Ultramen began its activities in Porto Alegre in 1991. At that time it was a trio:
Zé Darcy (drums), Julio Porto (guitar) and Pedro Porto (bass). The initial idea was to mix heavy metal music (Sepultura, Slayer, Anthrax, etc) with black music (James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone), and rap vocals (Public Enemy, Beastie Boys). The trio cut a demo with two songs, with Zé doing the vocals. The first lyrics were in English Then Tonho, took over as singer, and after that came Malásia (percussion) and Peru (sax).
This formation made the first show in the city of Porto Alegre and in the country side. . Also, it was with six members that Ultramen made two official demo tapes. After the release of the demo tapes and the shows, the band started to be considered one of the most important bands in Porto Alegre, calling national attention, being invited to participate in festivals and shows in other states of Brasil. Soon after, there has been another change in the formation: Peru leaves and Marcito joins the band. (percussion).
Around this time, other rhythms started to influence the musical mix of the band, like Brasilian music and reggae. In 1997 Ultramen recorded its first CD. This recording, which was totally sponsored by the band, happened to be heard by Dado Villa-Lobos, who decided to contract the band and release the CD under his own label – the Rock it! It came out in 1998 and got the band to be known to the public and the media all over the country, mainly with the song “Vou a mais de 100”, which was played a lot on the radios in Sao Paulo. In Rio Grande do Sul, “Bico de luz” was a hit Both songs had vídeo clips. At this time, the band made important shows in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Two people were invited to play as special guests: DJ Anderson (scratch) and Leonardo Boff (keyboards).
In 2000 Olelê, the second CD ,comes out. This CD represents an important period for the band. Many songs (like Peleia, Dívida, and Esse é o meu Compromisso) were played on the local radios and the band made dozens of shows throughout their native state - Rio Grande do Sul.
This CD led the band to play in universities and schools in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the beginning of 2001.
During this period there was another change in the formation of the band: Julio leaves (guitar) and Alexandre Guri joins the group. (guitar).
Guri participated in all the Olelê Shows and recorded the third CD which is called “O incrivel caso da musica que encolheu e outras historias” (The incredible case of the song that shrunk and other stories…). It came out at the end of 2002, after signing with Sum Records. Shortly after the group toured in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The songs “Máquina do tempo” and “De canto e sossegado” became vídeo clips.
At the beginning of 2004, the guitar player Alexandre Guri leaves and one of the founders of the band rejoins the band, Julio Porto.
In January 2005, Ultramen participated in a big MTV project - Acustico MTV Bandas Gaúchas. The bands participating in this project recorded a CD and DVD, and the hit ‘Dívida’ has special participation of Falcão from the band ‘O Rappa’. The latest work of the band, Capa Preta, has been released in the end of 2006. Capa Preta shows that the band continues in the same way of mixing musical styles, with its formula each time more matured.
