Is This The Best You Can Do?

If there is a Portuguese musician in /Rock/Metal scene that doesn’t need introductions it’s surely Tó Pica: apart from being a guitar teacher, composer and producer he’s also guitarist in R.A.M.P., Anti-Clockwise, Secret Lie and founder of Sacred Sin. In his 23 years of musical career there was only one thing missing… self-name album. Well here it is “Is This The Best You Can Do?”, released last 30th September via Premiere Records.

“The Urge” presents us, from my perspective, Tó Pica’s need to show what is capable of in a very direct and straight way. Being this the first track (and first of two instrumentals) works as a way to let us know what’s next but also as a pressure releaser, something like “this is what I do best, now I will dissert some more in the following tracks”. Marco Resende’s (Low Torque) voice in “My Time Has Come” fits perfectly in the Progressive tune of this second track, leaving space for Tó to show his skills in more elaborate chords. Time now for some cooling down at the rhythm of “Binding The Distance”, a track more into the Southern Rock, still with Marco’s voice. Keeping the melodic tunes we get to “All Access Denied” by the voice of David Pais (Ashes, The9thCell, One Hundred And Twenty) leaving afterwards to “Time Will Change”, with both tracks sounding Rock with a Bluesy touche and Southern groove. Moving now into Alternative Rock we have Tobel Lopes (Meu Outro Tanto, Slamo) lending his voice to “Espelho” (“Mirror”), the only track sang in Portuguese. He was also in charge of the “turning track” “Suspended Metamorphosys”, presenting a more down tempo sonority closer to Nu Metal/Alternative, finishing his appearence with a Hard Rock version for “The Tempest” (original track of the Australians Pendullum). “Taste My Blame”, sang by Marco Resende, points out as the (only) beautiful ballad appearing in this album, in a Southern Rock acoustic approach. The pace rises up again to a Heavy/Power Metal “Faceback” with David Pais singing and finishing this beautiful collection with the second instrumental track, in a rhythm that reminds me the words of Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell): “breath in, breath out...”.

This is not a work of someone who needs to show his capabilities, instead it’s an insight to the alter self of the musician, someone who is more that “rock and loudness”, whose musical grounds are based in diversive and quality styles. For last just need to point out the rest of the “band”: Arlindo Cardoso (Low Torque, One Hundred And Twenty) - Drums; JE Sales (R.A.M.P.) - Bass; Sérgio Melo - Guitar.

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