A co-founder of Mastodon – along with guitarist Bill Kelliher, bassist Troy Sanders, and drummer Brann Dailor – Hinds was a major figure in pushing metal guitar, and metal as a whole, into uncharted territory in the 21st century – challenging the genre’s rules and conventions with playing that bore the mark of a wide range of influences.

When news broke yesterday about ex- Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds’ untimely death in a motorcycle accident at age 51, the first source most of us in the metal media relied upon was Atlanta News First. Their account of what happened fueled the rest of the day’s coverage, which goes to show the importance of local news in today’s day and age.