When news broke yesterday about ex- Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds’ untimely death in a motorcycle accident at age 51, the first source most of us in the metal media relied upon was Atlanta News First. Their account of what happened fueled the rest of the day’s coverage, which goes to show the importance of local news in today’s day and age.

ATLANTA — The former lead guitarist of the Atlanta-based heavy metal band Mastodon was killed in a motorcycle crash on Wednesday night. The Fulton County medical examiner identifies the man who died as 51-year-old William Brent Hinds. He co-founded the band in 2000 and was a member of the band until March of this year when they parted ways.