O Terço was one of the first progressive bands from Brazil. The band, whose name means "rosary beads" in Portuguese, first formed in 1968.

Personnel changes would become part of the bands dynamic, with Sergio Hinds assuming the role of band anchor. The group owed a lot of its early sound to such Italian favorites as Locanda Delle Fate, Quella Veccia Locanda, and Premiata Forneria Marconi. They also managed to mix in other styles, like folk, and the most important: MPB (Brazilian Popular Music), which made the band sound a little bit like Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim and other great Brazilian artists.