Tarantula was formed in October 1981. By that time the Barros brothers were just kids dreaming about a musical career. After successful gigs in Portugal and Germany and two demo - tapes, the band signed their first record deal in 1987. The self intituled album was the first one released in Portugal by an heavy metal album and sold out in just a couple of weeks.

In 1990 "Kingdom of Lusitania" was released putting the band's name in the international metal scene. They received several record deal proposals but their label, the multinational Polygram, didn't cooperate with the band. The regular shows and the Rock'n'School (rock music school created by the musicians) occupied a lot of time and only in 1993 ("Tarantula III") and 1995 ("Freedom's Call") they released new albums. These works had excellent reviews in European, South American and Japanese press and led them to more tours in Portugal and Spain.
In 1995, on TARANTULA's 15th anniversary about 15,000 people saw a big show with several guests. In 1997 the band played in various concerts e.g. with Manowar, Hammerfall, Gamma Ray and Jag Panzer. ''Light Beyond The Dark'' was their first album with AFM Records in 1999. The release show was presented in front of 1.200 maniacs that sold out the Hard Club. The "Tour beyond the Dark" had more than twenty dates in countries such as Portugal, Spain and Germany. TARANTULA played with Stratovarius, Motorhead, Squealer and Deep Purple. The two shows with Deep Purple in the Portuguese Coliseums (Porto and Lisbon) brought more than 4000 people to each concert.

In 2000 they travelled to Germany to record their new album "Dream Maker", with the producer Tommy Newton (Helloween, Conception, Victory, Elegy).

In 2001 a double tribute/compilation CD was released by Recital.34 bands participated, 31 Portuguese and 3 Brasilian (Delpht,Vers´Over,Santarem)

Source: http://www.tarantula-music.com/