Rata Blanca
Encyclopedia
Rata Blanca is a heavy metal band from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 formed in the 1980s.

Biography

The band was founded by Walter Giardino
Walter Giardino
Héctor Walter Giardino is an Argentine guitarist, composer and leader of the heavy metal and hard rock band Rata Blanca. He is very influenced by Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen.-Early Years and V8 :...

 after he left V8
V8 (band)
V8 was an Argentine heavy metal band created in 1979, one of the first notable Argentine bands of that genre. After its dissolution former members have continued their careers starting other heavy metal bands, Hermética, Horcas, Rata Blanca, Logos and Almafuerte.-Biography:In the beginning of the...

. Rata Blanca played together for about two years before their debut on August 15, 1987 in the theater "Luz y Fuerza" in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. They later took part in the "Halley en Obras", along with other bands: Alakrán ("Skorpion"), JAF and Kamikaze, in 1988. That year they made their debut album with two hits: "Chico Callejero" ("Street Boy") and "El Sueño de la Gitana" ("Gypsy Woman's Dream").

In 1989, Hugo Bistolfi joined the band and then Saúl Blanch left, to be replaced by Adrián Barilari
Adrián Barilari
Adrian Eduardo Barilari is an a Argentine singer best known as the vocalist of the heavy metal and hard rock band Rata Blanca. He also have is own soloist band.-Biography:...

. With that arrangement, the band made its second album Magos, Espadas y Rosas ("Wizards, Swords, and Roses"), containing their classic song "Mujer amante". It was followed by "Guerrero del Arco Iris" ("Rainbow Warrior"). The band ended their contract with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...

 recording a live album, made at the Opera Theater with an orchestra, but this album was released years later. Once in BMG they made a short CD called "El Libro Oculto" ("The Hidden Book").

Both Bistolfi and Barilari decided to leave, being replaced by Mario Ian on vocals and Javier Retamozo
Javier Retamozo
Javier Retamozo is a keyboardist of Heavy metal and Hard rock in Argentina-Biography:He starts his career in 1988 with LZ2, a hard rock band led by Martín Knye. In 1989, he is chosen as the fourth best keyboard player of the Argentinian hard rock scene in the annual poll carried out by “Metal”, a...

 on keyboards. With this line-up they released Entre el Cielo y el Infierno ("Between Heaven and Hell"). Later that year, they were invited to play in "Festival Monsters of Rock" in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, along with Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...

, Therapy?
Therapy?
Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...

, and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

.

They released yet another album with new singer Gabriel Marian and keyboard player Javier Retamozo (Hugo Bistolfi left to form the band Alianza with singer Adrian Barilari) called "Rata Blanca VII", the group disbanded in 1998. They regrouped in 2000 (with Barilari back on vocals and Bistolfi on keyboards) to tour Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

.

In recent years, they have released three more albums, El Camino del Fuego ("The Path of Fire") in 2002, La Llave de la Puerta Secreta ("The Key to the Secret Door") in 2005, and El Reino Olvidado ("The Forgotten Kingdom") in 2008. The lyrics to La Llave de la Puerta Secreta were inspired by The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...

.

Wanting to gain a more international profile, Giardino approached former Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...

 singer Doogie White
Doogie White
Doogie White , is a Scottish rock vocalist, who has sung for Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstone, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Rata Blanca...

 to record an English version of the Forgotten Kingdom album in 2009.

The band is heavily influenced by British hard rock bands like Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...

, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

, Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...

, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

, as well as by Yngwie Malmsteen.

Walter Giardino has had successful collaborations with Spain's Mägo de Oz
Mägo de Oz
Mägo de Oz is a Spanish folk/heavy metal band from Begoña, Madrid formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus di Fellatio. In 1992, the band were finalists in the Villa de Madrid contest. Then, they went onto achieve great success in Spain, and in 1995, were declared Revolution Rock Band...

.

The band's name literally means "White Rat" in English; however in South American slang, rata blanca refers to a type of firework.

Current

  • Walter Giardino
    Walter Giardino
    Héctor Walter Giardino is an Argentine guitarist, composer and leader of the heavy metal and hard rock band Rata Blanca. He is very influenced by Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen.-Early Years and V8 :...

    : Guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (1986–1998, 2001–Present)
  • Adrián Barilari
    Adrián Barilari
    Adrian Eduardo Barilari is an a Argentine singer best known as the vocalist of the heavy metal and hard rock band Rata Blanca. He also have is own soloist band.-Biography:...

    : Vocals (1989–1993, 2001–Present)
  • Guillermo Sánchez: Bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (1987–1998, 2001–Present)
  • Fernando Scarcella: Drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     (2001–Present)
  • Danilo Moschen:Keyboards (2010–Present)
  • Doogie White
    Doogie White
    Doogie White , is a Scottish rock vocalist, who has sung for Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstone, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Rata Blanca...

    : Vocals on English Album Tour (2010)

Original

  • Saúl Blanch: vocals
  • Wálter Giardino: guitar
  • Guillermo Sánchez: bass
  • Gustavo Rowek: drums
  • Sergio Berdichevsky: rhythm guitar

Others

  • Hugo Bistolfi: Keyboards (1989–1993, 2000–2010)
  • Mario Ian: vocals (1994–1996)
  • Gabriel Marian: vocals (1997–1998)
  • Javier Retamozo
    Javier Retamozo
    Javier Retamozo is a keyboardist of Heavy metal and Hard rock in Argentina-Biography:He starts his career in 1988 with LZ2, a hard rock band led by Martín Knye. In 1989, he is chosen as the fourth best keyboard player of the Argentinian hard rock scene in the annual poll carried out by “Metal”, a...

    : Keyboards (1994–1998)
  • Saúl Blanch: vocals (1987, 1988–1989)
  • Sergio Berdichevsky: rhythm guitar (1987–1998)
  • Shito Molina: vocals (1988)
  • Gustavo Rowek; drums (1986–1998)
  • Doogie White; vocals (2009–2010)

Studio albums

  • Rata Blanca
    Rata Blanca (album)
    Rata Blanca is the first album by the Argentine metal band of the same name recorded in 1988 by Polygram.-Recording history:The vocalist Saul Blanch had already left the band after the recording the disk. After his departure so many singer took his place like Carlos Perigo and Shito Molina but they...

    (1988)
  • Magos, espadas y rosas
    Magos, espadas y rosas
    Magos, Espadas y Rosas is the second album by Argentine metal band Rata Blanca. The album was released by PolyGram and is one of the best selling albums of Latino-American rock albums. It is also the first album with Adrian Barilari on the vocals.-Tracks:All tracks written by Walter Giardino...

    (1990)
  • Guerrero del Arco Iris (1992)
  • El libro oculto
    El Libro Oculto
    El Libro Oculto is the fourth album by argentine metal band Rata Blanca. The album was recorded in 1993 in Spain. The disk have a more heavy sound than previous albums. After this album the singer Adrian Barilari and the keyboardist Hugo Bistolfi left the band...

    (1993)
  • Entre el Cielo y el Infierno (1994)
  • Rata Blanca VII (1997)
  • El Camino del Fuego
    El Camino del Fuego
    El Camino del Fuego is the seventh studio album and the first after the reunion in 2001 of the argentinian band Rata Blanca. In this album Adrian Barilari returns as the lead vocalist. The album also has an EP version in english....

    (2002)
  • La Llave de la Puerta Secreta (2005)
  • El Reino Olvidado
    El Reino Olvidado
    El Reino Olvidado is the ninth studio album by the Argentine band Rata Blanca. The album was edited and released in 2008 by Popart. Two weeks after the release date the album obtain the gold album certification....

    (2008)

Live and compilation albums

  • En vivo en Buenos Aires
    En Vivo en Buenos Aires
    En Vivo en Buenos Aires Released in 1994 is the ninth album and first live one from the Argentine Ska Reggae Latin Rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. It was well received and earned a gold disc....

    (1996)
  • Grandes Canciones
    Grandes Canciones
    Grandes Canciones is the third album by argentine singer Noel Schajris released in May 31, 2011. It is an album made up of covers of songs made popular by other Spanish-language singers, with one English-language exception; Tears In Heaven, originally recorded by Eric Clapton.-Track listing:#...

    (2000)
  • Poder Vivo (2003)
  • Rata Blanca & Glenn Hughes (2003)

Singles

  • "La Leyenda del Hada y El Mago"
  • "Rata Blanca" (2001)
  • "Teatro Gran Rex" (2001)
  • "Highway on Fire" (2002)

External links

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