Mastodon Tap Guitar YouTuber Ben Eller as Brent Hinds’ Replacement
When it was announced late last week that Mastodon and guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds were splitting up after 25 years, it shocked the metal community. What would happen to Mastodon? Why was this only happening now, given Hinds’ apparent dislike of being in a metal band? What are they going to do for their upcoming live commitments?
We don’t know the answer to most of those questions, but we at least know for now who’s filling in the vacancy made by Hinds’ departure. During the band’s performance last night for Tool’s “Live In The Sand” festival in the Dominican Republic, Mastodon revealed YouTuber and musician Ben Eller as their choice.
Fan footage taken of last night’s performance shows Eller playing Hinds’ parts, so we know he can at least keep the band going for all their live commitments moving forward. Whether he could end up taking a full-time position with Mastodon remains to be seen. The band has yet to comment on Eller’s debut performance, so we’re really just at the “hey, check out the footage of this guy performing in lieu of a dude who just left a really popular band after a quarter century.”
You can check out some of that footage below and let us know what you think of Eller’s performance. We also have Mastodon’s touring schedule for 2025, incase you want to see them live.
Mastodon 2025 tour dates
5/8-5/11 – Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
5/10 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center*
5/11 – Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Coliseum*
5/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater*
5/15 – Wilmington, NC @ Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park*
5/16 – Charleston, SC @ Firefly Distillery*
5/15-5/18 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
5/19 – Estero, FL @ Hertz Arena*
5/21 – Huntsville, AL @ Orion Amphitheater*
5/22 – Lexington, KY @Rupp Arena*
5/24 @ Virginia Beach, VA @ The Dome*
5/25 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater*
5/26 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC*
5/28 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena*
5/30 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview*
5/31 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain*
6/1 – Youngstown, OH @ Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre*
6/3 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum*
6/4 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Arena*
6/6 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena*
6/7 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center*
6/8 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall*
7/3 – Cardiff, UK @ Blackweir Fields
7/3-7/13 – Quebec City, QC – Festival Dete De Quebec
7/5 – Birmingham, UK @ Villa Park %$
7/6 – London, UK @ Finsbury Park %
7/30-8/3 – Rasnov, Romania @ Rockstadt Extreme Fest
7/31 – Szekesfhervar, Hungary @ Fezen Festival
8/7-8/10 – Walton-On-Trent @ Bloodstock Open Air
8/8-8/10 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ Alcatraz Festival
8/15-8/17 – Vallamand, Switzerland @ Rock The Lakes
8/15-8/17 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Dynamo Metal Fest
*w/ Coheed and Cambria
% w/ Slayer
$ w/ Ozzy Osbourne
