Ratos de Porão

One of the longest lasting Brazilian punk rock bands, Ratos de Porão started out their career in 1981, in their native city of São Paulo. In that period, the punk movement had just emerged in Brazil. In 1982, the band took part in the recording of the punk rock compilation "Sub" and played in the punk music festival O Começo do Fim do Mundo. Two years later, when João Gordo had already taken up the vocals, the band made their debut album, "Crucificados Pelo Sistema", which featured a foul-mouthed, cryptic punk rock. In 1986, with Jão on the guitar and Spagueti on the drums, the band released the LP "Descanse em Paz". On their following album, "Vivendo Cada Dia Mais Sujo e Agressivo" (1987), the band followed the footsteps of their pals from Sepultura, and shifted to heavy metal, even recording some of their songs in English. Thanks to their contact with international labels, the group went to Berlin in 1988 to record "Brasil", their first international release. That album was followed by "Anarkophobia" (1991, also recorded in Berlin), "Ratos de Porão ao Vivo" (1992, recorded in São Paulo), and "Another Crime In Massacreland" (1993). Well known in the European punk circuit, Ratos de Porão recorded two volumes of "Feijoada Acidente?" in 1995. The first volume consists of Brazilian punk classics, and the other features worldwide punk songs. In 1998, the group released "Carniceria Tropical" and were homaged with a tribute-album entitled "Traidô" – or Betrayer - which makes ironic reference to the fact that the group had been accused of betraying the Brazilian punk cause. In the late 90's, with his slacky looks, João Gordo became quite popular as a host at MTV Brasil. The band is currently working on the album "Sistemados pelo Crucifa", a remake of their first LP.