Flattening of Emotions Main Beat — Sean Reinert (Death) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Flattening of Emotions Main Beat drum lick by Sean Reinert of Death. From Flattening of Emotions (Human (1991)). Flattening of Emotions is the closing track of Death's Human (1991), and in many ways it serves as t...
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1. Sean Reinert's Signature Licks — Flattening of Emotions is the closing track of Death's Human (1991), and in many ways it serves as the album's most accessible and foundational drum showcase — the piece where Sean Reinert's technical vocabulary is applied with the greatest economy and directness, producing a mid-paced beat that is simultaneously more approachable than the album's most complex moments yet entirely distinctive in its execution, feel, and musical intelligence. For drummers coming to Reinert's playing for the first time, this is the ideal entry point: the reduced tempo creates space to hear the details of his technique without the velocity of harder tracks compressing everything into a blur. The main beat is built on a solid 4/4 foundation that would be recognisable to any rock or metal drummer, but Reinert's execution transforms it into something that reflects his jazz formation at every level. His snare hits carry a rounded, musical quality — there is dynamic shaping within each stroke, a slight attack-bloom-decay that reflects conscious control rather than the flat, uniform crack of a purely mechanical approach. The relationship between kick, snare, and hi-hat has the conversational character of jazz drumming — each element is actively listening to the others and responding, rather than playing its assigned part in isolation. Ghost notes appear throughout, adding textural depth between the main backbeats in a way that makes the groove feel fuller and more alive than its surface simplicity might suggest. Fills are deployed with restraint and musical precision — they arrive at structurally meaningful points, they develop and resolve logically, and they return the groove without disruption. This is what separates a good technical drummer from a great one, and Flattening of Emotions is where that distinction is most audible in Reinert's playing. For drummers at the intermediate level, this beat is both the most accessible entry into Reinert's style and one of the most musically rewarding: a demonstration that technical mastery applied in service of a song is always more valuable than technical mastery as an end in itself. A foundational piece for understanding what jazz-informed death metal drumming sounds like when done with complete artistic integrity.2. Sean Reinert Profile — Apply dynamic shaping within individual snare strokes — attack, sustain, and decay as a musical phrase Place ghost notes between primary backbeats to add textural depth at a moderate tempo Deploy fills at structurally meaningful points in the arrangement — not decorative but compositional Maintain the conversational relationship between kick, snare, and hi-hat through active listening Resolve fills cleanly back into the primary groove without disrupting the tempo or feel
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