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.
In My Eyes
Ratos De Porão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You just need an excuse
You tell me it calms your nerves
You just think it looks cool
You tell me you want to be different
You just change for the same
You tell le it's only natural
You just need the proof
It's in my eyes
And it doesn't look that way to me
In my eyes
You tell me that nothing matters
You're just fucking scared
You tell me that i'm better
You just hate yourself
You tell me that you like her
You just wish you did
You tell me that i make no difference
At least i'm fuckin' trying
What the fuck have you done?
It's in my eyes
And it doesn't look that way to me
In my eyes
The lyrics of Ratos de Porão's In My Eyes is a stark commentary on the absurdity of people's often misguided beliefs and actions. The song, with its irreverent and aggressive tone, takes on aspects of drug use, conformity, apathy, self-hatred, and complacency. The lead singer of the band, João Gordo, seems to be addressing a person who tries to justify their drug use, saying they like the taste, need an excuse, or want to calm their nerves or look cool, but in reality, they're doing it just because everyone else is doing it. He also calls out the person for their contradictory statements - wanting to be different but ending up changing for the same or saying that nothing matters, but being scared.
The chorus of the song, "It's in my eyes, and it doesn't look that way to me, in my eyes," seems to suggest that the singer has a clear vision of things that the other person cannot see. The lyrics are confrontational, challenging, and sarcastic, as the singer asks, "Did you fucking get it?" at the end of the first stanza and "What the fuck have you done?" in the second stanza. In essence, the song is a rebellion against the fake and phony aspects of society and a call to people to stand up for themselves and make a real difference in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
You tell me you like the taste
You're using that excuse to justify your addiction to something that's not good for you.
You just need an excuse
You know it's not a good thing to do, and you're trying to find reasons to justify it.
You tell me it calms your nerves
You're trying to use this as an excuse to cope with your problems or stress.
You just think it looks cool
You don't really believe in what you do, you just want to follow the trend and belong to a certain group.
You tell me you want to be different
You're claiming to want to stand out and be unique, but you're really just blending in with the crowd.
You just change for the same
You're trying to be different, but you're actually just copying what everyone else is doing.
You tell le it's only natural
You're trying to make it seem normal and acceptable, but it's actually not.
You just need the proof
You want validation for your choices, but the evidence shows that it's not good for you.
Did you fucking get it?
Are you finally understanding the truth behind your actions?
It's in my eyes
I can see through your lies and excuses.
And it doesn't look that way to me
Your justification and reasoning for your actions are not convincing me.
You tell me that nothing matters
You're using nihilism as an excuse to not take responsibility for your actions or care about anything.
You're just fucking scared
You're using this defense mechanism to hide your insecurities and fear of failure.
You tell me that I'm better
You're trying to compliment me, but really it's just a way to put yourself down and feel worse about yourself.
You just hate yourself
Your low self-esteem is leading you to hate yourself, and you're projecting that onto others.
You tell me that you like her
You're trying to impress me, but really you're just lying to yourself about your feelings for her.
You just wish you did
You're actually envious of her, and you wish you could be in her place.
You tell me that I make no difference
You're trying to bring me down and make me feel insignificant, but I know that my actions matter.
At least I'm fuckin' trying
I may not always succeed, but I'm putting in effort and making a conscious effort to do the right thing.
Contributed by Jake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.