Mastodon Fight System Of A Down

More details have been revealed about the beating suffered by Mastodon singer/guitarist Brent Hinds following the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sept. 10, and the frontman apparently wasn't blameless in the incident.

According to a police report based on firsthand accounts and security video footage, an inebriated Hinds was leaving the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino around 3 a.m. when he encountered System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and musician William Hudson. Police say that Hinds took off his shirt and hit Odadjian with it, then struck Hudson in the face and chest, prompting Odadjian to tell him "to relax" several times.

The report says that the two men then punched Hinds in the face and knocked him to the ground. An unidentified friend of Hinds who witnessed the event rushed to his aid and apologized to the pair for his pal's drunken behaviour. Hinds was taken to University Medical Center's intensive care unit with brain hemorrhaging, a broken nose and two black eyes. He was released from hospital last Friday and is expected to make a full recovery.

Odadjian and Hudson were questioned by police at the scene. No charges have been laid, but the police report lists Hudson as a suspect who faces a possible charge of "battery with substantial bodily harm." Odadjian was cited as a witness.

None of the three men have commented on the incident, but the police report states that the trouble apparently started after Hinds began drunkenly "annoying" the other two inside the Palms Casino Resort after the awards show.