Conniption
A Method To Madness

June 2009
Released: 2009, Independent
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Alan Gilkeson

I really wanted to like this disc, It starts out with an acoustic intro, a la old Metallica, erupting into old school thrash. Milwaukee's Conniption emulate old school thrash metal, musically and vocally. It's quite interesting really, because it's such a throwback to old Metallica, Megadeth, even Metal Church, I enjoy it very much, yet they come across as a cover band, a step behind what's going on in metal nowadays.



A band like Lazarus A.D., hailing from basically the same area, are so much better because not only are they old school, they're new school too. They're fast, tight, and everything else about today's scene. Conniption borrow so much from old school metal it's hard to believe they'd ever really be considered by a major metal label. Some songs are well crafted, such as the Metallica/Maiden mash up 'Eye For An Eye' and a cool little metal anthem called 'Metal Mayhem,' but they're so far in the past and would never be taken seriously today.



In the old days a poorly produced recording with good music would get some consideration from music execs looking for the next big thing. In today's market a well produced demo is paramount because more often than not, the label will want to release what a band has already done before investing any money. These songs just aren't up to par in that respect. Lazarus A.D. did the same thing, and with a little tweaking from James Murphy their demo became their first album.



Conniption do have a shot to get a record deal. The guitar players are decent enough, the bass player has some interesting things going on, and the drummer has a few moments where he shows his chops. Vocally there's definitely something to work with, a better producer will bring that out and not keep them so low in the mix. They just have to modernize things a bit, get some more speed, and invest the money in a better recording.