Drummer SEAN REINERT Forced To Leave DEATH TO ALL Tour; GENE HOGLAN Steps In

Drummer Sean Reinert (pictured) has been forced to leave DEATH TO ALL's "Swamp Leper Stomp '14" North American tour due to health reasons. He is being replaced for the remainder of the trek by fellow DEATH alumnus Gene Hoglan (also of TESTAMENT, DARK ANGEL, DETHKLOK).

The current lineup of DEATH TO ALL — which features former members of DEATH celebrating the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner — is rounded out by Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, CONTROL DENIED, SADUS) on bass and Bobby Koelble on guitar. Max Phelps (CYNIC),who has been touring with DEATH TO ALL, is once again handling the vocal and second-guitar duties.

Said Reinert in a statement: "Yes, it is with great regret that I left the DTA tour after the San Francisco show Sunday night.

"Although I have spent weeks rehearsing for this tour and was very excited to put on great performances, it was not meant to be.

"For the past six months I have been suffering from lower back spasms, extreme muscle fatigue and limited grip strength.

"It's no big secret that after over the last two years and two major surgeries (full achilles repair on my right ankle and a year later knee surgery on my left knee for a torn MCL) that I've gained a lot of weight due to recovery and pain. All of this culminated in the perfect storm.

"I realized that the situation was not getting better the more I played. Shortening the set was not something that I felt was fair to the fans and after three shows I realized the best thing for the tour was to get Gene in the fold and for me to get some definitive answers. Fortunately, Gene is available to take over for me starting tonight in Seattle. He is, of course, a f*#king beast behind the kit and there's no one better to fill in for me.

"I have already consulted with my physician and will have a series of tests over the next few weeks to check for for everything from carpal/cubital tunnel syndrome to other possible nerve/spinal/back issues.

"I am sorry to the many fans who were looking forward to seeing me play this tour and I hope to make it up to you in the future."

The "Swamp Leper Stomp '14" North American tour is a month-long run featuring DEATH TO ALL alongside fellow death metal legends OBITUARY and MASSACRE plus up-and-comers RIVERS OF NIHIL.

DEATH TO ALL 's lineup for most of the recent tours included guitarist Paul Masvidal, who also played on DEATH's classic "Human" album.

In an interview with Metal-Rules.com, Masvidal stated about DEATH TO ALL's most recent touring incarnation: "[Because] it's just the 'Human' lineup, it's a tighter show. We're focusing on the best of leading to 'Human' and then a bunch of 'Human' material. So it's more the early DEATH catalog, and it just feels really good, 'cause Sean and I have a lot of chemistry from playing together a long time from CYNIC and everything. And Steve, who is just kind of one of us too, so it feels like really cohesive, it feels tight and we've been able to make it the kind of show that feels like a band show versus the last one. Which I think was a little bit more fragmented 'cause there was a lot of different musicians and it was kind of all over the place. So this feels tighter."

He added: "This [lineup] is as close as you'll get [to reproducing the 'Human' era] and Max bears a slight resemblance [to Chuck] if you squint your eyes. It's kind of interesting. And he sounds like him, too. It's pretty crazy but yeah, it works, it works well."

Chuck died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.