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.
Aids Pop Repressão
Ratos De Porão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O sexo é apenas uma forma de morrer
As drogas representam um caso policial
Aquela antiga frase não dá mais para falar
Os tempos mudaram, agora é o fim
Um punk vira crente pra pedir a salvação
Emborracha o danado para não se infectar
Sexo, drogas, rock ′n' roll
Quem está nascendo agora isso não vai conhecer
Temos que nos proteger
Os prazeres dessa vida já viraram maldição
Aids, Pop, Repressão
O que é que eu fiz para merecer isso?
O rock brasileiro é uma farsa comercial
O sexo é apenas uma forma de morrer
As drogas representam um caso policial
Aquela antiga frase não dá mais para falar
The lyrics of Ratos De Porão's "Aids Pop Repressão" express a sense of cynicism and disillusionment with Brazilian society and its values. The song's opening line, "O rock brasileiro é uma farsa comercial" (Brazilian rock is a commercial farce), suggests that the country's music industry is more focused on profit than artistic integrity. The next line, "O sexo é apenas uma forma de morrer" (Sex is just a way to die), speaks to the dangers of promiscuity and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS.
The song also touches on the issue of drug use, describing it as a "caso policial" (police case) rather than a personal choice. The line "Aquela antiga frase não dá mais para falar" (That old phrase can no longer be said) suggests that traditional values and attitudes are no longer applicable or useful in today's society.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the need for protection and self-preservation in the face of these societal ills. "Temos que nos proteger" (We have to protect ourselves) warns against the dangers of hedonism and the pursuit of pleasure, which have turned into a curse rather than a source of happiness.
In summary, "Aids Pop Repressão" is a social commentary that critiques the excesses of modern Brazilian society and its disregard for traditional values. It highlights the need for caution and protection in the face of these societal changes, particularly regarding sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Line by Line Meaning
O rock brasileiro é uma farsa comercial
Brazilian rock music has become a commercial fraud
O sexo é apenas uma forma de morrer
Sex is no longer a pleasure, but a way to risk infection and death
As drogas representam um caso policial
Drug use is now a criminal issue, no longer just a personal choice
Aquela antiga frase não dá mais para falar
The old saying of 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll' is no longer valid or enjoyable
Os tempos mudaram, agora é o fim
Times have changed and it's now the end of an era
Um punk vira crente pra pedir a salvação
A punk rocker turns to religion for salvation
Emborracha o danado para não se infectar
He drinks heavily to avoid infection from HIV
Aquela coisa boa você nunca vai achar
He knows he will never find the true pleasure he's looking for
Sexo, drogas, rock ′n' roll
The old mantra of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll
Quem está nascendo agora isso não vai conhecer
The new generation will never experience this lifestyle
Temos que nos proteger
We have to protect ourselves
Os prazeres dessa vida já viraram maldição
The pleasures of life have become a curse
Aids, Pop, Repressão
Aids, Pop music and Repression
O que é que eu fiz para merecer isso?
What did I do to deserve all of this?
Writer(s): De Porao Ratos, Gordo
Contributed by Emma J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Azarack Nargothrond Marcelo
Covid, funk, repressão, O que é que eu fiz para merecer isso ?!
Foot Ball
Cumê mijá fudê cagá são as leis da natureza e ninguém vai pudê mudá
Z I L L
Sertanejo é horrivelmente pior que funk, porém é mais fácil e conviniente atacar os favelados do que os caipiras brancos redneck apoiadores de nazista.
Fábio Alves
Funk ou SertaNOJO
O Anônimo Greg
COVID, sertanejo e repressão.
Madruguinha de los Churros
A letra mais honesta da história da música feita no Brasil.
Robert Webster
Esse foi o disco brasileiro que me fez procurar mais bandas nacionais pra escutar, e dar valor ao oque temos aqui.
André Marques de Sousa
Isso não é uma banda, e sim, uma instituição sagrada e intocável do punk/hardcore mundial.
Rafael Fioravanti
Esse som é tão antigo, e ao mesmo tempo tão atual.
Rickydo
Infelizmente é atual...