Brent Hinds’s tattoos were a visible part of his public image as a guitarist in Mastodon. The best-documented design is the geometric tattoo across his forehead and temple. Concert and portrait photos also show extensive ink on his neck, arms and hands. Reporting gives some context for the face tattoo; most of the smaller designs remain unidentified.
Brent Hinds’s geometric forehead tattoo
A black geometric pattern crosses Hinds’s upper forehead and continues toward his temple. Pointed bands, short vertical marks and small dots follow the hairline, with part of the design running beside his eye. Close portraits from Kerrang and Loudwire show those details more clearly than the concert photos.
The layered forearm tattoos in performance
MusicRadar and Resurrection Fest photos show layered colour and blackwork across Hinds’s forearms, with dense outlines and shaded shapes running from near the wrist toward the elbow. The designs appear as separate pieces built up over time rather than one uniform block. A guitar and stage lighting obscure parts of the arm in some frames, and the images do not identify every small figure or symbol.
The forearm work is more varied and crowded than the mostly black geometry on his face. Photos show the contrast in style, but they aren’t a reliable guide to the meaning of each mark.
The forehead, neck and arm placement
A wider MusicRadar photo shows the tattoo positions together: the forehead design above his eyes, darker marks below his beard along the side of his neck, and more extensive work on his arm. The neck ink continues toward the collar, while the arm coverage reaches toward the wrist. The sources do not give the neck markings a specific meaning, so their placement is the clearest detail available.
The tattoos across the head, hand and forearm
An Expresso concert photo catches Hinds playing a yellow guitar. It shows the forehead tattoo, small dark marks near his fingers and a shaded composition on his forearm. The hand marks look like short lines and compact shapes, but the image does not establish their names or meanings.
The Polynesian-style headdress tattoo
Loudwire describes the forehead design as a Polynesian-style headdress tattoo. Its feature says Hinds grew up around tattooed people in New Zealand and reports that his mother approved the facial tattoo. It also notes the questions that came with a design so difficult to conceal. These are the details the source connects to the tattoo; it does not assign a separate meaning to each shape.
Why the photographs matter
The photos offer different views rather than a complete catalogue. Close portraits show the face design, while performance frames reveal more of the arm, neck and hand. A guitar, shadows and stage lighting hide some details, so the visible collection changes from one image to the next.
What the interviews establish
Loudwire gives the direct description and personal context for the forehead tattoo; the concert and portrait photos document where the other ink appears but do not identify those designs.