# Sean Reinert vs Hannes Grossmann — Q&A Comparison | MetalForge > Structured Q&A: Sean Reinert (Death, Cynic) vs Hannes Grossmann (Necrophagist, Obscura). Technical death metal's founding jazz-fusion pioneer versus its modern compositionally precise master. **Category:** Extreme / Death / Black Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/sean-reinert-vs-hannes-grossmann --- **Q: Who is Sean Reinert?** A: Sean Reinert (1971–2020) is widely regarded as one of the founding architects of technical death metal drumming. He recorded Death's landmark album "Human" (1991) and was a founding member of Cynic, recording "Focus" (1993) and later "Traced in Air" (2008). His jazz-informed approach introduced dynamic nuance and polymetric phrasing to death metal at a moment when the genre was still consolidating around raw speed and brutality. **Q: Who is Hannes Grossmann?** A: Hannes Grossmann (born 1982, Freising, Germany) is a German drummer, composer, and producer known for his work with Necrophagist, Obscura, Alkaloid, and Blotted Science. Classically trained in percussion, he recorded Necrophagist's "Epitaph" (2004) and Obscura's "Cosmogenesis" (2009) and "Omnivium" (2011) — recordings widely considered benchmarks of modern technical death metal. **Q: What is the main stylistic difference between Sean Reinert and Hannes Grossmann?** A: Sean Reinert's style channels jazz-fusion vocabulary into death metal — traditional grip ghost notes, dynamic range, and polymetric phrasing that let him move between brutal intensity and jazz-informed delicacy within the same passage. Hannes Grossmann's style channels classical percussion training into death metal — open-handed technique and mathematically architected polyrhythms that treat drum patterns as compositional structures rather than pure technical display. **Q: Who founded technical death metal drumming?** A: Sean Reinert is widely credited as one of the founding architects of technical death metal drumming, through his work on Death's "Human" (1991) and Cynic's "Focus" (1993). These recordings introduced dynamic nuance and jazz-informed phrasing to a genre previously focused on raw speed, opening the creative direction the entire tech-death scene later explored. **Q: What albums did Hannes Grossmann play on with Necrophagist and Obscura?** A: Hannes Grossmann recorded Necrophagist's "Epitaph" (2004), widely considered one of the most technically demanding death metal albums ever made. With Obscura, he recorded "Cosmogenesis" (2009) and "Omnivium" (2011), both landmark modern technical death metal releases showcasing his classically influenced, open-handed drumming. **Q: What gear did Sean Reinert use?** A: Sean Reinert played a Pearl Reference maple drum kit with a Pearl Sensitone 14x5.5" steel/brass snare and Zildjian A Series cymbals (14" A New Beat Hi-Hats, 16" & 18" A Medium Thin Crashes, 20" A Medium Ride), driven by Tama Iron Cobra double pedals and 5A sticks — a jazz-crossover setup built for dynamic range. **Q: What gear does Hannes Grossmann use?** A: Hannes Grossmann plays a DW Collectors Series kit with a DW Collectors 14x5.5" Maple snare and Meinl Byzance Series cymbals (14" Byzance Traditional Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" Byzance Brilliant Crashes, 21" Byzance Traditional Ride), driven by a DW 9000 Series double pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5B sticks. **Q: Did Sean Reinert play on Cynic's Focus?** A: Yes — Sean Reinert was the drummer on Cynic's debut album "Focus" (1993), widely regarded as a landmark jazz-death fusion recording. He was a founding member of Cynic and returned for the band's comeback album "Traced in Air" (2008), continuing the jazz-metal fusion he pioneered on "Human" and the original "Focus" sessions. **Q: What is Hannes Grossmann's open-handed technique?** A: Grossmann is known for playing open-handed — leading with his left hand on the hi-hat or ride while his right hand plays snare, rather than crossing hands in the traditional matched-grip configuration. This unlocks voicings and independent limb combinations that crossed-hands technique cannot achieve, and is audible throughout his work with Obscura and Alkaloid. **Q: What is the verdict — Sean Reinert vs Hannes Grossmann?** A: Sean Reinert and Hannes Grossmann represent technical death metal's two defining eras. Reinert is the genre's founding architect — his jazz-informed work on "Human" and "Focus" in the early 1990s invented the vocabulary technical death metal still speaks today. Grossmann is the modern master who built on that foundation — his classically trained, open-handed precision on "Epitaph," "Cosmogenesis," and "Omnivium" pushed the genre's compositional and technical ceiling to new heights. Together they bookend the "best tech death drummers" debate: Reinert the pioneer, Grossmann the virtuoso. --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/sean-reinert-vs-hannes-grossmann](https://metalforge.io/vs/sean-reinert-vs-hannes-grossmann)* *[Sean Reinert drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/sean-reinert)* *[Hannes Grossmann drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hannes-grossmann)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*