Alvacast

The band was formed in 1985 by original members Gustavo Rea (bass), Gustavo "Tycho" Artigas (guitar), Clement "Bhilo" Lopez (guitar), Jorge Villar (drums) and Charly D. Lopez (vocals). The five musicians started playing in Montevideo, as well as the surrounding areas, gradually amassing a following that expressed a keen interest in the band's new musical output.

In 1986, Alvacast recorded their first demo, "Campos de sangre", containing the song "Campos De Sangre ("Fields of Blood"), and performed at the Montevideo Rock Festival with bands from Argentina, Brasil and Chile. The following year the band signed to the Orfeo record label and recorded their first album, Al Borde del Abismo, onto the vinyl medium,[1] subsequently performing the full-length recording before a sold-out Odeon Theatre in Montevideo. Alvacast then traveled throughout Uruguay in support of their debut album and consequently secured a prominent position in the country's rock music scene of the time.[2] Later in 1987, Alvacast featured in the Argentinian show, "Rock de Primera" (including Charly García, RIFF, La Torre and others on the bill), held in Buenos Aires, and then played at the Rock Theatre in November with Kamikaze (Argentina).

During 1988, the band consolidated its lineup, with Clement "Bhilo" Lopez leaving the group in 1988 and Leonardo Lamela (guitar) joining it. It was also at this time that music industry press from around the world displayed an interest in the band itself, as well as its music, with European magazines running articles on the band's activities. Alvacast toured heavily in 1988, performing at Montevideo Rock II and playing smaller club shows in Buenos Aires throughout the year. Support for the live shows came from Dr. Jekyll, Retrosatan, and Hermética, among others. In December 1988, Alvacast traveled to Chile to perform two shows in the capital, Santiago de Chile: one was at the Estadio Manuel Plaza, where audiences were disappointed by the show's technical aspects; and a second, more spectacular show was held at the Chile Stadium before more than 4,000 people, leading to high levels of subsequent press coverage .

In 1989, Alvacast recorded their second album Inocente... Hasta que se Demuestre lo Contrario, also under Orfeo. The popular reception of the band in Argentina led to the Radio Tripoli label overseeing the Argentinian release of the group's second album, with a subsequent expansion into Chile and Venezuela, where the first album was also locally released. In Argentina, Alvacast played with Rata Blanca, Lethal and Jaf Alakran at the Halley nightclub, and in 1990 became the first Uruguayan group to complete a "sold-out" performance at the Estadio Obras Sanitarias[3]in Buenos Aires.[2]

After exploring English-language recording, as well as a limited number of releases in the United States, Alvacast relocated to Canada in 1992.[4] Initially, only Leo had moved to Canada, and quickly the rest of the band joined. In 1994 the band broke up and Charly joined local heavy metal band Boize during the fall and winter. However the other members quickly reformed the band. Alvacast debuted at Montreal's Station 10, and the band proceeded to work through the challenges of their new environment and eventually performed in small pubs. During this time, a collection of tapes recorded in Montevideo entitled Alvacast para Coleccionistas ("Alvacast For Collectors") is released by Perro Andaluz Records.

The following year they released their fourth album in Uruguay, "Black Testaments", edited by Sondor. Alvacast remains active until the end of '94. Are dissolved and reunited twice, one of them even a momentary departure of original vocalist Charly Lopez.

In 1999, Alvacast made a farewell tour of Canada and Uruguay. Their final show was performed on December 29 in Montevideo, Uruguay, at La Factoría for an audience of 1,000, with the band Chopper opening.

Currently three of the five members of Alvacast are living in Montreal, Canada, the other two, one living in Uruguay and one in Alberta, Canada.