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.
Money
Ratos De Porão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Money, money keeps you so blind
I'm looking for some justice
But justice I don't find
You'll be always
Free and ok
If you have the money
There's no law (?)
There's no justice, there's no truth
There's nothing only bucks
There's no crime you will survive
You'll be always
Free and ok
If you have the money
Money to pay
Where is the law of humanity?
Is everybody equal or not?
Blackmail, corruption and insanity
That's what we've got
There's no choice for you
Without money you'll be dead
Instead of fighting the law
Better put a bullet in your head
Better put a bullet in your fucking head
You'll be always
Free and ok
If you have the money
Money to pay
The lyrics to Ratos De Porão's song "Money" comment on the corrupt nature of society and the extent to which money rules over everything. The opening lines say "Money runs all the world" and "Money, money keeps you so blind," implying that money has the power to control and deceive even the most well-intentioned people. The singer laments that he's "looking for some justice, but justice I don't find," highlighting the lack of balance and fairness in the world due to the power of money.
The chorus of the song repeats the idea that having money is what guarantees freedom and protection in society, saying "You'll be always free and ok, if you have the money, money to pay." This implies that without money, one becomes vulnerable and subject to the whims of those who have it.
The verses also comment on the absence of true justice or morality, with lines like "There's no law, there's no justice, there's no truth, there's nothing, only bucks" and "Where is the law of humanity? Is everybody equal or not?" The song paints a bleak picture of the world, where even survival is contingent on having money.
Line by Line Meaning
Money runs all the world
Everything is controlled by money
Money, money keeps you so blind
Money blinds people from seeing the truth
I'm looking for some justice
The singer is seeking justice
But justice I don't find
The artist cannot find justice
You'll be always
If you have
Free and ok
Money, you will be free and okay
If you have the money
Only if you have money
Money to pay
Money to pay for everything
There's no law (?)
There seems to be no real law or justice
There's no justice, there's no truth
Justice and truth seem to be absent
There's nothing only bucks
Money is the only thing that matters
There's no crime you will survive
You cannot survive without committing some sort of crime without money
Where is the law of humanity?
Where is the basic human decency?
Is everybody equal or not?
Are people treated equally or not?
Blackmail, corruption and insanity
There is a lot of blackmail, corruption, and insanity because of money
That's what we've got
That's what we have to deal with
There's no choice for you
Without money, you have no options
Without money you'll be dead
Without money, you cannot survive
Instead of fighting the law
Rather than fighting the corrupt system
Better put a bullet in your head
It's better to kill yourself
Better put a bullet in your fucking head
It's better to commit suicide than to live without money
Contributed by Violet N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.