Milwaukee is known for a few choice things; beer, the State Fair, Summerfest, and cream colored architecture. Our city is colorfully referred to as the Brew City and the Cream City. Every summer thousands of visitors swarm our city to see their favorite bands rock one of Summerfest’s many stages or sample a variety of foods at our State Fair. What many don’t realize is that Milwaukee is home to a surging heavy metal scene and one of the fastest rising bands on this scene is our very own Conniption.
Formed in the winter of 2008 by brothers, Michael Bigham and Andy Martin, Conniption was formed as a jam band until it was rounded out by bassist, Cody Dziuk, and lead guitarist, Bill House. Travelling their home state, playing wherever they can, Conniption has been hitting its stride since 2013 after releasing two refreshingly powerful thrash metal albums, Kamikaze, and Time Has Come.
With a style inspired by rock and metal bands from across the board including but certainly not limited to Guns n Roses, Children of Bodom, Queen, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Metal Church, Conniption’s self-made debut, Kamikaze is a hard hitting album.
Opening with a slow, melodic, and almost dooming piano, the album’s opener, Fear Itself, gives listeners the feeling that they are in for trip down black metal road. Fortunately, the heavy drums and guitars kick in within seconds followed by the refreshingly clean vocals of lead vocalist-guitarist, Michael Brigham.
“There are a lot of bands that growl, but being a vocalist I prefer singing,” says Brigham to explain why his vocals lack the raspy, cookie-monster growls so commonly associated with the heavy metal style. Brigham cites legendary classic rock singers Freddy Mercury, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon as prime influences on his decision to sing rather than growl.
Brigham’s clean vocals match up quite well to the technical, melodic, and oftentimes wild guitar riffs of Bill House. Together with the driving bass and drums of Dziuk and Martin, the unified shouts of the entire band on select songs, and an array of guitar-created sound effects such as a kamikaze striking an enemy position or a heavy storm moving in, Conniption brings a varied and highly thrash-worthy record that will no doubt have metal fans everywhere banging their head and screaming for more.
Major highlights of the Kamikaze include the album opener, Fear Itself, the half-ballad, half-thrasher Bringer of War, the bushido inspired title track, Kamikaze, the short and doomy Loss of Innocence, and the foreboding warning of nature’s wrath, The Torrent. And while these are just a few of the songs that really struck like a closed fist full of metal, the entire Kamikaze album is nothing short of a thrash masterpiece. Fans of the genre or heavy metal as a whole will find little to dislike in Conniption’s first offering. The same can be said for their second.
Released just months after Kamikaze, Time Has Come builds on every aspect of Conniption’s masterful grasp of heavy metal while adding more melody and atmosphere to the mix. The guitars are more refined and the album features the same intensity, if not more than Kamikaze. Cody Dziuk’s technical bass work is more prominent, especially during his bass solos, and House and Brigham’s guitar work, while more refined and experimental, stays true to the wild nature that made Kamikaze great. Additionally, Bill House’s debut on lead vocals on Laughing in the Face of Death, a track written by Dziuk, was a welcomed change of pace and showed just how versatile Conniption can be.
Major standout tracks for Time Has Come include the album opener Machine Gun Heaven, the frustration-fueled anthem Let the Wolf Out, the adrenaline pumping tribute to the Shelby GT500, King of the Road, the anti-ballad Who Needs Love Anyway, and the over-the-top album closer We Know Where You Live.