The ghost of Brent Hinds haunts Mastodons emotional Hollywood Palladium show

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Set us as preferred For more than two decades, Mastodon has turned tragedy into deeply felt musical inspiration.It’s been a recurring theme for the Atlanta progressive-metal band, who have faced terrible losses for much of their time together, including multiple deaths and other crises.The personal stakes couldn’t be more profound, which emerged again at Mastodon’s two-hour performance at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday.From behind the drum kit, Brann Dailor sang of losing one of their own, lead guitarist Brent Hinds, roaring into the mic: “I saw your ghost again / Visions of a future nonexistent … followed by crushing feelings of regret.”The song was “Your Ghost Again,” from the band’s new album, “Marrow Deep,” and it closed with a supercharged riff as heavy as Slayer or Sabbath.

It was an epic remembrance, with feelings complicated by the fact that Mastodon was estranged from Hinds at the time of his death at 51 from a motorcycle crash in 2025.While the band’s lyrics and muscular swirl of sounds did most of the talking at the concert, singer-bassist Troy Sanders greeted the crowd early in the set with an acknowledgment of the troubles they’ve seen, which also included the death of Dailor’s mother.“Thank you for your patience and understanding,” Sanders said, “and giving us the time that we needed to navigate some dysfunction and some troubled waters to write the album we’re proud of.”In an interview with The Times ahead of the album’s August release, Mastodon’s three surviving founding members — Dailor, Sanders and rhythm guitarist Bill Kelliher — reflected on the new songs, and their efforts to push past tragedy.“It was obvious that the record was going to be about that,” said Dailor, sitting with the others in an upstairs loft at the Hollywood offices of the band’s l...