Lack of Comprehension Polyrhythm — Sean Reinert (Death) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Lack of Comprehension Polyrhythm drum lick by Sean Reinert of Death. From Lack of Comprehension (Human (1991)). Lack of Comprehension from Death's Human (1991) is one of the most technically and intellectually so...
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1. Sean Reinert's Signature Licks — Lack of Comprehension from Death's Human (1991) is one of the most technically and intellectually sophisticated drum performances in the history of extreme metal, and it stands as the definitive showcase for Sean Reinert's unique synthesis of jazz drumming concepts and technical death metal aggression. Reinert came from a jazz background before joining Death, having absorbed harmonic and rhythmic ideas from jazz in a way that few extreme metal drummers of his generation had done, and on Human he brought that sensibility directly into contact with Chuck Schuldiner's increasingly progressive compositional language. Lack of Comprehension features a central polyrhythmic pattern where a 6/4 pulse is superimposed over the underlying 4/4 groove, creating a rhythmic displacement that takes several listens to fully parse even for experienced drummers. This kind of metric modulation and polyrhythmic layering was genuinely unprecedented in extreme metal when Human was released in 1991, and it remains one of the most intellectually rigorous drum performances the genre has produced in the decades since. What distinguishes Reinert's execution is the completeness with which he maintains both rhythmic layers simultaneously. Less accomplished players who attempt polyrhythmic passages often lose one of the rhythmic strands under the pressure of performance, allowing one layer to drift or collapse into the other. Reinert holds both with the assurance of a musician who has deeply internalised the material to the point where it no longer requires conscious monitoring. The jazz inflection in his playing is apparent throughout the passage — in the way he voices ghost notes, in the dynamic shaping of the polyrhythmic interaction, and in the overall sense that this is a musician making a compositional statement rather than executing a technical exercise. For drummers, learning this pattern is one of the most intellectually demanding and rewarding exercises in extreme metal. It requires developing genuine polyrhythmic awareness — not just the physical ability to play two rhythms simultaneously but the conceptual understanding to hear and feel both layers as integrated parts of a single musical statement. It is Sean Reinert's definitive contribution to the technical death metal drumming vocabulary.2. Sean Reinert Profile — Superimpose a 6/4 pulse over the underlying 4/4 groove and maintain both layers independently Apply ghost note voicing from jazz drumming tradition to add depth between primary strokes Shape the dynamic contour of the polyrhythmic passage as a musical phrase with arrival points Maintain internal pulse stability when surface rhythmic emphasis shifts between layers Resolve polyrhythmic passages cleanly back into the primary 4/4 groove without dragging
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