Agrotóxico

Agrotóxico is a hardcore punk group from São Paulo, Brazil, formed in 1993. The band begins in the Cidade Ademar neighbourhood and goes through several line-up changes over time. The original line-up consists of Mauro on bass and vocals, Marcos on guitar, and Edu on drums. Later members include Jeferson on bass and vocals, Arthur on guitar and vocals, Pedro on drums, Renato on vocals, and André on drums.

Style and lyrics

The band plays fast hardcore punk with shouted choruses, heavy guitar riffs and strong bass lines. Its lyrics deal with anarchism, political and social issues, war, ecology, animal rights, and everyday life in the Brazilian suburbs. The writing also reflects poverty, police violence and the struggles of the band members’ environment. Their influences include 1980s Finnish and Swedish punk and English hardcore groups such as The Varukers and The Exploited.

Recordings and releases

Agrotóxico releases two demo tapes in 1995, Decadência and Sindicato do Crime, with Mauro, Marcos, Jeferson and Silvio. Its first album, Caos 1998, appears in 1998 with André on drums and includes the songs “Marcas da Revolta”, “Lei da Vingança” and “Não Quero Ouvir Mais Nada”. The next studio album, Estado de Guerra Civil, is recorded in 2002 and shifts some of its focus to the global situation, including G7 meetings and multinational corporations. This album also contains a Portuguese version of “Kuitenkin Kuolemme” by the Finnish band Appendix and a cover of “Psykiskt Instabil” by the Swedish band Asta Kask.

In 2003, Agrotóxico releases a split album with Rasta Knast, with the two bands covering each other’s national punk scenes: Agrotóxico performs songs by Slime, Canal Terror, Recharge, Molotov Soda and Rasta Knast, while Rasta Knast plays songs by Ratos de Porão, Zumbis do Espaço, Cólera, Inocentes and Agrotóxico. In 2004, Agrotóxico tours Europe with Flicts, and the two bands later issue a split release together. Its last album mentioned here, Libertação, appears in 2007 and adds Arthur, from Flicts, on bass and vocals; the song “Ateus nas Trincheiras” features his vocals.

Touring and collaborations

Agrotóxico tours Europe with Olho Seco after an invitation from Fábio Sampaio of Olho Seco. The tour includes dates in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Germany and Sweden. Mauro leaves after this period, and Renato takes over vocals. The band later tours across Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Hungary with Rasta Knast, and the two groups remain linked through their split release. The 2004 European tour with Flicts covers 27 gigs in 30 days across eight countries.