Mastodon Enlist Popular Metal YouTuber As Fill-In Following Brent Hinds’ Departure

One of the most unexpected stories to shake the metal world last week was the departure of Brent Hinds from Mastodon after a 25-year tenure. The Atlanta-based progressive sludge metal giants announced on March 7th that they had parted ways with their longtime vocalist/guitarist.

While speculation has swirled among fans—some pointing to Hinds’ previous comments about his dissatisfaction in the band—the news still caught much of the metal community off guard. As of now, Hinds has yet to offer an official statement on his exit. However, a cryptic Instagram story reshared by him earlier today (March 9th) hints that the split may not have been entirely amicable.

Despite the shakeup, Mastodon carried on, closing out today’s final date of the inaugural Tool Live In The Sand festival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Early rumors suggested that musician/YouTuber Ben Eller—known for his Stuff Mastodon Does series—had been tapped to fill in for Hinds.

Those rumors appear to have been true, as Eller was reportedly spotted onstage during soundcheck and later performed with the band. Whether his role is temporary or a more permanent solution remains to be seen.

The setlist for the show ran as follows:

“Pain With An Anchor”
“Crystal Skull”
“Black Tongue”
“I Am Ahab”
“Megalodon”
“Ember City” (first time since 2019)
“Tread Lightly” (first time since 2016)
“Ghost Of Karelia” (first time since 2019)
“The Motherload”
“The Crux”
“Pushing The Tides”
“More Than I Could Chew”
“All The Heavy Lifting” (first time since 2015)
“Spectrelight”
“Mother Puncher”
“Steambreather”
“Blood And Thunder”

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