Super group metal veterans New Idea Society have over three studio albums to their name, along with two EPs, and an assortment of fans throughout their 17 years of performing. Although the group has these numerous releases to their name, they were on a long hiatus for over half of that time, until the release of “Now Is Here,” earlier this year.
The band’s long-awaited single “Wave Goodbye,” has now been released however, showing the band’s strengths with catchy guitar hooks and brooding drums. The song has an 80s feel to it, with dark brooding vocals, and instrumentals that sound like metal acts from the era.
As of press time these two songs are the only songs that have been recorded by the group thus far, and it is unknown whether the group will continue to release new material this year. This supergroup is composed of Mike Law of Wild Arrows and Euclid, Stephen Brodsky of Cave In and Mutoid Man and Quicksand‘s Alan Cage, along with Brian Cook of Russian Circles and SUMAC.
Although the group have not done many studio nor live appearances together since their 2010 releases, Law has collaborated with Cage on other projects. During a 2017 interview, he also gave his New Idea Society bandmate high praise, calling him one of his favorite drummers of this generation.
“He (Cage) is such a unique personality and by far my favorite drummer of his generation, by a wide margin, he’s amazing. His drumming sounds like melody to me. We played together for years in my last band New Idea Society. Alan plays to the songs. He finds ways to make everything sound better, the bass, the guitars, synths and especially the vocals,”Law explained in an interview with GhettoBlaster Magazine. “He can sit down at a house kit that every other drummer who played that night sounded awful and somehow, inexplicably find a way to hit it just right and make it sound amazing. Since these songs were already written he added nuance and vibe.”
Cage is renowned for his unique drumming style, which shines on the new New Idea Society tracks such as “Wave Goodbye.” He is very specific with his sound and has also expressed an affinity for vintage drum kits for certain performances.
“I’ve played tons of vintage kits that are drilled, and they sound great and resonate. I’m not a studio drummer or a wizard with drum sounds, and maybe I’d feel differently if I was recording all the time,” Cage stated in an interview with Modern Drummer Magazine. “But when doing a live tour, if there’s a tiny difference in sound but a much bigger hassle in setting up the kit, then I’ll take the slight variance in the sound. Efficiency is the key word. I want things to be easy to set up, easy to break down, and easy to replicate, even if I’m not using the exact same kit every night.”
In an interview with Zegema Beach Records, Brodsky named his major influences, which contribute to the feel of much of his classic metal sound. “Metal will always have a fond place in my heart. Maybe it’s because I have too many early memories of doing fun, stupid, crazy stuff with Metallica, Anthrax, Maiden, Sabbath, etc. playing on a boombox or blasting in my Walkman,” he explained in the interview.
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