Rata Blanca
is a classic heavy metal band from Argentina that formed in the 1980s.
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RATA BLANCA TICKETS
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Biography
The band was founded by
Walter Giardino after he left
V8. Rata Blanca played together for about two years before their debut on
August 15 1987 in the theater "Luz y Fuerza" in
Buenos Aires. 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's Dream").
In 1989, Hugo Bistolfi joined the band and then Saúl Blanch left, to be replaced by Adrián Barilari. With that arrangement, the band made its second album
Magos, Espadas y Rosas
("Wizards, Swords, and Roses") They released two records between 1989 and 1994 called "Guerrero del Arco Iris" ("Rainbow Warrior") and "El Libro Oculto" ("The Hidden Book"). Both Bistolfi and Barilari decided to leave, being replaced by Mario Ian on vocals and
Javier Retamozo 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,
Brazil, along with
Ozzy Osbourne,
Therapy?, and
Alice Cooper. 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. 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
. Wanting to gain a more international profile, Giardino approached former
Rainbow singer
Doogie White to record an English version of the "Forgotten Kingdom" album in 2009
[1] .
The band is heavily influenced by British hard rock bands like
Rainbow,
Deep Purple,
Whitesnake,
Iron Maiden, as well as by
Yngwie Malmsteen.
Walter Giardino has had successful collaborations with Spain's
Mägo de Oz.
Personnel
Current
- Walter Giardino: Guitar
- Adrián Barilari: Vocals
- Hugo Bistolfi: Keyboards
- Guillermo Sánchez: Bass
- Fernando Scarcella: Drums
Original
- Saúl Blanch: vocals
- Wálter Giardino: guitar
- Guillermo Sánchez: bass
- Gustavo Rowek: drums
- Sergio Berdichevsky: rhythm guitar
Others
- Mario Ian: vocals
- Gabriel Marian: vocals
- Javier Retamozo: Keyboards
- Saúl Blanch: vocals
- Sergio Berdichevsky: rhythm guitar
- Shito Molina: vocalst
- Miguel De Ipola: Keyboards
Discography
Albums
- Rata Blanca (album)
(1988)
- Magos, espadas y rosas
(1990)
- Guerrero del arco iris
(1992)
- El libro oculto
(1993)
- Entre el cielo y el infierno
(1994)
- En vivo en Buenos Aires
(1996)
- Rata Blanca VII
(1997)
- Los Clasicos Del Rock En Español
(1999)
- Grandes Canciones
(2000)
- Entre el cielo y el infierno/El libro oculto
(2001)
- El camino del fuego
(2002)
- Poder vivo
(2003)
- En Vivo Estadio Obras
(2003)
- La llave de la puerta secreta
(2005)
- El Reino Olvidado
(2008)
Singles
- "La Leyenda del Hada y El Mago"
- "Rata Blanca" (2001)
- "Teatro Gran Rex" (2001)
- "Highway on Fire" (2002)
References
- http://www.doogiewhite.com/news/rata-blanca.htm