Ratos de Porão

Biography

Ratos de Porão (Portuguese for "Basement Rats") is a Brazilian crossover thrash band from São Paulo. They were formed in 1981, toured South America, North America, Asia, and Europe, and continue to play today. Their core lineup of João Gordo on vocals and Jão on drums and later guitars has remained since the band's beginning.

Early days

Ratos de Porão, or "RxDxPx", was formed in November 1981, within the Brazilian (São Paulo city) punk rock scene (alongside bands such as Olho Seco, Cólera, Inocentes, Garotos Podres, and Lobotomia). Influenced by UK 82 hardcore bands such as Discharge, Charged G.B.H., Chaos U.K., The Varukers and Swedish and Finnish bands such as Anti-Cimex and Kaaos, they started to write songs criticizing Brazilian society, a novel concept at the time. Their sound is regarded as one of the rawest of their scene. Other bands, such as Cólera and Garotos Podres, were more punk rock than hardcore punk.
Their first album was released in 1983, Crucificados pelo sistema×Crucificados pelo sistema1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracksA1Morrer1:25A2Caos0:17A3Guerra desumana1:23A4Agressão/Repressão1:22A5Obrigado a obedecer1:02A6Asas da vingança1:12A7Que vergonha!0:51A8Poluição atômica0:59B1Pobreza1:02B2F.M.I.1:13B3Só pensa em matar2:15B4Sistema de protesto1:36B5Não me importo1:19B6Periferia1:02B7Crucificados pelo sistema1:23B8Corrupção0:34. Released on the Ataque Frontal label, it was one of the best-selling hardcore albums to come out of the country, and was considered a punk classic worldwide. The line up was João Gordo (vocals), Mingau (guitar – later in many punk and pop bands in Brazil, currently playing in Ultraje a Rigor), Jabá (bass) and Jão (drums). Soon after, with the fall of the São Paulo punk scene because of gang violence, the band split up. Since then, João Gordo has been accused of betraying the DIY ethics of the hardcore punk movement for several alleged reasons. He has said, "I'm a traitor since 1983, because I told the guys I played hardcore, not punk. Then, I got labelled.(...)That's a stigma".

Initial crossover thrash era

In 1985, RxDxPx came back, in the original line-up: Jão, Jabá, Betinho. However, after a short time, Gordo returned to the band, who brought proposals to play crossover thrash music, the musicians agreed, but after a short time Betinho left the group and was replaced by Spaghetti. Jão switched over to playing guitar. Subsequently, they released the Descanse Em Paz album on Baratos Afins in 1986.
With their new sound, they began to associate more with heavy metal bands, becoming friends with longtime RxDxPx fans Sepultura and other bands of the Brazilian 1980s metal scene, including Korzus and Anthares. Their next studio release with Baratos Afins Records, 1987's Cada Dia Mais Sujo e Agressivo, was also released in an English-language version (Dirty and Aggressive) (the band feared that their English was so grammatically inaccurate that many of their native English speaking fans might ridicule their translated lyrics). This release continued the band's D-beat drum tempos.
In 1989, they signed to Roadrunner Records at the urging of Igor Cavalera of Sepultura, who played one of the band's tapes for the label's executives. RxDxPx then went to Germany to record their next studio LP, Brasil×Brasil1989 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracksA1Amazonia Never More1:54A2Backwards1:33A3AIDS, Pop Repression1:15A4Law of Silence2:13A5SOS Broken Country1:25A6Gil Coma0:42A7Drink Til You Die2:20A8Suicidal Heroin2:10B1Children Without Future1:39B2Nationalist Farce2:28B3Traitor0:49B4Bloody Pigs1:50B5Animal Life1:29B6The End0:59B7Military Machine1:59B8Land of Carnival2:14B9Will I Receive My Heritage1:54. With Harris Johns of Voivod and Tankard producing, the band's production quality improved substantially in contrast to their previous releases; the instrumentation was noticeably more technical.
In 1990, they returned to Germany to record their last album with the "classic" line-up of João Gordo, Jão, Jabá and Spaghetti. With Harris Johns acting again as producer, their next album titled Anarkophobia×Anarkophobia1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Counting the Dead4:492Death of the King3:333Born to Suffer3:124Rise and Fall2:065Mad Society4:006(All I Need Is) Hatred5:007Anarkophobia3:448Universal Church3:419Commando1:4410TV Slave4:23 was met with criticism by some fans for being the band's most metallic release to date, having considerably more complex and lengthy song compositions and more technical musicianship. Nevertheless, Anarkophobia increased their profile within the worldwide metal scene of the early 1990s.
But in mid-1991, they had their first line-up change in years, with Spaghetti leaving the band, citing that he had "been tired of the musical life". They auditioned several drummers to replace him, including Beto Silesci from Korzus, but the band decided that Silesci's style was too metal for the new direction they were planning to pursue. Silesci was in turn replaced with Boka of the Santos Beach thrash/death metal band Psychic Possessor. In 1992, RxDxPx released its first official live album, called RDP Vivo×RDP Vivo1992 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 27 tracks1Morrer1:172Mad Society3:223Crianças Sem Futuro1:564Ascenção E Queda1:525Beber Até Morrer2:446Máquina Militar1:587Guerrear0:148Políticos Em Nome Do Povo...0:209Caos0:1910Sofrer3:1811Crucificados Pelo Sistema0:4912Vida Animal1:3413Plano Furado I2:0714Plano Furado II1:4815Anarkophobia4:2216Aids, Pop, Repressão1:3617Realidades Da Guerra0:5118Work for Never1:3819Velhus Decreptus2:0220Herança2:0821Paranóia Nuclear1:0122Crise Geral2:1723Que Vergonha0:5824V.C.D.M.S.A.0:4325Cérebros Atômicos2:0426Sentir Ódio E Nada Mais2:1527Igreja Universal9:12, with a corresponding music video for the song "Aids, Pop, Repressão" receiving heavy air play on Furia Metal of MTV (the Brazilian equivalent of Headbangers Ball).
At the decline of the thrash scene, under tension and personal problems (Jabá left the band and they had a heavy drug problem), they entered into the studio in 1994 to record their only 'all lyrics in English' album, called Just Another Crime in Massacreland. The album suffered a thin production and a low promotion by the label, and it was a hard time in the life of RxDxPx.

Return to hardcore punk

After the departure of Jabá, the band had several different bass players and recorded a studio album with only punk and hardcore covers called Feijoada Acidente?, a play on the Guns N' Roses album "The Spaghetti Incident?". (Feijoada is a traditional food from Brazil, a stew based on beans and pork.) There were two versions of this album: one covering only Brazilian bands such as Olho Seco, Lobotomia, Garotos Podres, among others; and one covering only non-Brazilian bands such as G.B.H., Black Flag, Anti-Cimex, Minor Threat, among others.
At this time, Walter Bart (who used to play in a punk band called "Não Religião") and "Pica Pau" (Portuguese for woodpecker), who stayed in the band until 1999, played bass.
Released in 1997, Carniceria Tropical marked a return to hardcore and Portuguese lyrics, and the band regained their former success. The same year, João Gordo started to work as a VJ for MTV Brasil.
In 1999, the bassist Cristian "Fralda", who used to play in the punk rock band Blind Pigs joined the band, and they entered into the studio to re-record their first album, and called this album Sistemados Pelo Crucifa×Sistemados pelo crucifa2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Morrer1:562Caos0:153Guerra desumana1:204Agressão/Repressão1:325Obrigando a obedecer1:286Asas da vingança1:087Que vergonha!0:588Poluição atômica0:509Pobreza1:0110F.M.I.1:2211Paranóia nuclear1:5112Sistema de protesto1:1213Não me importo1:1914Periferia1:5815Sistemados pelo crucifa0:5616Cêrebros atômicos1:4517Eu não sei27:47 (a play on the original album title, "Crucificados Pelo Sistema×Crucificados pelo sistema1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracksA1Morrer1:25A2Caos0:17A3Guerra desumana1:23A4Agressão/Repressão1:22A5Obrigado a obedecer1:02A6Asas da vingança1:12A7Que vergonha!0:51A8Poluição atômica0:59B1Pobreza1:02B2F.M.I.1:13B3Só pensa em matar2:15B4Sistema de protesto1:36B5Não me importo1:19B6Periferia1:02B7Crucificados pelo sistema1:23B8Corrupção0:34"). The front cover was designed by the Korzus bassist, Dick Siebert.

Return to crossover

In 2002, they released the Onisciente Coletivo album, which was more thrash metal influenced once again, mixing their 1980s and 1990s styles. Bassist Cristian "Fralda" left to join the old hardcore/crossover/thrash band Lobotomia. In his place, bass player Paulo Júnior joined the band, an underground musician who still plays with his hardcore band "Discarga" and is guitarist of "Point of No Return".
In 2006, they released Homem Inimigo Do Homem.
On 13 August 2013, Ratos de Porão announced on their Facebook page that they were working on a new album. Entitled Século Sinistro, the album was released on 27 May 2014.
Another eight years passed until the release of their eleven studio album, Necropolítica×Necropolítica13 May 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Alerta Antifascista3:312Aglomeração2:293Passa Pano pra Elite3:424Necropolítica2:325Guilhotinado em Cristo3:096O Vira-Lata3:397G.D.O.2:088Bostanágua2:089Entubado4:1010Neonazi Gratiluz4:06, released on 20 May 2022.

Current members

João "Jão" Carlos Molina Esteves – guitar, backing vocals (1981, 1982, 1985–present), drums (1983–1984), lead vocals (1981, 1982–1983, 1985)
João Gordo Francisco Benedan – lead vocals (1983–1984, 1985-present)
Maurício "Boka" Alves Fernandez – drums (1991–present)
Paulo "Juninho" Sergio Sangiorgio Júnior – bass, backing vocals (2004–present)

Former members

Chiquinho – vocals (1981)
Roberto "Betinho" Massetti – drums (1981–1983, 1985)
Jarbas "Jabá" Alves – bass (1981–1993, died in 2023)
Rinaldo "Mingau" Amaral – guitar (1982-1984)
Nelson "Spaghetti" Evangelista Jr. - drums (1986–1991)
Walter Bart – bass (1993–1994)
Rafael "Pica-Pau" Piccoli Lobo – bass (1995–1999)
Christian "Fralda" Wilson – bass (2000–2004)