One of the things I hate the most about this job is having to
give negative reviews of independent artists. It almost seems
unfair for me to say something bad about a disc that an artist or
group poured their time, money, sweat and tears into, and
undoubtedly feel quite proud about.
But in the case of Too Bad, a Florida group comprised of
brothers Tracy and Troy Schmelzer, that’s exactly the position I
find myself in. Their four-song EP,
Lay The Smack Down, fails to impress, and shows the
limitations of the group all too clearly.
The act – Tracy on lead vocals and bass, Troy on guitars and
bass, and drummer Tim See – is in the heavy metal vein, though the
mixing of the album leaves very little bite in the music. I thought
the disc was mixed too softly (something I do hear often in demos),
and there wasn’t enough treble to really add some punch to the
guitar work.
But the one thing that desparately needs fixing that can’t be
touched up in the mix is Tracy Schmelzer’s singing. Sometimes, it
seems like the riff he’s singing is for an entirely different song,
and doesn’t go with what he and the rest of Too Bad are playing
(“Wake Up”). Other times, he’s just off-key – and painfully so
(“Shadows Always There” – and, for that matter, “Wake Up”).
Unfortunately, there’s not much on
Lay The Smack Down that holds out any promise. Although
Tracy Schmelzer’s leads provide a little sunlight in the storm, he
makes the mistake of cutting them off too early and allowing the
rhythm guitar to carry the remainder of the bridge. Granted,
reproducing this live would be a greater challenge should Too Bad
remain a trio, but in the studio, I would have liked to have heard
the leads stretch out a bit.
Lay The Smack Down is a disc that regrettably shows that not
all bands are cut out for the big time. Too Bad, I’m sure, gave it
their all on this one, but the end result was too… well, it
wasn’t good.
