alongside guitar legends like Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Angus Young
Angus Young
Angus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
, and Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
.
Hinds' vocal style is reminiscent of a more extreme Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
voice. Hinds performs clean and harsh vocals in Mastodon, where he shares lead vocal duties with Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.-Background:...
and more recently, Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor
Brann Dailor is a drummer, best known as a member of Mastodon, a progressive metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Dailor was also a founding member of mathcore band Lethargy, and played with grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Today is the Day.-Personal life:Dailor was born into a musical family...
.
Guest appearance(s)
- "Horse Hunter" by The Dillinger Escape PlanThe Dillinger Escape PlanThe Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
on the album Ire WorksIre Works-Personnel:* Greg Puciato – vocals* Ben Weinman – guitar, piano, sound design, programming, and backing vocals* Liam Wilson – bass* Gil Sharone – drums, percussion-Additional personnel:* Dimitri Minakakis – backing vocals on "Fix Your Face"...
(vocals) - "White Dwarf" by Zoroaster on the album Voice Of Saturn (guitar solo and backing vocals)
- "At Arms Length" by Mouth of the ArchitectMouth of the ArchitectMouth of the Architect is an American atmospheric post-metal band from Dayton, Ohio, creating music influenced by and similar to Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, Cult of Luna, and various post-metal bands.-Biography:...
on the album The Ties That BlindThe Ties That BlindThe Ties That Blind is the second studio album by the Atmospheric sludge metal band Mouth of the Architect.-Track listing:# "Baobab "# "No One Wished To Settle Here "# "Carry On "# "Harboring An Apparition "...
(vocals) - Jonah HexJonah Hex (film)Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...
as a Union soldier (film cameo) - In July 2011 Hinds starred in a commercial for Elmyr, a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia.