When Brent Hinds left Mastodon on March 7, 2025, fans wanted to know one thing: what happened? Bill Kelliher recently offered a few hints, telling GW that “it was time” and the relationship had run its course.
Since the band played a set in the Dominican Republic two days later, fans have wanted to know another thing: will fill-in guitarist and esteemed YouTuber Ben Eller be Hinds’ permanent replacement?
Eller isn’t at liberty to confirm or deny, saying: “It would be an immense honor to tour with the band… we’ll have to wait and see.”
After learning an entire set of hyper-complex Hinds solos and riffs in a short span, it stands to reason that Eller, at the very least, will be with Mastodon when they hit the road with Coheed and Cambria in May.
Of being thrown into the fray, Eller says: “Bill hit me up and asked if I would be good to learn a 17-song set quickly and sub on a gig, and I was happy to take on the challenge.
“This experience has meant the world to me. I’m so grateful to Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor and Bill for trusting me to play the music, and to the fans for their positivity and kindness.”
How did you first meet the guys in Mastodon?
“I became a massive fan when I saw the video for March of the Fire Ants 20-something years ago. I started learning as much of their material as I could, just for fun. Some of my first YouTube videos were covers of their tunes. There were zero accurate tabs for Mastodon songs online; I was trying to help people learn their stuff the right way.”
Bill told GW that you guys kept in touch over social media.
“A couple of years ago, he emailed to say how much he enjoyed my channel, and the Stuff Mastodon Does video I made. We've stayed in touch ever since. He's as much of a gear nut and riff-chaser as I am; we’re constantly sending each other bands, pedals, amps and stuff to check out.”
Given the situation’s sensitivity, were you initially hesitant to take the Mastodon gig?
“I went into this looking at it as one of the coolest things I could ever get to be a part of – but also knowing that the backlash could be brutal, especially given how important Brent has been for the history of the band.
“I was absolutely unprepared for the level of positivity and kindness I received from the fans after the gig. I cannot believe how accepting and wonderful they’ve been. it’s overwhelming!”
If I wasn’t practicing the songs, I was listening to them nonstop
Did you feel confident that you could do it?
“I felt like I could handle it. I’ve been swimming in their music for so long now that it just makes sense to me at this point. Brent is one of my favorite players ever so it all felt very natural.
“I wouldn’t say I tried to play most of his solos note-for-note, album-perfect; but I aimed to hit the signature licks in each one, and tried to put my spin on the rest in a way that suited the songs. My voice doesn’t sound anything like Brent’s, but I was excited to add vocal harmonies as much as I could.”
Once you decided to do it, what was the preparation process like?
“Several days of insanely intense listening, transcribing and practicing! If I wasn’t practicing the songs, I was listening to them nonstop. My process is to to play along with the song, and if I make a mistake, I start over. By the time I make it all the way through the song, I’ve played it through a dozen times.
“It’s a method that really locks tunes into my brain. I mainly use my ears, but I also looked at live videos of the band to help me figure out parts. And, of course, I was blowing Bill’s phone up! Given the density of their material, there were a lot of questions about who was playing what and all that. He was a big help.”
Which songs proved to be the toughest to master?
“Megalodon is an absolute obstacle-course of techniques – hybrid picking, aggressive metal riffage, crazy chicken-pickin’ breakdown, the double picking... it’s got it all. I tell people: ‘If you want to learn one song that will teach you everything you need to know about Mastodon, it's that one.’
“I frequently play it for fun, though, so it didn’t take too much polishing. There were a lot of songs in the setlist that I’d never learned, though, like Ghost of Karelia from Crack the Skye. That one proved to be a challenge; it’s got tons of odd time signatures, weird structure and a lot of backup harmony vocals.”
What does your rig look like for the shows?
“I brought along three guitars, one for each of the tunings we were using. They were all strung up with the same custom gauge sets Dunlop made for me (10-13-17-30-42-56), so they could be used in any of the tunings in case of a string breaking.
“I used my Dunable USA Minotaur for the D standard songs, my Dunable USA Cyclops for the drop C stuff, and my Suhr Alt T for the low A tuning they use. I use Dunlop TIII .88 picks. I kept the effects pretty simple with my Dunlop wah pedal, Boss tuner, AllPedal Love Machine fuzz, Horizon Precision Drive, and MXR/EVH Phase 90.
Bill, Troy, and I were rocking it at the front… I took a step back and went ass-over-teakettle!
“I had the incredible Fractal Audio VP4 in the loop for my noise gate and delay. That thing rules – it’s the core of all my boards. Like Bill, I love Friedman amps. My old BE-100 is my favorite one ever, but it happened to be in the shop getting re-tubed, so Bill loaned me his.
“That was all running through backline Marshall 412s. A real MVP was my guitar case by Quantum – that thing kept all three guitars mint as they were being shipped via cargo. Not a scratch on them.”
Did the show go as planned?
“The show was a blast! The energy from the band and the crowd was incredible. You’ve gotta be prepared to be surprised, though. We were all having some trouble with interference affecting our in-ear monitors – but the show must go on, even if you can’t hear anything!
“I took a spill during Spectrelight, which was pretty hilarious. Bill, Troy, and I were rocking it at the front of the stage, and I took a step back, only to clip my heel on a monitor wedge. I went ass-over-teakettle!
“I’ll never forget the sight of my boots in the air against the clear night sky! But what can you do? Make a joke of it before anyone else can spring up, give a thumbs up, and keep going with a busted ass.”
What can you say about what the future holds?
“I’m thrilled to track my first solo album this year. I wrote most of the material last year and I can’t wait to share it. And, of course, I’ll be cranking out more videos on my YouTube channel, keeping up with my Patreon community, and melting faces wherever I can find them.”
- For more from Eller, head to YouTube.
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