Holocausto were formed in 1985 by Marco Antônio (bass), Valério Exterminator (vocals and guitar) and Rodrigo dos Anjos (guitar).
After recording a demo (Massacre, 1985) and contributing to Cogumelo's Warfare Noise I, the band caused controversy with their debut record, "Campo de Extermínio".
Whilst previous South American bands, such as Sepultura, Vulcano and Sarcófago had toyed with anti-Christian sentiment and Satanism, Holocausto used vivid descriptions of Nazi atrocities in the concentration camps, leading to accusations of antisemitism. The band have claimed that they were "only trying to expose the horrors of the Holocaust in all its gruesome detail" and "that the album's shocking and unflinching descriptions were simply meant to show their own revulsion to the events that had inspired their name".
The band continued with numerous line-up changes, releasing a series of albums through Cogumelo, without capitalising on their early notoriety. This lack of success has been ascribed to their line-up difficulties, their late adoption of English lyrics and the subject matter of their debut.
They did however reform in 2004, releasing a new hardcore-tinged album "De Volta ao Front" in 2005.
In 2017, Holocausto triumphantly returns to its earlier pioneering sound with its original lineup with this release of “War Metal Massacre,” the band’s sixth album, but only the first since its debut to follow in the Minas Gerais deathcore tradition.
In 2019 the band releases the new album "Diário de Guerra".