Zero stylized as ZERØ, is a Brazilian rock band formed in 1983 in São Paulo and based in Rio de Janeiro since 1998.
The instrumental punk jazz/no wave band Ultimato, formerly known as Lux, was founded in So Paulo in 1978 by Fabio Golfetti, Alberto "Beto" Birger, Cláudio Souza, Gilles Eduar, and Nelson Coelho. Ultimato was renamed Ultimato in 1981. Luiz Antônio Ribas, the proprietor of the now-defunct independent record label Underground Discos e Artes, introduced future vocalist Guilherme Isnard, who had just recently split from his previous band Voluntários da Pátria, to Ultimato. Isnard then decided to join the band and approached its members to start writing lyrics for their songs. In 1983, the group changed its name to Zero and their musical genre evolved to "art rock with a hardcore punch," in Isnard's words. The single "Heróis," which was their debut release, was released by CBS in 1985.
The band had a guest appearance on the song "Caim e Abel" from May East's debut album Remota Batucada in 1985, but the same year also saw a radical reorganization of its line-up, with all members leaving save for Isnard. The majority of its ex-members would launch their own bands: Beto Birger and Vange Leonel would form Nau, while Fabio Golfetti and Cláudio Souza founded the prominent psychedelic rock band Violeta de Outono.
The "original" lineup of the band then joined Isnard: Athos Costa on drums, Eduardo Amarante (previously of Agentss and Azul 29), Ricardo "Rick" Villas-Boas on bass, Alfred "Freddy" Haiat (formerly of Degradée and the brother of Metrô guitarist Alec Haiat), on keyboards. Athos Costa quit the band in 1987, and Malcolm Oakley, a former member of Azul 29, took his place. The band subsequently started working on Carne Humana, their debut studio album, which was not as successful as their EP but gave birth to the equally well-known singles "Quimeras" and "A Luta e o Prazer." They served as Tina Turner's opening act in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo that same year.
For a concert honoring the band's 15th anniversary, Isnard reassembled Zero's original lineup in 1998. It was initially intended to be a one-time performance, but the enthusiastic reception from the audience led to the announcement of a full reunion. In 2000, Sony released the compilation Electro-Acstico, which included acoustic re-recordings of some of the band's older songs along with four previously unreleased tracks. This was the group's first release following their hiatus, albeit with a slightly different line-up as Sérgio Naciffe joined the group as drummer and Joo Paulo Mendonça served as an additional keyboardist. Philippe Seabra of Plebe Rude and Bruno Gouveia of Biquini Cavado both made cameo appearances.
Isnard announced a live DVD of their performances, but it has not yet been released. Other reunions of the band's original lineup took place in 2012 and 2013, when they performed Zero's 30th anniversary events and their first two albums in their entirety live.
Isnard entirely restructured Zero's lineup in 2017 for a run of performances honoring the release of their first full-length album, Carne Humana, which was released thirty years earlier.
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