West End Motel and Matt Pike Honor Mastodon’s Brent Hinds with New Song “Return of the Kid”: Stream
West End Motel, the band co-founded by late Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds, released a collaborative track with High on Fire frontman Matt Pike on August 20th, marking one year since Hinds' fatal motorcycle accident. The song "Return of the Kid" serves as a musical memorial to the deceased musician.
The composition draws inspiration from American rock and soul traditions, layering gospel sensibilities within a rock-based arrangement. Pike's featured guitar solo functioned as a personal tribute to his departed friend, and band vocalist Tom Chesire formally acknowledged the commemorative nature of the release through social media.
- Tribute song released on first anniversary of Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds' death in motorcycle accident
- High on Fire's Matt Pike contributes prominent guitar solo to the memorial track
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West End Motel is the band formed by Brent Hinds, the guitarist best known for his 17 years with the metal group Mastodon, alongside vocalist Tom Chesire. Hinds died in August 2025 in a motorcycle accident, a loss that shook the wider heavy music community given his standing as one of the genre's most distinctive players.
Matt Pike is the frontman of the bands High on Fire and Sleep, both long-running fixtures of the American heavy rock and stoner metal scene, and was known to be close with Hinds. West End Motel has continued to release music since Hinds' death, with surviving members and collaborators using new songs as a way of paying tribute to him.
The wider significance is that this release falls on the anniversary of Hinds' death, positioning it as a memorial marking one year since he passed, rather than a routine single release.