Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor has opened up about the band\u2019s new song \u201cYour Ghost Again,\u201d offering a heartfelt apology to fans for not properly addressing the death of guitarist Brent Hinds, in a statement shared on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The song, described as a tribute to Hinds, draws from Dailor\u2019s personal experience of grief and the haunting sense of absence felt in familiar places. Dailor explained the emotional weight behind the track and what inspired its creation.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Your Ghost Again\u2019 sort of about being in these familiar places that you used to be with people all the time, which is like for us, it was in the studio,\u201d Dailor said. \u201cI just kept seeing him out of the corner of my eye, like where I would normally see him, where he would normally be with his guitar. And it just kept catching me off guard, you know. \u2018Your Ghost Again\u2019 is basically about that, kind of your mind plays tricks on you, especially maybe soon after someone dies and you\u2019re in the places where they always were.\u201d<\/p>\n Dailor then spoke directly to fans, expressing how much the song means to him and acknowledging the band\u2019s silence in the wake of Hinds\u2019 passing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis song means a lot to me. And so I hope that that is able to translate to the fans and to the people that like our band and the people that are grieving too, you know, grieving Brent,\u201d he continued. \u201cBecause I understand that, like, from a fan\u2019s perspective, we never really addressed it. We just couldn\u2019t, you know, it just was too much.\u201d<\/p>\n In an emotional moment, Dailor issued a direct apology to fans for not being able to offer more during that difficult time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to the fans, I\u2019m sorry that I wasn\u2019t able to, like, be more for them when that happened because I couldn\u2019t for myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still unpacking it. Hopefully this album helps everybody. You know, hopefully they can find some piece of it that they, that speaks to them about it, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n Dailor also addressed fans who may be hesitant to engage with the new music due to Hinds\u2019 absence, acknowledging the difficulty of moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cI know Brent\u2019s not there and I know it\u2019s weird and it\u2019s hard and some people might be like, well, I don\u2019t wanna listen to it because Brent\u2019s not there and I\u2019m hurting about that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we are too.\u201d<\/p>\n The grief behind \u201cYour Ghost Again\u201d is rooted in a tragedy that shook the rock world last year. Hinds had departed Mastodon in March 2025, and just five months later, the music community lost him forever under devastating circumstances.<\/p>\n Hinds \u2014 the guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of Mastodon \u2014 died on August 20, 2025, at the age of 51 following a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, as Metal Injection<\/a> reported. His death sent shockwaves through the metal community and beyond.<\/p>\n His Harley-Davidson collided with a BMW SUV near downtown Atlanta, resulting in fatal injuries, Louder Sound<\/a> noted. The accident occurred just months after he had parted ways with the band he co-founded, making the loss all the more jarring for his former bandmates and fans alike.<\/p>\n The band did not stay silent in the immediate aftermath of Hinds\u2019 passing. Mastodon paid tribute to Hinds during a show in Alaska, where Dailor addressed the crowd about their 25-year relationship \u2014 a rare and raw public acknowledgment of the bond they shared, as Wikipedia<\/a> noted. The band also released a statement calling Hinds a \u201ccreative force,\u201d honoring his immeasurable contribution to their sound and legacy.<\/p>\n Now, with \u201cYour Ghost Again,\u201d Mastodon has channeled that grief into music. The song marks the band\u2019s return in 2026 and has been widely framed as a memorial to their late former bandmate, as Louder Sound<\/a> reported. It stands as both a personal reckoning for the surviving members and an open invitation for fans to grieve alongside them \u2014 a bridge between the band\u2019s pain and the community that loved Brent Hinds just as deeply.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Ad](\"https:\/\/rockcelebrities.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rockagent-ad-1.jpg\")
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