Their first album was released in 1983 and was titled Crucificados pelo sistema. Released on the Ataque Frontal label, it was one of the best-selling hardcore albums to come out of the country, and was soon 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 associated gang violence), the band split up and since then João Gordo has been accused of selling out and 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".[1]
Initial crossover thrash era
In 1985, RxDxPx came back, but with a different line up and sound. They brought thrash metal to their music, influenced by bands such as Slayer, Exodus, Kreator and hardcore bands around the world that were also transitioning to a more thrash metal sound, like Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., English Dogs, Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front and others (including Brazilian bands such as Lobotomia and Armagedom). Jão switched over to playing guitar, and an old punk named Spaghetti (who later adopted a thrash metal sound) replaced him on drums. 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).[citation needed] 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. 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 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".[citation needed] 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 Ao Vivo, 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.[citation needed]
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 (a play on the original album title, "Crucificados Pelo Sistema"). The front cover was designed by the Korzus bassist, Dick Siebert.
Return to crossover
In 2002, they released the Onisciente Coletivo album, and came back to be more friendly with thrash metal, mixing the 1980s with 1990s faces. The bassist Cristian "Fralda" left to join the old hardcore/crossover/thrash band Lobotomia. In his place entered an old underground musician, the bass player Paulo Júnior, who still plays with his hardcore band called "Discarga" and 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 upcoming eighth studio album, Necropolítica, on May 20, 2022.
Beber Até Morrer
Ratos De Porão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se afoga na bebida e se droga sem parar
Será que a vida imposta é perder um vale tudo
Viver sempre chapado é melhor do que lutar
Beber até morrer essa é a solução
O tédio lhe domina a vida não dá tesão
Mas outro porre desse você nunca vai esquecer
Que o fígado é só seu e de mais ninguém
Baratas nas paredes, aranhas pelo chão
Cobras na sua cama e ratos no porão
Problemas na cabeça não dá quase pra pensar
Enfie o dedo na goela e tente vomitar
Beber até morrer essa é a solução
O tédio lhe domina a vida não dá tesão
Mas outro porre desse você nunca vai esquecer
Que o fígado é só seu e de mais ninguém
Sua noite terminou de cara numa privada
Os problemas voltarão junto com uma puta ressaca
Por que você não bebe apenas pra se divertir?
Lute com a cara limpa, você não vai desistir
The lyrics to Ratos De Porão's song Beber Até Morrer speak of a person's escape from themselves through the use of alcohol and drugs. It questions if life's imposed rules make it necessary to lose control and live in a constant state of disarray. The suggestion that living in a permanent state of being intoxicated is better than fighting your problems presents a bleak picture of life without hope. The chorus of the song, "Beber até morrer" which translates to "drink until you die," reinforces the idea that there is no other way out but self-destruction.
The verses of the song provide a vivid image of someone who has given up on life trying to find solace in drinking. The description of the surroundings with "baratas nas paredes" (cockroaches on the walls), "aranhas pelo chão" (spiders on the floor), "cobras na sua cama" (snakes in your bed), and "ratos no porão" (rats in the basement) paints a picture of hopelessness and despair. The suggestion that the problems in one's mind are so overwhelming that it is impossible to think clearly is a harsh reality that many people face. The lyrics suggest that vomiting the contents of one's stomach is the only way out.
The final verse of the song suggests that there is a better way to live than to drink oneself to death. It asks why not drink to have fun instead of constantly trying to escape reality. The lyric, "lute com a cara limpa, você não vai desistir" (fight with a clean face, you will not give up) offers a glimmer of hope that one can face their problems head-on and come out victorious.
Line by Line Meaning
Porque será que o homem quando foge de si mesmo
Why does man drown in alcohol and drugs when running away from himself?
Se afoga na bebida e se droga sem parar
He drowns himself in alcohol and drugs without end
Será que a vida imposta é perder um vale tudo
Is life just losing it all?
Viver sempre chapado é melhor do que lutar
Living high is better than struggling
Beber até morrer essa é a solução
Drinking until death is the solution
O tédio lhe domina a vida não dá tesão
Boredom dominates and life loses its excitement
Mas outro porre desse você nunca vai esquecer
But you'll never forget another drinking binge
Que o fígado é só seu e de mais ninguém
That your liver is yours and yours alone
Baratas nas paredes, aranhas pelo chão
Cockroaches on the walls, spiders on the floor
Cobras na sua cama e ratos no porão
Snakes in your bed and rats in the basement
Problemas na cabeça não dá quase pra pensar
The problems in your head make it hard to think
Enfie o dedo na goela e tente vomitar
Stick your finger down your throat and try to vomit
Sua noite terminou de cara numa privada
Your night ends with your face in the toilet
Os problemas voltarão junto com uma puta ressaca
The problems will return with a big hangover
Por que você não bebe apenas pra se divertir?
Why not just drink for fun?
Lute com a cara limpa, você não vai desistir
Fight with a clear mind, you won't give up
Contributed by Madison Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.