The GRAMMMY Awards continued their unfortunate long history of overlooking departed metal and hard rock musicians during their annual in memoriam segment at yesterday’s (February 01st) awards show. While the late Ozzy Osbourne got an all-star tribute from Post Malone, Slash, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith and Andrew Watt, other corners of the metal landscape were woefully underrepresented.

Departed rock, etc. legends, including ex-KISS guitarist Ace Frehley and more, were displayed on the screen amid the tribute performances staged for the in memoriam segment. However, Mastodon fans have since noted the glaring absence of the band’s late vocalist/guitarist Brent Hinds.

Hinds tragically passed away last August at the age of 51 as the result of a motorcycle accident. His death was another gut punch in an already painful 2025 for metalheads, occurring just weeks after losing Ozzy Osbourne. Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez was among those to call out the GRAMMYS publicly for omitting the late sludge metal star during last night’s broadcast. Taking to his Instagram (see below), Inez offered:

“BIG party foul Grammys for forgetting the MIGHTY Brent Hinds in the In Memoriam. #mastodon”

Hinds‘ former Mastodon bandmate Brann Dailor commented directly on Inez‘s post with 4 fire emojis. Exodus/Slayer guitarist Gary Holt also chimed in, adding “LAME”, while Peal Aday, daughter of late rock & roll legend Meatloaf, added, “They also failed to acknowledge my father the year he passed.”

While the prolonged camera cuts focused on performers during the in memoriam segment did leave room for a possible mention of Hinds on the screen, it would appear that if he was honored, it didn’t make it to the televised broadcast.

Hinds‘ absence from the in memoriam segment feels particularly egregious considering that Mastodon themselves garnered 6 GRAMMY nominations during their career, even taking home the ‘Best Metal Performance’ award in 2022 for their track “Pushing The Tides“. Interestingly, Hinds‘ passing is noted on The Recording Academy’s in memoriam database, albeit with an questionable profile picture choice.

Hinds being overlooked is the latest in a long line of metal and hard rock legends who have previously been snubbed during the in memoriam segment over the years. Other notable metal luminaries to have not been recognized during the segment in the past include:

Vinnie Paul (Pantera/HELLYEAH)
Jeff Hanneman (Slayer)
Joey Jordison (VIMIC, ex-Slipknot, etc.)
Wayne Static (Static-X)
Nick Menza (Megadeth)
Oli Herbert (All That Remains)
Oderus Urungus (aka Dave Brockie) (GWAR)