Víctor García (Spanish singer)
Encyclopedia
Víctor García is the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

 and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 for the power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...

 band WarCry
WarCry (band)
WarCry is a Spanish power metal band led by founder, singer, and songwriter Víctor García. Formed in 2001 when García and drummer Alberto Ardines were ejected from Avalanch, the band has since released five studio albums and one live album, with a sixth studio album currently in progress. WarCry...

. He is the central figure and sole original member of WarCry and a former Avalanch
Avalanch
Avalanch is a Spanish heavy/power metal band formed in Asturias in 1993.Led by composer, producer and guitar player Alberto Rionda, the band has released 5 studio albums, plus a handful of compilations, DVDs and English versions of their works.-Biography:...

 lead vocalist, being considered one of the best Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 singers. García has often cited that his biggest and most important influences are Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...

, Manowar, and Virgin Steele
Virgin Steele
Virgin Steele is a heavy metal band from New York, originally formed in 1981.The band released a few career highlights albums...

.

Early days

Víctor García discovers his passion for metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 around 1987, after listening to Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...

's Final Countdown
The Final Countdown (album)
The Final Countdown is the third studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. Released on 26 May 1986 through Epic Records, the album was a huge commercial success selling over 3 million units in the United States alone, peaking at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and reaching high...

, and some other bands like Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

. In 1992 he acquired his own guitar and created a band with some friends, named War-Cry
WarCry (band)
WarCry is a Spanish power metal band led by founder, singer, and songwriter Víctor García. Formed in 2001 when García and drummer Alberto Ardines were ejected from Avalanch, the band has since released five studio albums and one live album, with a sixth studio album currently in progress. WarCry...

. In 1994, Asturian
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

 power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...

 band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 Avalanch
Avalanch
Avalanch is a Spanish heavy/power metal band formed in Asturias in 1993.Led by composer, producer and guitar player Alberto Rionda, the band has released 5 studio albums, plus a handful of compilations, DVDs and English versions of their works.-Biography:...

 asked García to joined them as rhythm guitarist. They recorded a demo and gave some concerts in various localities around Asturias. After leaving Avalanch in February, 1996, he reformed the group, now as WarCry. this time acting as songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and lead singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, and recorded the demo Demon 97.

Avalanch

In 1998 Avalanch expelled their lead vocalist Juan Lozano in the middle of the tour in support of La Llama Eterna, and invited García to re-join them as lead vocalist. García tried to keep working with both bands, but finally decided to break up War-Cry and go up with his work on Avalanch. Now as the new Avalanch front man, they recorded Llanto De Un Héroe
Llanto De Un Héroe
Llanto De Un Héroe is an album by the power metal band Avalanch, and the first one featuring Víctor García as the lead vocals. The lyrics talk about epic themes, such as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, Don Pelayo or Tomás de Torquemada the inquisitor...

in 1999 where he received songwriting credits on two songs, "Por mi Libertad" and "Aquí Estaré". After the successful tour on support of the album, Avalanch recorded their first live work, entitled Días De Gloria
Días De Gloria
Días De Gloria is the first live-album by the Spanish power metal band Avalanch, recorded during the promotional tour of Llanto De Un Héroe in Avilés 1999 and released in 2000...

and released on 2000. The band was going through a great moment, and entered the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

 in late 2000 to record El Ángel Caído
El Ángel Caído
El Ángel Caído is the third studio album by the Power metal band Avalanch and the last one featuring Víctor García, released in 2001. And the collaboration of Leo Jiménez .- Trak listing :#"Hacia la luz"#"Tierra de nadie"...

, with the vocals contribution of Leo Jiménez (of Saratoga
Saratoga (band)
Saratoga is a Spanish Heavy Metal band, established in 1992 by Niko del Hierro and Jero Ramiro....

 fame) in the song "Las Ruinas del Edén". The album was released in 2001 and became the band's most successful and acclaimed album. García along with Avalanch drummer Alberto Ardines
Alberto Ardines
Alberto Ardines is a Spanish musician. He is currently working on a new alternative/power metal band called Sauze formed by himself, along with Manuel Ramil, Fernando Mon, and Toni Amboaje.- Career :...

 decided to release an album aside from the band with the songs they had been composing in their spare time. Both members were later expelled from Avalanch with the excuse that they were working on a project behind the band's back. Víctor García replied he showed many songs for the albums, but only two were recorded, "Aquí Estaré" and "Por Mi Libertad", becoming "Aquí Estaré", one of the band's hymns, so he decided "to release a couple of songs, but never with the idea of leaving Avalanch."

WarCry

At the end of the tour on support of El Ángel Caído
El Ángel Caído
El Ángel Caído is the third studio album by the Power metal band Avalanch and the last one featuring Víctor García, released in 2001. And the collaboration of Leo Jiménez .- Trak listing :#"Hacia la luz"#"Tierra de nadie"...

, Víctor García and Avalanch's drummer decided to record an album with the songs they had composed in their spare time. Most of which had been written during the 1990s with lyrics in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. The pair translated the lyrics into Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and produced the album themselves, with Victor singing as well as playing bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, rhythm guitar, and keyboards
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...

. Fernando Mon
Fernando Mon
Fernando is a member of the Asturian power metal band WarCry. He is working on a new alternative/power metal band called Sauze formed by himself, along with Manuel Ramil, Alberto Ardines, and Toni Amboaje.-Career:...

, who had previously worked for Avalanch, and Pablo García
Pablo García (musician)
Pablo García Fernández is a guitarist, for the power metal band WarCry.-Career:Pablo's first contact with a guitar emerges at the age of 16, in the summer of 1993, on a self-taught, and decides to dedicate most of his time to that instrument. Leading him to form his first band with some friends...

 of Relative Silence
Relative Silence
Relative Silence was a Spanish progressive metal band from Asturias formed in 1998 by guitarist Pablo García and drummer Daniel Cabal, as a result of the metal band Presto's dissolution.-History:...

, collaborated on the album by recording guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...

s. Upon learning of Víctor and Ardines' project, Avalanch disapproved of it and expelled them from the band. García stated that he presented many of his song ideas to Avalanch, but received writing credit on only two released songs: "Aquí Estaré" and "Por Mi Libertad". "Aquí Estaré" had barely been accepted by the band but went on to become one of Avalanch's most popular songs, and so he decided "to release a couple of songs, but never with the idea of leaving Avalanch." After being expelled from Avalanch, García showed Ardines the name and logo of WarCry. Ardines felt that those were "fantastic", and that they should continue working on their new musical project using the WarCry name as they already had an "open path". They were joined by Pablo García and Fernando Mon, and recorded their debut album WarCry
WarCry (album)
WarCry is the first full-length album by Spanish power metal band WarCry, released on April 17, 2002 through Avispa Music.- Overview :While working in Avalanch, singer Víctor García and drummer Alberto Ardines decided to release an album with the songs they had composed in their spare time, as...

which was released in April 2002. Shortly after the album's recording they were joined by bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Alvaro Jardón
Alvaro Jardón
Alvaro Jardón is a Spanish bassist, who played in the Power metal bands WarCry and Darna.-Career:...

, formerly of Darna
Darna (band)
Darna was a Spanish power metal band from Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Formed in 1998, they released two successful albums before the drummer's departure in 2004 led the remaining band members to decide to disband the group and focus on separate projects....

. The album received several positive reviews. WarCry started composing new songs instead of touring in support of the album, so that they would have a larger repertoire to perform.

WarCry's second album, El Sello De Los Tiempos
El Sello De Los Tiempos
El Sello De Los Tiempos is the second studio album by the Spanish power metal band WarCry, released on December 1, 2002 through Avispa Music...

, was released in December 2002 through Avispa
Avispa
Avispa is a record label from Spain specializing in heavy metal; it is the largest Spanish company specializing in this type of music...

. Receiving better critics than the debut album. The band performed their first live concert on December 13, 2002 in Avilés
Avilés
Avilés is a city in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main towns in the Principality of Asturias.The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, in a land that belonged to the sea, surrounded by small promontories, all of them having an altitude of less than...

, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

 as the start of their El Sello De Los Tiempos tour
El Sello De Los Tiempos Tour
El Sello De Los Tiempos Tour was the first concert tour by Asturian power metal band WarCry, supporting their second studio album. The tour consisted of 33 shows performed throughout Spain....

. The tour lasted a year, during which WarCry played with many other heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 acts such as Moonspell
Moonspell
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band from Brandoa, Lisbon. Formed in 1992, the group released their first EP Under the Moonspell in 1994, a year before the release of their first album Wolfheart...

, Saratoga
Saratoga (band)
Saratoga is a Spanish Heavy Metal band, established in 1992 by Niko del Hierro and Jero Ramiro....

, Barón Rojo
Barón Rojo
Barón Rojo are a Spanish heavy metal band who reached international success in the 1980s. The band is led by siblings Carlos and Armando de Castro, previously from the band Coz, and it is considered one of the most important representatives of Spanish hard rock bands, along with Obús...

, Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...

, and Rage
Rage (band)
Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian.-Background:...

. Jardón left the band following the tour, citing musical and personal issues.

In August 2003 they began recording a third album, produced by Víctor García and Ardines with the collaboration of Slaven Kolak. The album, Alea Jacta Est
Alea Jacta Est
Alea Jacta Est is the third studio album by the Asturian power metal band WarCry, released on January 1, 2004 , and distributed through Avispa.- Overview :...

, was mixed and edited in the band's own recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

  Jaus Records
Jaus Records
Jaus Records is an independent record label and recording studio from Oviedo, Asturias, Spain, created on 2002 exclusively to record and support the works by Spanish power metal band WarCry...

, and was released on January 1, 2004 through Avispa Music
Avispa
Avispa is a record label from Spain specializing in heavy metal; it is the largest Spanish company specializing in this type of music...

. It was their first album to include writing contributions from each band member (with the exception of Ardines), as Víctor García had written all of the songs on the previous two albums. Alea Jacta Est reached #3 on the FNAC
Fnac
Fnac is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France...

 sales list within twelve days of its release. On the first concert for the tour
Alea Jacta Est Tour
Alea Jacta Est Tour was a concert tour by WarCry in 2004 to support the band's third studio album Alea Jacta Est.-History:It was difficult to overcome the success of the first tour and even more after Alvaro Jardón's departure. The band made a strong bet from the beginning, by adding concert dates...

, WarCry officially presented Roberto García, formerly of Avalanch, as their new bassist.

Discography


WarCry
  • 2002: WarCry
    WarCry (album)
    WarCry is the first full-length album by Spanish power metal band WarCry, released on April 17, 2002 through Avispa Music.- Overview :While working in Avalanch, singer Víctor García and drummer Alberto Ardines decided to release an album with the songs they had composed in their spare time, as...

  • 2002: El Sello De Los Tiempos
    El Sello De Los Tiempos
    El Sello De Los Tiempos is the second studio album by the Spanish power metal band WarCry, released on December 1, 2002 through Avispa Music...

  • 2004: Alea Jacta Est
    Alea Jacta Est
    Alea Jacta Est is the third studio album by the Asturian power metal band WarCry, released on January 1, 2004 , and distributed through Avispa.- Overview :...

  • 2005: ¿Dónde Está La Luz?
    ¿Dónde Está La Luz?
    ¿Dónde Está La Luz? is the fourth studio album by power metal band WarCry, released on February 1, 2005 , and distributed through Avispa Music....

  • 2006: Directo A La Luz
    Directo A La Luz
    Directo A La Luz is the first live album by the Spanish power metal band WarCry, recorded in Madrid, Spain on November 5, 2005 in the music hall "Divino Aqualung" to a crowd of over 2,500 people. In the concert WarCry played various songs from every album released to that point...

    [live]
  • 2006: La Quinta Esencia
    La Quinta Esencia
    La Quinta Esencia is the fifth studio album by the power metal band WarCry, released on December 18, 2006 , and distributed through Avispa Music...

  • 2008: Revolución
    Revolución
    Revolución is the sixth studio album by Spanish power metal band WarCry. This was the band's first release after La Quinta Esencia and with the new line-up. Víctor García stated on the band's website that the name of the songs had pretty much nothing to do with the meaning of ther lyrics, e.g...

  • 2011: Alfa
    Alfa
    Alfa may refer to:* A grass also called esparto.* ALFA , an international indoor rowing competition in Estonia* Alfa , a Lebanese telecom company* ALFA , a Mexican industrial conglomerate* Alfa , a title in Guinea...



Avalanch
  • 1999: Llanto De Un Héroe
    Llanto De Un Héroe
    Llanto De Un Héroe is an album by the power metal band Avalanch, and the first one featuring Víctor García as the lead vocals. The lyrics talk about epic themes, such as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, Don Pelayo or Tomás de Torquemada the inquisitor...

  • 2000: Días De Gloria
    Días De Gloria
    Días De Gloria is the first live-album by the Spanish power metal band Avalanch, recorded during the promotional tour of Llanto De Un Héroe in Avilés 1999 and released in 2000...

    [live]
  • 2001: El Ángel Caído
    El Ángel Caído
    El Ángel Caído is the third studio album by the Power metal band Avalanch and the last one featuring Víctor García, released in 2001. And the collaboration of Leo Jiménez .- Trak listing :#"Hacia la luz"#"Tierra de nadie"...


Tribute albums
  • 1999: Transilvania 666Iron Maiden
    Iron Maiden
    Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

     ("Run to the Hills
    Run to the Hills
    "Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first single from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. The lyrics clearly discuss the violence visited upon Native Americans in the Nineteenth Century. Several lines appear to address the Sioux Wars, a conflict between the Lakota...

    ")
  • 2000: The Attack of the DragonsQueen
    Queen (band)
    Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

  • 2000: Metal GodsJudas Priest
    Judas Priest
    Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...

     ("Hell Patrol")


Important Collaborations
  • 2002: Mixture?
    Mixture?
    Mixture? is the first studio album by the Progressive metal band Relative Silence, which was released in 2002.-Personnel:* Javier Fernández - vocals* Pablo García - guitars* Helena Pinto - keyboard* Aitor Porres - bass* Daniel Cabal - drums...

    Relative Silence
    Relative Silence
    Relative Silence was a Spanish progressive metal band from Asturias formed in 1998 by guitarist Pablo García and drummer Daniel Cabal, as a result of the metal band Presto's dissolution.-History:...

  • 2004: Belfast
    Belfast (album)
    Belfast is an album by folk metal artists Mägo de Oz, which was released in 2004.-Track listing:# "Irish Pub" - 2:58# "Belfast" - 4:52# "La Rosa de los Vientos" - 6:19...

    Mägo De Oz
    Mägo de Oz
    Mägo de Oz is a Spanish folk/heavy metal band from Begoña, Madrid formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus di Fellatio. In 1992, the band were finalists in the Villa de Madrid contest. Then, they went onto achieve great success in Spain, and in 1995, were declared Revolution Rock Band...

  • 2005: Gaia II: La Voz DormidaMägo De Oz
    Mägo de Oz
    Mägo de Oz is a Spanish folk/heavy metal band from Begoña, Madrid formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus di Fellatio. In 1992, the band were finalists in the Villa de Madrid contest. Then, they went onto achieve great success in Spain, and in 1995, were declared Revolution Rock Band...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK