ATLANTA, Georgia — William Brent Hinds, co-founder and former lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Mastodon, died Wednesday night in a motorcycle crash in Atlanta, Fox 5 Atlanta reported . He was 51.

The Atlanta Police Department said officers responded around 11:35 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Memorial Drive SE and Boulevard SE, where a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a BMW SUV crashed into each other. Hinds, who was operating a motorcyce, was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said the SUV’s driver, a woman who remained on site, failed to yield while turning left and struck Hinds’ motorcycle. The crash remains under investigation.

“Until his recent departure from the band, Hinds was a colossal part of Mastodon’s sound,” said Peter Ch

See Full Page