Text by Patricia C. Figueiredo
The legendary Brazilian band Ratos de Porão returned to Porto Alegre on the 31st and delivered a sensational show at the traditional Bar Opinião . The performance featured a setlist that revisited the group's greatest hits throughout their forty-year career.
The night began with the band Código Penal opening the show and warming up the crowd that gradually filled the dance floor. The band from Rio Grande do Sul blends high-quality rap and hardcore and has been increasingly gaining recognition in the scene. They started the show with "Terra de Ninguém" and quickly captured the audience's attention.
In the same vein as Ratos de Porão, Código Penal delivers powerful lyrics protesting social injustices, capitalism, and racism. Featuring two vocalists, Black to Face and Lucio Agace, Luciano Tatu 's bass Cesar Pereba 's drumming Marcio Zuza and Eduardo Jack 's guitars add exciting riffs and distortions that complete the band's sound. With standout tracks like "Marginalizado," "Chove Bala," and "Uzi Além da Imaginação," Código Penal put on an excellent show and certainly won over new fans.
Ratos de Porão delivers the madness and chaos that fans were expecting.
Ratos de Porão entered the stage without ceremony, and the crowd immediately got excited, quickly chanting "Antifascist Alert." Some fans climbed onto the stage, others threw their beers into the air. The band's early days were already represented in the setlist with the triple hit "Amazônia Nunca Mais," "Farsa Nacionalista," and "Lei do Silêncio" from the 1989 Brasil João Gordo didn't miss the opportunity to use the theme and made statements against Elon Musk and Bolsonaro.
At one point, João Gordo also told the story of Carlos Alberto Pinto de Oliveira , who murdered his parents in Porto Alegre in 1994. The reason the story came to light was because the young man had supposedly been inspired to commit the crime by the song "Herança," which the band also played at this show. There are, in fact, similarities between the lyrics of the song and the way the crime was committed.
Classics of Anarkophobia and Crucified by the System
Other albums that were featured in the show were Anarkophobia (1991), which included hits like “Morte Ao Rei” and “Igreja Universal”, and the first album Crucificados Pelo Sistema (1984), with the title track and “Morrer”.
The band performed in excellent form in many aspects. Bassist Juninho occupied the stage with ferocity in his movements and very high jumps. Jão , although more restrained, let his brutality flow through the guitar strings and equally enraged the audience. On drums, Boka relentlessly shredded, and João Gordo delivered everything in his fast and raspy vocals.
But despite the excellent energy level, the show went by quickly. Lasting about an hour, Ratos de Porão ended their performance, but not before the classics "Aids, Pop, Depressão" and "Beber até Morrer," which had the crowd jumping wildly. Without a doubt, the band delivered all the madness and chaos that the audience expected.
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