Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher opens up about Hinds' surprise exit

Mastodon officially announced the split from their founding guitarist on March 7th, marking the end of Brent Hinds' 25-year run with the progressive sludge icons. While Hinds has yet to make a direct statement, his social media activity suggests the parting wasn't entirely on good terms.

Now, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher has broken the silence, giving his first interview since the split. Details are still emerging, but this marks the first real insight into what led to the departure of one of Mastodon's founding members.

Speaking with Guitar World, Kelliher shared the following:

What can you say about the legacy of Mastodon's first 25 years with Brent? It's been a fun, wild fucking ride, that's for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined. There's been Grammys, touring with our heroes, like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead, and Tool. I cherish all of that.

Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams. You know, it's amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us. I mean, it's like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree.

That we managed to do it this long, I feel like that's a feat in itself. You could never replace any of us because we are the sum of four parts.

That doesn't mean there's not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction. I think I'll just leave it there, you know? It was a hard decision we all had to make. It's just… it was just time.