Sean Reinert RIP

[Graham]

Yesterday, former Cynic and Death drummer Sean Reinert was found dead, aged just 48

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/former-death-and-cynic-drummer-sean-reinert-dead-at-48/

Reinert was a founding member of Cynic and played on all their albums to date before parting company with them in 2015; he also drummed on Death's seminal record Human.

He will have influenced a generation of metal drummers antd has left a legacy of musical brilliance.

 

[miles'tone]

Amazing drummer and band. Awful news. 

[Bigwan]

Terrible news. One of my all time favourite drummers... 

[Doctor J]

Desperately sad news. He was my version of Neil Peart - i.e. the drummer who changed what you thought was possible. While being technically astonishing, he was a very musical player. What he did lifted the music, he was never just flash because he could.

I was a massive Death fan back in the day and was so disappointed when it all fell to pieces, only finding out when the Chuck-less Death took to the stage before me on the ill-fated Kreator tour - the beauty of the pre-internet age. When, months later, I read an interview in Metal Forces that he was working on a new album with the best musicians he could find which would be more aggressive and more technical, I was very excited. When Human was finally released, I bought it straight away (along with Unquestionable Presence because if these Cynic guys were good enough for Chuck then they were good enough for me and I had to hear more). It is a bus journey home which I still remember vividly. Human is an album which lived in my walkman for a long, long time, largely because of the drumming. Revolutionary does not do it justice.

I saw Death on the following tour in McGonagles in Dublin, after queueing for hours to ensure I would be up front. Reinert’s brief warm-up remains one of the most impressive things I have ever seen and thinking of that gig still gives me goosebumps. It showed what great musicians could do with songs I thought I knew inside-out. What they did to the old songs was mind-blowing, as well as getting to see what went into making Human so special from touching distance. I got one of his sticks at the end, still have it, and when I was threatened with a knifing by some scumbags after who moved swiftly from “Are you lookin’ ar me?” to “Give me your jacket or I’ll knife ye!”, I was thinking “How do I get out of this while keeping this stick?”

When ITP came out without the Cynic guys, it took some time to get over. I like that album but never loved it. Luckily, Focus came shortly afterwards and remains a milestone in my life. As metal got replaced by the dreary nu-metal, it was one of the albums which stayed in constant rotation through the 90’s, part of the ultimate trinity with Human and Unquestionable Presence. When the internet arrived and one could check to see what happened to musicians who seemed to just vanish, I was so happy to find the likes of Portal, Gordian Knot, Aeon Spoke and Aghora. The Cynical Sphere forum (RIP) had contributions from Tony Teegarden, recalling how he lived in their rehearsal room leading up to the recording of Focus and how Reinert would relentlessly practice the songs, determined that there would be no overdubs on the album. There I also discovered that he lead with his left foot when double-bass drumming, allowing him to incorporate hi-hat, which was a massive “Ah-haaaaaaaaaaah!” moment explaining how he could perform things I couldn’t believe were not overdubs.

I saw Cynic three times as they toured Traced in Air, finally able to bring mates to actually see the drummer I had raved about for so many years. He had matured and gotten even better. For my mates who accompanied me to the Dublin gig and then on to Belfast for the next gig, this has hit hard.

I last saw him play as part of DTA, going full circle and see him play the songs which introduced me to his incredible skills and musical ability. For me, he was the best of the best. This one is tough to digest and 48 is no age to leave at. 

[Doctor J]

Simply incredible

 

 

[Graham]

Great stories @Doctor J 

I only saw him once, on the Cynic reunion tour in 2007, it was a great show In a tiny London venue.

The reunion album Traced In Air probably has my favourite drum sound, just so clear and punchy.

[Steve Woodcock]

Sean was a friend of mine, so his death came as a huge shock and has taken a while to sink in.

Having first seen him play with Cynic way back in 1993 I later had the privilege of watching him play close-up countless times as I worked/toured with Aeon Spoke and the reformed Cynic as their guitar/backline tech, culminating with me playing Chapman Stick with them on a few shows in 2008 which remain some of the highlights of my career.

Aside from being immensely fun to hang out with, Sean was absolutely one of my favourite musicians. I first heard him on Death's Human record and Cynic's '90 demo - his impact on the scene back then cannot be overstated, no one had heard anything like it in the genre before and he definitely raised the bar for all that followed. Unbelievable that he was only 19 at the time!

A very sad loss.