Sean Reinert vs Martin Lopez — Drum Gear Comparison | MetalForge
Side-by-side gear: Sean Reinert (Death / Cynic) vs Martin Lopez (Soen / ex-Opeth). Kits, cymbals, pedals, sticks — compare specs and prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit does Sean Reinert use?
Sean Reinert uses Tama Artstar II with Zildjian A/K Series (14" A Quick Beat Hi-Hats, 16" & 18" A Crashes, 20" K Custom Dry Ride, 16" China, 10" A Splash). Sean Reinert endorsed DW Collector's Series drums and Zildjian K Custom cymbals, with Vic Firth American Classic 5A sticks and a DW 9000 Double Pedal — a setup that emphasized articulation and dynamic range suited to his jazz-influenced playing context. Martin Lopez played a Sonor Designer Series maple kit through his Opeth tenure (1997-2006), a setup that could handle both the band's delicate acoustic passages and their most brutal death metal moments, before switching to a Noble & Cooley Walnut shell pack with Zildjian cymbals in his current band Soen (since 2010) — a remarkable tonal range demand that few drummers in any genre face.
What drum kit does Martin Lopez use?
Martin Lopez uses Noble & Cooley Walnut with Zildjian K Dark Series (14" K Dark Thin Hi-Hats, 18" & 20" K Dark Medium Thin Crashes, 22" K Dark Light Ride, 18" K China). Sean Reinert endorsed DW Collector's Series drums and Zildjian K Custom cymbals, with Vic Firth American Classic 5A sticks and a DW 9000 Double Pedal — a setup that emphasized articulation and dynamic range suited to his jazz-influenced playing context. Martin Lopez played a Sonor Designer Series maple kit through his Opeth tenure (1997-2006), a setup that could handle both the band's delicate acoustic passages and their most brutal death metal moments, before switching to a Noble & Cooley Walnut shell pack with Zildjian cymbals in his current band Soen (since 2010) — a remarkable tonal range demand that few drummers in any genre face.
Which is better, Sean Reinert or Martin Lopez?
Sean Reinert and Martin Lopez are two of the most jazz-sophisticated drummers in extreme metal's history, each shaping a different branch of the prog-death tradition. Reinert's early-1990s work on "Human" and "Focus" established the creative possibility space; Lopez's late-1990s and early-2000s work with Opeth defined what reaching into that space could sound like on a sustained artistic arc. Both pushed extreme metal toward something more nuanced, more human, and more beautiful than the genre's brutal origins might have suggested was possible.