Sean Reinert Drum Kit & Gear Setup — Death & Cynic Drummer | MetalForge

Quick Facts: Sean Reinert

Sean Reinert Biography

Sean Reinert (January 23, 1971 – January 24, 2020) was an American drummer widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in extreme metal history. He is best known for his drumming on Death's landmark 1991 album Human, recorded at Morrisound Recording with producer Scott Burns when Reinert was just 20 years old, and on Cynic's Focus (1993), the band he co-founded with guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal in Miami, Florida.

Reinert brought a jazz-trained musical vocabulary into death metal at a moment when the genre was defined almost entirely by blast-beat velocity. His ghost notes, dynamic control, and polymetric phrasing on Human are widely credited as the birth of progressive death metal — proof that extreme metal drumming could be both punishing and genuinely musical. Reinert passed away on January 24, 2020, one day after his 49th birthday, leaving behind a body of work that remains a touchstone for technical and progressive death metal drummers.

Career Highlights

• 1987: Co-founded Cynic in Miami, Florida, with guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal
• 1990: Joined Death, Chuck Schuldiner's pioneering death metal band
• 1991: Recorded Human at Morrisound Recording, widely considered the birth of progressive death metal
• 1993: Released Focus with Cynic, fusing death metal intensity with jazz-fusion complexity
• 1999: Contributed to Gordian Knot's Emergent alongside Sean Malone
• 2006: Reunited with Cynic after a 12-year hiatus
• 2008: Released Traced in Air with Cynic on a DW Collector's Series maple kit
• 2020: Passed away on January 24, 2020, one day after his 49th birthday

Style & Influences

Sean Reinert's drumming style fused jazz-informed technique with death metal power. His approach centered on dynamic extremes, polymetric phrasing, and a ghost-note vocabulary borrowed directly from jazz drumming — elements almost unheard of in death metal before Human. Rather than treating technicality as a display of speed, Reinert used it to serve the compositions he shared with Chuck Schuldiner and Paul Masvidal.

Key Influences:
- Jazz drumming tradition: Classical and jazz training shaped his ghost notes, ride-cymbal phrasing, and dynamic sensitivity
- Weather Report-style fusion: A direct influence on Cynic's Focus and its complex, layered arrangements
- Chuck Schuldiner (Death): Collaborative songwriting that pushed Reinert's musicality within a death metal framework

Signature Techniques:
- Sustained jazz-fusion ride patterns deployed inside blast-beat-tempo death metal, most notably on the K Custom Dry Ride
- Polyrhythmic and polymetric phrasing that broke from standard death metal time-keeping
- Ghost-note-driven dynamic range across songs, rather than constant maximum intensity
- Compositional double bass used as musical phrasing rather than pure speed

Gear Highlights

Sean Reinert played a Tama Artstar II birch shell kit throughout his tenure in Death and on Cynic's Focus, driven by a DW 5000 double pedal. The warm, open birch tone gave his ghost-note-driven, dynamically expansive playing a resonance rarely heard in early-1990s death metal production.

Human/Focus-Era Setup (1991-1993):
- Drums: Tama Artstar II birch, single 22"x16" kick, various toms
- Snare: Tama Artstar II 14"x5.5" birch
- Cymbals: Zildjian A Series (Human) transitioning to darker Zildjian K Series (Focus)
- Hardware: DW 5000 single-chain double pedal
- Sticks: Vic Firth American Classic 5A
- Heads: Remo Ambassador (clear toms, coated snare)

Notable Gear Evolution:
- Switched from Zildjian A to the darker, more complex Zildjian K Series for Cynic's Focus
- Tuned his snare higher and more open on Focus to suit the album's jazz-fusion textures
- Upgraded to a DW Collector's maple shell pack and Zildjian K Custom cymbals for Cynic's 2008 reunion album, Traced in Air
- Maintained a fluid, fusion-informed double-bass technique rather than the brute-force approach common among death metal peers

Frequently Asked Questions

What albums did Sean Reinert play drums on?

Sean Reinert's best-known recordings are Death's Human (1991) and Cynic's Focus (1993), plus Gordian Knot's Emergent (1999) and Cynic's reunion album Traced in Air (2008).

What drum kit did Sean Reinert use on Human?

Sean Reinert played a Tama Artstar II birch shell kit with a 14"x5.5" birch snare, Zildjian A Series cymbals, and a DW 5000 double pedal on Death's Human.

Did Sean Reinert play jazz before death metal?

Yes. Reinert had classical and jazz training that directly shaped his ghost notes, dynamic control, and polyrhythmic phrasing, which he brought into Death and Cynic.

When did Sean Reinert co-found Cynic?

Sean Reinert co-founded Cynic in 1987 with guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal in Miami, Florida, before joining Death in 1990.

When did Sean Reinert die?

Sean Reinert passed away on January 24, 2020, one day after his 49th birthday.

What drum set did Sean Reinert use?

Sean Reinert's Human/Focus-era drum set was a Tama Artstar II birch shell kit — a single 22"x16" kick and various toms — built around a Tama Artstar II 14"x5.5" birch snare. He upgraded to a DW Collector's maple shell pack and Zildjian K Custom cymbals for Cynic's 2008 reunion album, Traced in Air.

What cymbals did Sean Reinert use?

Sean Reinert used Zildjian A Series cymbals on Death's Human (1991), then switched to the darker Zildjian K Series for Cynic's Focus (1993), before upgrading to Zildjian K Custom cymbals for Cynic's 2008 reunion album, Traced in Air.

What snare drum did Sean Reinert use?

Sean Reinert played a Tama Artstar II 14"x5.5" birch snare, tuned higher and more open for Cynic's Focus to suit the album's jazz-fusion textures.

What bass drum pedal did Sean Reinert use?

Sean Reinert used a DW 5000 single-chain double pedal, applying a fluid, fusion-informed double-bass technique rather than the brute-force approach common among his death metal peers.