Formed in São Paulo in 1981, Ratos de Porão are one of the world’s longest-running hardcore bands, an institution whose influence stretches across Latin America and deep into the European punk and extreme music underground. Crucificados Pelo Sistema, released in early 1984, is their first full-length and the first LP ever issued by a Latin American hardcore band. More than forty years later, its songs are still shouted back at the band on stages around the world.

Musically, the album draws heavily from the early Swedish and Finnish scenes — the chaos and velocity of Anti-Cimex, Terveet Kädet, and Kaaos — and is now recognized as a foundational D-Beat document. But Crucificados Pelo Sistema also set the template for a uniquely Brazilian hardcore sound: from the Discharge-based title track to the breakneck thrash of “Caos,” to the pogo-ready stomp of “F.M.I.”. It is also the first RDP release with iconic singer João Gordo, whose unmistakable vocal presence defines the band’s identity to this day.

Emerging in the late years of Brazil’s military regime, the album pairs the universal anti-war and anti-authoritarian stance of international hardcore with distinctly Brazilian realities — police violence, poverty in São Paulo’s outskirts, and the crushing weight of foreign debt.

With its rough, blown-out sonics and relentless urgency, Crucificados Pelo Sistema is global hardcore classic — a record that continues to resonate as it did in 1984.

• Format Type: 12"