Cynic Focus Drum Setup: Sean Reinert's 1993 Progressive Death Metal Gear | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

What drum kit did Sean Reinert use on Cynic's Focus in 1993?

Sean Reinert recorded Cynic's Focus in 1993 using a Tama Artstar II kit with birch shells — the same series he had used on Death's Human two years earlier. His configuration included a single 22" x 16" bass drum with a double pedal, 10", 12", and 13" rack toms, and a 16" floor tom. What made the Focus setup unique was the addition of electronic trigger pads integrated with the acoustic kit, feeding synthesizer modules to create the layered electronic textures that define the album's sound. This blend of acoustic and electronic drums was unprecedented in extreme metal.

What cymbals did Sean Reinert use on Cynic's Focus?

Sean Reinert used a Zildjian A and K Series cymbal setup on Cynic's Focus, carrying forward the same palette from his Death Human sessions. His setup included Zildjian A 14" New Beat Hi-Hats, A Series 16" and 18" crashes, a Zildjian K 20" Custom Dry Ride (central to his jazz-fusion ride vocabulary), a 16" China for aggressive accents, and a 10" Splash for jazz-vocabulary quick accents. The K Custom Dry Ride was the cornerstone of his sound, its dry, articulate character allowing the jazz ride patterns on tracks like Veil of Maya and Sentiment to speak clearly above the mix.

How did Sean Reinert's drumming on Focus differ from his work on Death's Human?

On Death's Human (1991), Reinert introduced jazz vocabulary into death metal — ghost notes, ride cymbal work, dynamic shading — but always within the framework of death metal song structures and Chuck Schuldiner's compositional vision. On Cynic's Focus (1993), the jazz and death metal elements were fully equal partners, with no genre hierarchy constraining Reinert's approach. Additionally, Focus introduced electronic trigger pads blended with the acoustic kit — an element absent from Human — creating the synthesizer textures that give Focus its futuristic sonic identity. Reinert had complete creative freedom on Focus in a way that the Death sessions, however groundbreaking, did not allow.

Who produced Cynic's Focus and where was it recorded?

Cynic's Focus (1993) was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, with producer Scott Burns — the same studio and producer who had captured Death's Human in 1991. Scott Burns was the defining engineer of Florida death metal, having recorded Deicide, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and numerous other Morrisound classics. For Focus, Burns extended his approach to accommodate Reinert's electronic trigger integration and the album's jazz-fusion hybrid character, producing a drum sound unlike anything else in his catalog.