Mr. Hinds, 51, was found unresponsive late Wednesday after an S.U.V. appeared to slam into the motorcycle he was riding near downtown Atlanta, the authorities said.

"We are heartbroken, shocked and still trying to process the loss of this creative force," the band said in a statement.

Brent Hinds, the former lead guitarist for Mastodon, was killed on Wednesday, August 20, when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle collided with a car in Atlanta at around 11:35 p.m. Police say Hinds was riding his motorcycle when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while making a turn at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Boulevard.