Sean Reinert (May 27, 1971 – January 24, 2020) was an American musician. He was the drummer for the rock band

Æon Spoke Æon Spoke is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles. It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, when they relocated from Miami to Los Angeles. In 2005 the track, "Emmanuel", appeared in ...

and the drummer and founding member of the

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band Cynic until leaving the band in September 2015. Reinert credited

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove ...

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

, Gary Husband and

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

as being important influences during his formative years.

Life

In 1991, Reinert and Paul Masvidal (also of Cynic) joined the band

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

to record the ''

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

'' album. This album is seen by many as the start of the

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

genre. After touring with Death, he returned to Cynic. 1993 saw the release of ''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' (regarded as a landmark release in the field of technical/

) on the Roadrunner Records label. Roadrunner re-released it in 2005 as a special collector's edition due to high demand. After Cynic's disbandment Reinert had been a member of the Cynic spin-off band Portal which released a demo but eventually disbanded. Having relocated to Los Angeles, Reinert continued working with music by writing and performing for television shows and motion pictures. In 1999, Reinert helped form Æon Spoke alongside Masvidal, which is described as an "ethereal rock" band. The band saw releases in 2004 and 2007, receiving national and satellite airplay, performing, hosting radio appearances, and even appearing on television show and motion picture soundtracks. During this time in 2006, it was announced that Cynic would reform for a tour which took place in the summer of 2007. The reformed lineup then recorded a follow-up to ''Focus'' entitled ''Traced in Air'', which was released in 2008 and followed by more touring. In 2009, a new EP with Cynic was recorded scheduled for release in May 2010. As of May 2014, he publicly revealed his homosexuality along with fellow Cynic member Paul Masvidal. Reinert died on January 24, 2020, due to an

aortic rupture Aortic rupture is the rupture or breakage of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Aortic rupture is a rare, extremely dangerous condition. The most common cause is an abdominal aortic aneurysm that has ruptured spontaneously. Aortic rupture ...

Legacy

Many artists have cited Reinert as an influence, including

Peter Wildoer Karl Peter Wildoer is a Swedish musician who is the drummer for Darkane, Electrocution 250 and Grimmark. He has also drummed for the bands Armageddon, Majestic, Pestilence, Silver Seraph, Arch Enemy, Time Requiem, Soilwork, Gardens of Obscurit ...

Darkane Darkane is a Swedish metal band that originated in Helsingborg in 1998. Their music contains ample thrash elements interspersed with acoustic interludes and symphonic features, such as the in-studio use of synthesizers and occasionally full orc ...

Brann Dailor Brann Timothy Dailor (born March 19, 1975) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he is the drummer and one of three vocalists. Career Dailor first started playing in a band called Eviscerati ...

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

Richard Christy Thomas Richard Christy Jr. (born April 1, 1974) is an American drummer and radio personality, best known for being the former drummer for several heavy metal bands since the early 1990s, most notably Death, and his tenure on '' The Howard Ster ...

Dirk Verbeuren Dirk Verbeuren (born 8 January 1975) is a Belgian musician and the current drummer of American thrash metal band Megadeth, amongst other projects. He previously was a member of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. Verbeuren recorded ...

of Soilwork and Megadeth,

Chris Pennie Chris Pennie (born May 31, 1977) is an American musician who is the former drummer for the progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria and former drummer and co-founder of mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. Background Pennie began playing d ...

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

and

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...

, George Kollias of

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

, John Merryman of

Cephalic Carnage Cephalic Carnage is an American death metal band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1992. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Cephalic Carnage has re ...

, Daniel Moilanen of

Katatonia Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them ...

, Elliot Hoffman of Car Bomb, and Evan Sammons of Last Chance to Reason. In addition, other artists have been quoted expressing admiration for his work including

Hannes Grossmann Hannes Grossmann (born 8 September 1982) is a German drummer who plays for the German progressive band Alkaloid. He was also the drummer during Necrophagist's ''Epitaph'' era and played with Obscura. Biography Early life Hannes Grossmann was bo ...

Kai Hahto Kai Hahto (born 31 December 1973 in Vaasa, Finland) is a Finnish musician and drummer. Career Hahto was a member of the grindcore band Rotten Sound. In 2004 Hahto became one of the founders of the band Wintersun and left Rotten Sound later i ...

of Nightwish, Dan Presland of Ne Obliviscaris, and Danny Walker of

Intronaut Intronaut is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California, that incorporates complex polyrhythms, progressive rock, and jazz. History Intronaut formed in 2004, and their initial line-up included guitarist/vocalist Sacha Dunabl ...

Discography

;Cynic * ''

'' (1993) * ''

Traced in Air ''Traced in Air'' is the second studio album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It is the first album since their 1993 debut ''Focus''. History Cynic disbanded during the fall of 1994 while working on a new album. On January 17, 2008, Cynic r ...

'' (2008) * ''

Re-Traced ''Re-Traced'' is an EP by the technical metal band Cynic. It is composed of four re-interpretations of songs from their album '' Traced in Air'', as well as one new song. It was released through Season of Mist on May 17. History During the 201 ...

'' (2010) * '' Carbon-Based Anatomy'' (2011) * ''The Portal Tapes'' (2012) * ''

Kindly Bent to Free Us ''Kindly Bent to Free Us'' is the third studio album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It was released on February 18, 2014, and is the final Cynic album with Sean Reinert, who left the band in September 2015 and died on January 24, 2020, as w ...

'' (2014) ;Other *

− ''

'' (1991) *

Sean Malone Sean Malone (April 12, 1970 – December 7, 2020) was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partn ...

− '' Cortlandt'' (1996) * Gordian Knot − '' Gordian Knot'' (1999) * Gordian Knot − '' Emergent'' (2003) * Aghora − '' Aghora'' (2000) * Aghora − '' Formless'' (2006) *

− '' Above the Buried Cry'' (2004) *

− ''

'' (2007) * Anomaly – ''Anomaly'' (1998) * C-187 − ''Collision'' (2007) * Levi/Werstler – ''Avalanche of Worms'' (2010) * Sylencer – ''A Lethal Dose of Truth'' (2012) (guest drummer on "Acquiesce") *Hassan Iqbal – Of the Sky (2020) * Amahiru – ''Amahiru'' (2020) (guest drummer on "Bringing Me Down (Alternative Version)")

References

External links

Official website

Official Facebook page

Death + Sean Reinert Drum Cam – Flattening of Emotions 10.26.91
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinert, Sean 1971 births 2020 deaths Death (metal band) members American heavy metal drummers Place of birth missing American gay musicians LGBT people from Florida LGBT songwriters 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Æon Spoke members Aghora (band) members Cynic (band) members 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Gordian Knot (band) members