Mercenárias ( Portuguese for "Mercenaries"), sometimes erroneously referred to as As Mercenárias, are a Brazilian all-female rock band formed in São Paulo in 1982, by bassist Sandra Coutinho, vocalist Rosália Munhoz and guitarist Ana Machado. With lyrics that heavily criticized Brazilian government and society (and sometimes the Catholic Church as well), their sonority was constantly compared to

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

, Joy Division,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

and above all The Slits. The band ended in 1988, but reunited in 2006 with a new line-up; further changes on the band's line-up would be made in early 2015 and then in 2017. The only original founding member remaining is Coutinho.

History

Mercenárias was founded in São Paulo in 1982, by Sandra Coutinho, Rosália Munhoz and Ana Machado, at the time college students: Rosália studied Psychology at the PUC-SP, while Sandra and Ana were classmates at the ECA-USP, where they studied Journalism. A then-unknown Edgard Scandurra initially served as the band's drummer; however, he would leave the band in order to focus on the incipient Ira!, and was replaced by Lourdes "Lou" Moreira by the time the band released their first album. Sandra would also join Smack in 1983, alongside Scandurra, Sérgio "Pamps" Pamplona and Thomas Pappon, and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band Cabine C in 1984, alongside former Titãs member Ciro Pessoa. In 1983 they recorded a demo tape, containing eight tracks, but it was never made available to the general public. The tape caught the attention of famous Brazilian independent label Baratos Afins though, which released Mercenárias' debut album, ''

Cadê as Armas? ''Cadê as Armas?'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Where Are the Weapons?'') is the debut album by Brazilian post-punk band Mercenárias. It was released in 1986 in music, 1986 via famous independent record label Baratos Afins and re-releas ...

'', in 1986. It was extremely well-received, with the tracks "Inimigo", "Santa Igreja", "Polícia" and "Pânico" becoming underground hits. A music video was made for the latter track. In 1988, the band released their second (and last) studio album, ''

Trashland ''Trashland'' is the second and last studio album by Brazilian post-punk band Mercenárias. It was released in 1988 via EMI, and produced by Edgard Scandurra (of Ira! and Ultraje a Rigor, and a long-time friend and former member of Mercenárias) ...

'', via EMI. It received an even better reception than the first one, and won the prize of "Album of the Year" by magazine ''

Bizz Bizz (born Bryce Bernius) is an American rock guitarist, best known for his work with industrial/shock rock band Genitorturers, horror punk band The Undead (also featuring ex members of The Misfits; Bobby Steele and Joey Image), and Sydney metal ...

''. However, EMI fired the band for unknown reasons, and they disbanded soon after. Ana and Rosália abandoned the musical career, while Sandra, in 1998, went on to live in Berlin for a while, where she formed the short-lived German-Brazilian group Akt, before returning to Brazil in 2005. "Lourdes" underwent a sex reassignment surgery and changed his name to Leonardo, and announced himself to be an LGBT activist. In 2006, Sandra reformed the band and hired new members Geórgia Branco and Pitchu Ferraz. In 2012, the band celebrated its 30-year anniversary, and performed at the CCJ Ruth Cardoso in São Paulo, for free. The show counted with the participation of Edgard Scandurra and

Clemente Nascimento Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese surname and a given name. Notable people with the surname include: Surname * Aldo Di Clemente (born 1948), Italian amateur astronomer * Anna Clemente (born 1994), Italian racewalker * Ari Cleme ...

(of the band

Inocentes Inocentes is one of the oldest active punk rock bands in Brazil. The group was formed in 1981 by former members of pioneer local punk bands Restos de Nada and Condutores de Cadáver. During their first incarnation in the first half of the 1980s, ...

), among others. In November 2013, the band performed at the SESC Consolação, in a show celebrating the 35-year anniversary of Baratos Afins. Sandra's bandmates of Smack, Scandurra and Pamplona, participated in it. In early 2015, Branco and Ferraz left the band and were replaced by Sílvia Tape and Michelle Abu. In mid-2017, Marianne Crestani replaced Tape. In March 2015, Mercenárias announced on their official Facebook page that their 1983 demo would be remastered and finally available for purchase. The band's first release in 27 years, it came out on June 27, 2015 by independent label Nada Nada Discos. On August 11, 2018, the band released the

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

''Baú 83–87'', containing previously unreleased demos and rarities recorded between 1983 and 1987.Mercenárias - Baú 83-87 LP
/ref>

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

* ''Pânico/Rock Europeu'' ( split single with Fellini — 2005)

Band members

Current members

* Sandra Coutinho – vocals (2006–), bass guitar (1982–1988, 2006–) * Marianne Crestani – guitar, backing vocals (2017–) * Michelle Abu – drums (2015–)

Former members

* Rosália Munhoz – vocals (1982–1988) * Ana Machado – guitar (1982–1988) * Edgard Scandurra – drums (1982–1985) * Leonardo Moreira – drums (1985–1988) * Geórgia Branco – guitar (2006–2015) * Pitchu Ferraz – drums (2006–2015) * Sílvia Tape – guitar (2015–2017)

References

External links

*
Mercenárias' page at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercenarias All-female punk bands Brazilian punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Brazilian post-punk music groups Brazilian musical trios Musical groups from São Paulo 1982 establishments in Brazil 1988 disestablishments in Brazil 2006 establishments in Brazil