# Spiritual Healing Drum Setup: Sean Reinert's Debut with Death (1990)

> Complete breakdown of Sean Reinert's drum gear on Death's Spiritual Healing (1990). The Pearl Export kit, Zildjian A cymbals, and Pearl P-100P twin pedals behind the album that bridged Chuck Schuldiner's thrash-death roots with the progressive landmark Human.

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** Sean Reinert
**Band / Album:** Death — *Spiritual Healing* (1990)
**Genre:** Death Metal

## Overview

Released on March 19, 1990, Death's *Spiritual Healing* marks the debut of Sean Reinert behind the kit for Chuck Schuldiner's band — and it marks a pivotal transitional moment in the evolution of extreme metal drumming. This is the album where Death began its journey from the raw, grinding attack of *Leprosy* toward the progressive sophistication that would fully emerge on *Human* (1991).

Sean Reinert, then a young drummer from Los Angeles with classical training and a jazz sensibility, brought a technical precision to these sessions that no Death album had heard before. Where previous Death drummers had focused on brute force blast beats and relentless velocity, Reinert's approach introduced polyrhythmic complexity, cleaner double-bass mechanics, and a feel for space that would become the template for progressive death metal.

Recorded at Morris Sound Corporation in Tampa with producer Randy Burns, *Spiritual Healing* sits at the crossroads of Death's creative arc. The songs retain the aggression and heaviness of the early era — tracks like "Living Monstrosity" and "Altering the Future" operate at the brutal tempos Death's audience expected — but Reinert's contributions begin to introduce the musical vocabulary that would define *Human*. Ghost notes appear. Double-bass patterns become more compositionally integrated. The drumming starts to serve the music rather than simply power it.

For gear, Reinert was playing pre-endorsement Pearl in 1990: a Pearl Export series kit, a Pearl Free-Floating snare, and Pearl P-100P twin pedals. The cymbals were Zildjian A series across the board, including 14" New Beat hi-hats that would remain a constant in his playing. These were professional tools — not the high-tier endorsement gear that would follow — but in Reinert's hands they produced the foundation of a revolution.

Sean Reinert passed away on January 24, 2020. *Spiritual Healing* is where his story with Death began.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Pearl Pearl Export Series (Black finish finish)
- **Snare:** Pearl Pearl Free-Floating, 14" x 6.5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — Zildjian A Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Pearl P-100P Twin Pedal; Vic Firth SD9 Short Handle; Remo Ambassador Coated; Remo Powerstroke 3
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (batter), Remo Ambassador Snare Side (resonant)
- **Snare tuning:** Medium tension — attack clarity without sacrificing body for the 6.5" depth

### Pearl Export Series: Pre-Endorsement Precision

For *Spiritual Healing*, Sean Reinert played a Pearl Export series kit — the professional-grade Pearl configuration that preceded the DW endorsement era documented on later recordings. The Pearl Export was a widely respected series in the late 1980s and early 1990s, built around poplar and basswood shells that delivered a direct, present attack without the warm complexity of higher-tier maple construction.

The single bass drum configuration with double pedal was characteristic of Reinert's approach from the start. Unlike many death metal drummers of the era who ran two full bass drums for visual and sonic impact, Reinert's single-kick setup focused the low-end presentation while keeping the kit compact and responsive. His double-bass work on *Spiritual Healing* reflects this philosophy: integrated into musical phrases rather than deployed as continuous texture.

The two rack toms (10" and 12") and two floor toms (14" and 16") gave Reinert a four-tom spread suited to the flowing fill work he was already developing. On tracks like "Altering the Future" and "Spiritual Healing," the tom phrases begin to exhibit the melodic contour awareness that would become unmistakable on *Human* — following harmonic content rather than treating fills as purely rhythmic punctuation.

The Pearl Export's direct, punchy character suited Morris Sound Corporation's recording environment. Randy Burns captured the kit with the close-miking approach standard for Florida death metal production: tight on each shell, controlled room sound, kick focused on attack transient. The result is a drum sound with more presence and definition than Death's earlier records, reflecting both the improved gear and Reinert's superior technical execution.

### Pearl Free-Floating 14×6.5: Crack and Sensitivity

The Pearl Free-Floating snare drum is one of the most distinctive professional snares Pearl produced. The free-suspension design — mounting the shell without direct contact at any lug point — allows the shell to resonate freely, producing a focused, penetrating crack with controlled sustain. For Reinert's playing on *Spiritual Healing*, the 14" x 6.5" depth delivered both the crack needed to cut through Death's dense guitar tunings and the sensitivity for the ghost note work he was beginning to develop.

The extra depth (6.5" versus the more common 5" or 5.5") gave the snare additional body and volume — important for a death metal recording where the snare had to hold its own against distorted guitars. But the free-suspension design kept the attack controlled rather than boomy, preventing the snare from overwhelming the mix.

Randy Burns' recording approach at Morris Sound Corporation captured the Pearl Free-Floating's natural character. The result is a snare sound on *Spiritual Healing* that is more articulate and dynamic than typical death metal recordings of the era — a direct reflection of Reinert's more nuanced technique compared to his predecessors in Death.

### Zildjian A Series: The Pre-Endorsement Standard

Sean Reinert's cymbal setup on *Spiritual Healing* centered on Zildjian's A Series — the industry-standard B20 bronze line that delivered the brightness, attack, and durability that death metal demanded. Before any endorsement relationship, this was simply the best professional cymbal setup available to a working drummer of Reinert's caliber.

The 14" New Beat hi-hats were a constant in Reinert's playing. The New Beat configuration — a heavier bottom hat paired with a lighter top — produces the tight, cutting response essential for fast 16th-note patterns at death metal tempos while allowing musical, complex tones when played open or half-open. On *Spiritual Healing*, the hi-hat work begins to show the jazz-influenced variety that would be unmistakable on *Human*: closed for velocity sections, opened for color, played at the edge for brighter accent tones.

The A Series crashes (16" and 18") gave Reinert tonal variety for accent placement: the 16" for fast, explosive punctuation; the 18" for section boundaries and the larger emotional moments. The 20" A ride provided the versatile platform for both straight-ahead ride patterns and the bell accent work beginning to appear in Reinert's vocabulary.

Zildjian A's B20 alloy construction gave these cymbals the durability to handle death metal playing while maintaining the musical character that Reinert's approach required. They cut through Morris Sound's dense guitar mix without post-processing — a natural advantage of A Series lathing in extreme metal production contexts.

## Key Facts

- Sean Reinert's debut album with Death — fills the arc gap before Human (1991)
- Recorded at Morris Sound Corporation, Tampa with producer Randy Burns
- Pearl Export series kit — pre-endorsement, transitional 1990 gear era
- Bridges Death's thrash-death roots with the progressive direction of Human
- BPM range: 160–220 BPM across blast and groove passages
- First appearance of Reinert's polyrhythmic approach in the Death discography
- Pre-endorsement Pearl Export — transitional gear era before DW relationship
- Single 22" bass drum with double pedal — Reinert's signature configuration from the start
- Four-tom spread (10", 12", 14", 16") for melodic fill vocabulary
- Poplar/basswood shells for direct attack at Morris Sound Corporation
- First major Death album recorded with this level of drum technical precision
- Estimated kit value: $800–1,200 (Pearl Export, 1990)
- Estimated snare value: $350–500 (Pearl Free-Floating, 1990)

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/spiritual-healing-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-25 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*