# Brann Dailor vs Sean Reinert — Drum Kit & Gear Comparison | MetalForge > Side-by-side gear comparison between Brann Dailor (Mastodon) and Sean Reinert (Death / Cynic). **Category:** Progressive / Death Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/brann-dailor-vs-sean-reinert Mastodon's Brann Dailor vs Death/Cynic's Sean Reinert. Progressive death metal's melodic composer-drummer versus its jazz-fusion pioneer — two of metal's most musically creative drummers compared head-to-head. --- ## At a Glance | Spec | Brann Dailor | Sean Reinert | |------|-------------|--------------| | Drums | Tama Starclassic Performer B/B | Pearl Reference Maple | | Cymbals | Meinl Byzance Series | Zildjian A Series | | Snare | Tama S.L.P. 14x6.5" G-Maple | Pearl Sensitone 14x5.5" Steel/Brass | | Pedals | Tama Speed Cobra Double Pedal | Tama Iron Cobra Double Pedal | | Sticks | Vater 5B | 5A | --- ## Gear Deep Dive ### Brann Dailor Setup - **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Performer B/B (birch/bubinga) - **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Series (14" Dark Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" Brilliant Heavy Hammered Crashes, 21" Ghost Ride, 18" Extra Dry China) - **Snare:** Tama S.L.P. 14x6.5" G-Maple - **Pedals/Hardware:** Tama Speed Cobra Double Pedal, Tama Iron Cobra Lever Glide Hi-Hat Stand, Tama 1st Chair Ergo-Rider Throne - **Sticks:** Vater 5B Brann Dailor's Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit pairs birch and bubinga shells for a warm, focused attack that complements Mastodon's dense, riff-driven arrangements. His Tama S.L.P. G-Maple snare delivers cutting crack heard across defining albums like "Leviathan," "Blood Mountain," and "Crack the Skye." Meinl Byzance cymbals throughout give his kit a dry, dark voice suited to constant melodic motion, while the Tama Speed Cobra double pedal drives the fluid double bass patterns beneath Mastodon's polyrhythmic guitar layers. ### Sean Reinert Setup - **Drums:** Pearl Reference Maple - **Cymbals:** Zildjian A Series (14" A New Beat Hi-Hats, 16" & 18" A Medium Thin Crashes, 20" A Medium Ride) - **Snare:** Pearl Sensitone 14x5.5" Steel/Brass - **Pedals/Hardware:** Tama Iron Cobra Double Pedal - **Sticks:** 5A Sean Reinert's Pearl Reference maple kit and Zildjian A Series cymbals formed a jazz-crossover setup built for dynamic range rather than raw power — a rig that let him move between brutal death metal intensity and delicate, swing-informed passages within the same song. His 5A sticks and steel/brass snare gave him the articulation and ghost-note control his jazz-fusion background demanded, a combination virtually unheard of in extreme metal before Cynic's "Focus" (1993). --- ## Style & Technique Comparison Brann Dailor has driven Mastodon's progressive sludge metal since 2000, building one of modern metal's most distinctive drum chairs across "Leviathan" (2004), "Blood Mountain" (2006), and "Crack the Skye" (2009) — records where his jazz-informed fills function as a second lead instrument rather than a timekeeping backbone, and where he doubles as the band's co-vocalist. His constant-motion style treats fills as melody: his snare and toms carry musical statements through flowing, non-repetitive patterns that blur the line between drumming and composition. Sean Reinert (1971–2020) brought a different strain of jazz sophistication to extreme metal a decade earlier, recording Death's "Human" (1991) and Cynic's "Focus" (1993) — albums that introduced jazz-fusion harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary into death metal at a moment when the genre was still defined almost entirely by raw brutality. His technique was rooted in formal jazz training — traditional grip, ghost-note vocabulary, and dynamic sensitivity let him navigate between brutal intensity and delicate, swing-informed passages within the same song. --- ## Key Differences Brann Dailor's Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit with Meinl Byzance cymbals is voiced for a warm, dark, dry tone that supports Mastodon's dense riffing while still cutting through for melodic fills. Sean Reinert's Pearl Reference kit with Zildjian A Series cymbals was voiced for brightness and articulation — the kind of clarity jazz playing demands, adapted to death metal's extremity. Both players share a Tama connection in their pedal choice (Dailor's Speed Cobra, Reinert's Iron Cobra), but their overall setups reflect different eras and priorities: Dailor's rig is built for a still-active, decades-long touring career, while Reinert's setup was calibrated for the specific dynamic range his groundbreaking studio work with Death and Cynic required. --- ## Influence & Legacy Brann Dailor helped define progressive sludge metal and influenced a generation of drummers who treat fills as melodic statements, with Mastodon's catalog from "Remission" through "Emperor of Sand" standing as one of modern metal's most compositionally distinctive drumming bodies of work. Sean Reinert's work on "Human" and "Focus" essentially invented technical death metal's creative possibility space, proving jazz vocabulary and extreme intensity were not mutually exclusive — a foundation that Cynic, Atheist, Necrophagist, and three subsequent decades of progressive death metal built upon. His death in January 2020 prompted an outpouring from the metal community underscoring how foundational his contribution was. --- ## Verdict Brann Dailor and Sean Reinert represent two eras of the same idea: that death metal's most extreme foundations can carry genuine musicality without losing their weight. Dailor built a career-long, still-active body of work where drumming, songwriting, and vocals fuse into a single melodic instrument. Reinert planted that idea a decade earlier in just two towering records — "Human" and "Focus" — before his catalog closed for good in 2020. Both are cited whenever the conversation turns to metal's most musically creative drummers. --- ## FAQ **Q: Who are metal's most musically creative drummers, Brann Dailor or Sean Reinert?** A: Both are routinely cited in "most musically creative metal drummer" discussions. Brann Dailor (Mastodon) built a career-spanning catalog of melodic, jazz-informed fills across "Leviathan," "Blood Mountain," and "Crack the Skye" while also serving as co-vocalist. Sean Reinert (Death, Cynic) pioneered jazz-fusion vocabulary in death metal a decade earlier on "Human" (1991) and "Focus" (1993), works still considered genre-defining. **Q: What gear does Brann Dailor use vs Sean Reinert?** A: Brann Dailor plays a Tama Starclassic Performer B/B kit with a Tama S.L.P. G-Maple snare, Meinl Byzance Series cymbals, a Tama Speed Cobra double pedal, and Vater 5B sticks. Sean Reinert played a Pearl Reference maple kit with a Pearl Sensitone snare, Zildjian A Series cymbals, a Tama Iron Cobra double pedal, and 5A sticks. **Q: What albums are Brann Dailor and Sean Reinert best known for?** A: Brann Dailor is best known for Mastodon's "Leviathan" (2004), "Blood Mountain" (2006), and "Crack the Skye" (2009). Sean Reinert is best known for Death's "Human" (1991) and Cynic's "Focus" (1993) — two albums widely credited with founding technical death metal's jazz-fusion wing. --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/brann-dailor-vs-sean-reinert](https://metalforge.io/vs/brann-dailor-vs-sean-reinert)* *[Brann Dailor drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/brann-dailor)* *[Sean Reinert drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/sean-reinert)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-02 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*