It’s truly saddening to see how many musical greats we have lost in 2020, especially in the rock and metal spheres. Unfortunately among them is progressive death metal drumming legend Sean Reinert, who was found unresponsive at his home in California on January 24.
Reinert was probably best known for founding the band Cynic alongside guitarist Paul Masvidal, in 1987. Cynic would soon become intrinsic in the just-then-blossoming progressive death metal movement. Their debut 1993 album Focus was and still is a landmark in the genre. Both Reinert’s and Masvidal’s work on Death’s 1991 album Human also began that band’s shift towards a more technically focused sound.
After a hiatus from 1994-2006, Cynic eventually reformed and released their highly anticipated second album Traced in Air in 2008. The 2010 EP Re-Traced featured reinterpretations of tracks from their previous album, and the 2011 EP Carbon-Based Anatomy saw Cynic breaking new musical ground.
Reinert’s last release with the band would be 2014’s Kindly Bent To Free Us, before he left the band in September of the following year. Reinert was also involved with Masvidal’s 1999 project Æon Spoke, and after his departure from Cynic, he became involved with the progressive rock group Perfect Beings.
Outside of his music, Reinert was also making massive strides in other areas. In 2014, alongside his bandmate at the time Masvidal, Reinert came out as gay. Unlike Masvidal, Reinert found it difficult to come to grips with his identity. From the interview in the L.A Times, Reinert says “I knew that, secretly, I wanted to go to those clubs, too. But back then, my stereotype of how to be gay was wearing dresses and tank tops. I didn’t have any masculine, metal role models who were gay.”
“Gay people are everywhere, doing every job, playing every kind of music, and we always have been,” Reinert says. “It’s taken me years to finally be brave enough to say, ‘If you have a problem with that, then throw out our records. That’s your problem, not mine.'”
The metal community has been full of touching tributes and messages of love for Reinert and his family. Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth, former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren, and countless others have all offered their respects and condolences in such a difficult time.
A mastermind behind the kit and a close friend to many, we have sadly lost not just one of metal’s, but one of music’s, greats.
Sean Reinert (1971-2020)
