Latest news with #GhostofKarelia
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mastodon recruit YouTuber for first show following Brent Hinds' shock departure
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Mastodon shocked the guitar world last week when the progressive metal heavyweights announced that founding guitarist Brent Hinds had left the band. Now the story has taken a fresh turn: the band recruited well-respected YouTube guitarist Ben Eller for their set at the 'Tool in the Sand' festival over the weekend (March 9). The news of a mutual parting of ways after 25 years came on the eve of the event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with the group reassuring fans that 'all 2025 touring plans will remain intact' despite Hinds' departure. Considering how important dual guitar parts are to Mastodon's thick, sludgy sound, questions were raised about whether Bill Kelliher would go it alone for the upcoming shows, or if a replacement was lying in the wings. It turns out Eller was drafted in for the job, with video footage from the event showing him professionally weave through the band's twisting guitar parts. It seems there was at least a little coordination involved from the Mastodon camp, seeing as Hinds' departure was announced just before the show. That apparently gave enough time for Eller to be sworn in, but the timeline seems a tight one. 'Can you learn 17 Mastodon songs immediately?' bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders had told the crowd of Eller's involvement mid-set; clearly, he didn't have any time to lose. The band opened with Pain With an Anchor, with classics like Megalodon, Ghost of Karelia, and Blood & Thunder later featuring. A little mystery still lingers around the Mastodon camp and, surprisingly, at the time of writing, Eller's social channels are suspiciously quiet. So, is Eller a stand-in or Hinds' permanent successor? Mastodon are due to hit the road with Periphery and Coheed & Cambria in May and will also feature at Black Sabbath's blockbuster farewell show this summer. We likely won't have to wait long to find out. Eller is perhaps best known for his 'This is Why you Suck at Guitar' video series. Like so many metal guitar players, he first first fell in love with Metallica, before discovering guitar virtuosos à la Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Eddie Van Halen. He has over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. Several of his videos have seen him deep-dive into Mastodon's guitar work and what makes it so brilliant. He previously stated that the band's tectonic plate-shaking Leviathan record 'instantly became one of my favorite records of all time' when he first heard it in 2004. As such, his intimate knowledge of the band's material and the dizzying array of nuances therein has made him a shrewd choice, if only in the short term. 'We're deeply proud of and beyond grateful for the music and history we've shared and we wish [Brent Hinds] nothing but success and happiness in his future endeavors,' Mastodon's statement read. 'We are still very inspired and excited to show up for fans in this next chapter of Mastodon.' Speaking to Guitar World last year, Kelliher discussed how his and Hinds' playing styles oppose one another. Often across the band's history, that's proven to be a winner – Kelliher's precision playing and Hinds' more erratic, country-inspired stylings bring a lot of flavor to the band's collective broth. 'We're opposite sometimes,' he admitted. 'When I write songs, I'll spend months piecing them together, whereas Brent says, 'Let's jam and write whatever on the spot in the studio.' 'That sometimes works for me, but I generally want to be organized and try out every possible avenue of where the songs can go.'
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mastodon Recruit YouTube Guitarist Ben Eller for Tool Festival Set: Watch
The post Mastodon Recruit YouTube Guitarist Ben Eller for Tool Festival Set: Watch appeared first on Consequence. Mastodon tapped YouTuber and session guitarist Ben Eller to take over for founding member Brent Hinds during the band's set on Sunday (March 9th) at Tool's destination festival Tool in the Sand in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Eller appeared to step in on short notice after Mastodon announced that Hinds, the band's guitarist and co-vocalist for 25 years, was exiting the band on Friday. Get Mastodon Tickets Here For his first Mastodon set, Eller was tasked with the tall order of holding down Hinds' parts — including vocals — for a massive, career-spanning 17-song setlist. That included a handful of songs were played for the first time in five years or more ('Ember City,' 'Ghost of Karelia,' 'The Motherload,' etc.). Eller, who has more than a half-million YouTube subscribers, is already well-versed in Mastodon's material, with videos like 'Stuff Mastodon Does' (nearly 1 million views) and the more recent 'What I Learned from Mastodon.' That said, his performance was pretty impressive, considering the long set and a few deep cuts. Eller also displays his skills on his YouTube channel via his long-running guitar lesson series 'This Is Why You Suck at Guitar.' Additionally, he has provided session work for bands like Whitechapel, and he has performed with other acts such as the hair metal tribute Skankbanger and the Southern blues-rock outfit the Kennedy Wood Band. While no official announcement has been made, it appears that Eller could very well take over as Mastodon's touring guitarist for the time being, as the band has an extensive 2025 itinerary on the books. The veteran metal act's co-headlining tour with Coheed and Cambria kicks off in May, followed by a pair of UK dates supporting Slayer in July. Get tickets here. You can see audience footage of Eller performing with Mastodon below. Setlist: Pain With an Anchor Crystal Skull Black Tongue I Am Ahab Megalodon Ember City Tread Lightly Ghost of Karelia The Motherload The Crux Pushing the Tides More Than I Could Chew All the Heavy Lifting Spectrelight Mother Puncher Steambreather Blood and Thunder Mastodon Recruit YouTube Guitarist Ben Eller for Tool Festival Set: Watch Jon Hadusek Popular Posts Tool Apparently Booed for Disappointing Set at Their Own Festival Jon Stewart Calls Out Elon Musk for Flaking on The Daily Show Interview Faster Pussycat Singer's Fiancée Dies After Falling Overboard on '80s Cruise That Band Was Playing Dead Kennedys Legend Jello Biafra Joins Cavalera Onstage for "Nazi Trumps F**k Off": Watch Gene Hackman and Wife's Causes of Death Revealed Monty Python and the Holy Grail Returning to Theaters for 50th Anniversary Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
