Mão Morta is a Portuguese avant-garde rock band that started its activities in 1985 in Braga. The group's name means "dead hand", based on a traditional Portuguese nursery rhyme. They are generally considered to be one of the most important bands in the Portuguese rock scene. Since the start of their career, the bands' live concerts became famous for their intensity and dark mood, due to their signature alternative rock sound and the performance of vocalist Adolfo Luxúria Canibal (a pseudonym, meaning Adolph Cannibal Lust), known for occasional onstage theatrics and his growling, half-sung, half-spoken singing style. Mão Morta's music is quite difficult to categorize as they seem to incorporate a variety of genres; from punk rock, metal, to industrial and experimental. Their sound, combined with Adolfo's lyrics, reflects urban violence, a human search for pleasure, freedom and a critique of contemporary consumerist society, often with sarcastic humour.