Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher has opened up regarding the departure of his now former bandmate, Brent Hinds.
The "Blood and Thunder" metallers announced Friday that they and Hinds had "mutually decided to part ways." It marks the first major lineup change for the band in 25 years, which has featured the same four founding members — Hinds, Kelliher, drummer Brann Dailor and bassist Troy Sanders — for every one of their albums.
Speaking with Guitar World, Kelliher shares, "What can you say about the legacy of Mastodon's first 25 years with Brent? It’s been a fun, wild f****** ride, that's for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined."
"Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things," Kelliher continues. "We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams."
Kelliher adds that he thinks it's "amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us."
"It's like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree," he says. "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] the sum of four parts."
As for the future of Mastodon, the band played their first show without Hinds on Sunday, recruiting guitarist Ben Eller to step in. However, Mastodon hasn't yet named an official replacement for Hinds.
"That doesn't mean there's not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction," Kelliher says. "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."