My good friend Dean Kennedy sent this video to me and we went on to discuss much about how important Sean Reinert is to the lineage of drumming influence.

I’m aware he has a lot of respect in metal drumming circles, however any time I listen to an album like Cynic’s “Focus” (1993) I'm constantly blown away by what this guy was doing at the time he was doing it. When people go so far off the beaten path, it tends to fly under the radar of the greater public consciousness, hence they tend to be left out of the conversation in later years.

This fact was made only more tragic by his passing on January 24, 2020.

I had the unique pleasure of sharing the stage with Sean at Prog Power Europe (2008) where we shared the bill on the same day.

Sean indulged my fandom and drumming nerdery in the green room as we bonded over Gary Chaffee minutiae and thoughts on other fusion greats.

We were able to form something of a friendship with subsequent interactions here in Australia upon Cynic’s first visits to the country.

This was a man who had zero awareness of his stature in the drumming pantheon and behaved as such, with his effortless amiability.

Sean struck me as the kind of person that would have exhibited the same humility whether a small community of drummers looked up to him or if he was considered an all time great. Yet, a greater tragedy beyond his lack of greater recognition and early passing, would be if his contributions were to fade over time.

I think what prompted me to write this short piece, other than perhaps not giving him sufficient tribute at the time of his passing, was the idea that current and future generations might not become beneficiaries of what Sean brought to the art.

I need not wax lyrical about his chops, creativity or prescient employ of genre amalgamation.

I’ll let his work do the talking.

Beyond the art, you can hear the exuberance and joy that made him who he is as a person. You still have the chance to get to know him and I wish I had made more noise sooner.

Listen to Sean Reinert.

RIP.