Brent Hinds Performs With Mastodon In Sydney, 28.03.15 / Photo: Ashley Mar

Mastodon’s Brent Hinds Says He Hates Heavy Metal

June 24, 2015

Never afraid of speaking his mind, Mastodon guitarist and vocalist Brent Hinds has said that despite his band being renowned for their heavy metal prowess, he actually hates the genre and has been trying to get Mastodon change its ways for years.

In a recent interview with Guitar Player Magazine, Hinds opened up about how it feels when Mastodon are compared to other “heavy metal” bands.

“I never really liked heavy metal in the first place. I came from Alabama playing country music, surf rock, rockabilly, and stuff like that. I just went through a phase in my 20s where I thought it was rebellious to play heavy metal,” Hinds said.

“And then I met Brann [Dailor, Mastodon drummer] and Bill [Kelliher, Mastodon guitarist], and they were really, really, really into heavy metal. And ever since then, I’ve been trying to get Mastodon to not be such a heavy metal band, because I fucking hate heavy metal, and I don’t want to be in a heavy metal band.”

Hinds reassured fans that he still loves playing guitar, but said he finds it difficult to get psyched up when talking about it publicly.

“I’m very passionate about playing guitar, I’m just not the most passionate guy in the world about talking about any of it,” Hinds said.

“Breaking details down and getting micro about what cable I plug into what pedal is, to me, a very unnecessary type of dialogue.”

Mastodon’s latest album, Once More ‘Round The Sun, dropped in June 2014. Since then, the band released the song White Walker for the Game Of Thrones mixtape Catch The Throne, and even starred in a Game Of Thrones episode.

Watch: Mastodon – Asleep In The Deep