ATLANTA — The former lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Mastodon has died.

Brent Hinds was 51 years old.

Hinds died late Aug. 20 in Atlanta in a motorcycle crash, WSB reported.

An SUV ran into his Harley Davidson, killing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene, The New York Times reported.

Police said that the woman driving the SUV failed to yield while turning left, according to the newspaper. An investigation is being conducted.

The band released a statement on Instagram, which read in part, “We are heartbroken, shocked, and still trying to process the loss of this creative force with whom we’ve shared so many triumphs, milestones, and the creation of music that has touched the hearts of so many.”

Mastodon was formed in Atlanta in 2000 and was influenced by Metallica and Slayer, according to the Times. Rolling Stone called the band “America’s new kings of metal” less than a decade after Mastodon’s inception.

They then influenced bands such as Baroness and Pallbearer, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Mastodon’s other guitarist, Bill Kelliher said the band was much more than the metal label.

“We’re not really a metal band,” he told the Los Angeles newspaper in 2017. “I feel we’re more like a really heavy, groovy rock band with some prog elements and some pretty deep emotional lyrics. They’re loosely based on tragedy and things that really shake up human beings in real life.”

Their one album, “Leviathan,” was based on the classic “Moby Dick,” The New York Times reported.

He called the album, during a 2006 interview, that it was “the struggle between man and music,” and compared the struggles of a band’s tour to a sailor’s sea journey.

While being one of the founders, Hinds left in March, after the band said they “mutually decided to part ways.” He said he was kicked out.

Hinds was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1974 and leaves behind his parents. His brother died in 2010, according to The New York Times.

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