Mão Morta

Portuguese Alternative-rock cult band from Braga.
Mão Morta was formed in November 1984 by Adolfo Luxúria Canibal, Joaquim Pinto and Miguel Pedro, vocals, bass and guitar respectively, they had been performing in a group called PVT Industrial, and were joined a few months later by Zé dos Eclipses on guitar and Miguel Pedro became the drummer, they were a post-punk group heavily influenced by industrial music and by the Swans, having even referenced their bassist Harry Crosby alleged words of encouragement "you look like a bassist", towards Joaquim Pinto in October 1984 in Berlin, Germany. The group name Mão Morta (Dead Hand) was a term used for a law during feudalism, in which the servants would have to pay a tax when the patriarch of the family died to remain in their master's land. The group continued to grow within the country as their raw performances gathered some attention through the following years, releasing their first tape in August 1987, with Carlos Fortes as their second guitarist, who had joined the group in the previous year.
In July 1988 the group released their debut album "Mão Morta" via Ama Romanta, a Portuguese indie label run by João Peste, considered by many as one of the country's best alternative rock albums. Later that year. the group had the opportunity to open for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on their two Portuguese shows, in Lisbon and Porto. In 1990 Joaquim Pinto left the group and was replaced by José Pedro Moura from the avant-pop/rock group Pop Dell'Arte, and they were also joined by António Rafael on keyboards. It was with this formation that they recorded their following album "Corações Felpudos", and the following year they released another album, titled "O.D., Rainha Do Rock & Crawl" issued by Área Total from Guarda, and then by the German label Big Noise Records (opens in a new tab) in 1992, their first release to be issued outside of Portugal. This was the last record in which Zé dos Eclipses participated as a member, as he left the group afterwards and was replaced by Sapo (opens in a new tab), also a former Pop Dell'Arte member. The group then concentrated their efforts on the recording of their following album "Mutantes S.21", released in December 1992, and with this recording they achieved a moderate commercial success, reaching the 28th position on the national charts, with the track "Budapeste" becoming one of the most requested videos on the national TV show "Vira o Vídeo".
With the success of "Mutantes S.21" the group signed with BMG/Ariola to release "Vénus Em Chamas" (Venus In Flames). Carlos Fortes left in 1995 and was replaced by Vasco Vaz, former Braindead (opens in a new tab), but was not part of the recording of "Mão Morta Revisitada", a collection of re-recorded songs from their earlier albums, which saw Zé dos Eclipses return to the group as a guest. In 1996 the group was invited by the CCB (opens in a new tab) to work on a theatrical performance based on the poems of Heiner Müller, who had recently passed away, as a celebration of the writer's work. These shows resulted in the release "Müller No Hotel Hessischer Hof".
"Há Já Muito Tempo Que Nesta Latrina O Ar Se Tornou Irrespirável (Portugal 1998) (opens in a new tab)" (It Has Been a Long Time Since The Air in This Latrine Became Unbrethable) was released in 1998. The record was influenced by the writings of Guy Debord and the Situationists. The year 2000 saw another line-up change as José Pedro Moura was replaced by Marta Abreu, who was then replaced in that same year by Joana Longobardi. Both had been members of the Voodoo Dolls (opens in a new tab), but only Marta participated in the recording of "Primavera De Destroços", released in 2001. The group then toured the country and played at several festivals. In 2003 the group released "Carícias Malícias (Portugal 2003) (opens in a new tab)" (Malicious Caresses) on the group's own Cobra Discos. It was a live recording of their 2001 concert at the RDP (Rádio Difusora de Portugal) auditorium.
In 2004, on the group's twentieth anniversary, they released "Nus" (Naked), which saw the group embark on a national tour dubbed "Sessões de Outono", In 2006 the group was asked by Theatro Circo to do a performance for them, with the text "Les Chantes de Maldoror"of Isidore Ducasse aka Comte De Lautréamont being the one chosen for the group to work. It premiered in May 2007 and subsequently performed through the country theatres. The recording of the show "Maldoror" was issued as a limited edition in 2008. "Rituais Transfigurados (Portugal 2009) (opens in a new tab)" was released the following year, an old a video concert soundtrack performance from 2000, with Maya Deren films being played in the background, recorded at 16th editon of the Curtas de Vila do Conde festival.
Current line-up:
Adolfo Luxúria Canibal - Voice (1984-)
Miguel Pedro - Drums (1984-)
António Rafael - Keyboards, Guitar (1990-)
Vasco Vaz - Guitar, Keyboards (1995-)
Ruca Lacerda - Guitarra (2019-)
Rui Leal - Baixo (2022-)
Past members:
José Salgado known as Zé dos Eclipses - Guitar (1985-1991)
Carlos Fortes - Guitar (1986-1994)
Joaquim Pinto - Bass (1984-1990)
José Pedro Moura - Bass (1990-2000)
Marta Abreu - Bass (2000)
Joana Longobardi - Bass (2000-2021)
Sapo - Guitar (1991-2019; 2021-2022)