Eduardo Rivadavia (aka Ed Rivadavia) was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and by his late teens had already toured the world (and elsewhere), learning four languages on three continents. Having also accepted the holy gospel of rock & roll as his lord and savior, Eduardo became infatuated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and all things heavy, crude, and obnoxious while living in Milan, Italy, during the mid-1980s. At this time, he also made his journalistic debut as sole writer, editor, publisher, and, some would claim, reader of his high school's heavy metal fanzine, earning the scorn of jocks and nerds alike, but uniting the small hardcore music-loving contingent into a frenzied mob that spent countless hours exchanging tapes, talking shop, and getting beat up at concerts. Upon returning home to Brazil, Eduardo resumed a semi-normal existence, sporadically contributing music articles to local papers and magazines while earning his business degree. Finally, after years of obsessive musical fandom and at peace with his distinct lack of musical talent, Eduardo decided the time had come to infiltrate the music industry by the fire escape. He quit his boring corporate job, relocated to America, earned his master's degree while suffering the iniquities of interning for free (anything for rock & roll!), and eventually began working for various record labels, accumulating mountains of records and (seemingly) useless rock trivia in the process. This eventually led him back to writing, and he has regularly contributed articles to multiple websites since 1999, working with many different rock genres but specializing, as always, in his personal hobby: hard rock and heavy metal. To quote from the insightful 'This Is Spinal Tap': "People should be jealous of me...I'm jealous of me...." Eduardo currently resides in Austin, TX, with his wife, two daughters, and far more records, CDs and MP3s than he'll ever have time to listen to.
Eduardo Rivadavia
How Metallica Transformed Metal With ‘Kill ‘Em All’
In order to get there, the band first had to abandon their hometown of Los Angeles.
How Yes Pointed to Greater Things on Their Self-Titled Debut
Behind the unremarkable cover art lay seeds for one of the most storied and envelope-pushing careers in prog.
Top 10 Non-Guns N’ Roses Slash Songs
For someone who used to live life on the edge of self-destruction, he's been quite the workaholic.
How Dio Created the Metal Masterpiece ‘The Last in Line’
The title of his band's second album could very well have referenced his lengthy wait for solo stardom.
Why Queen Reached a Turning Point With ‘The Game’
They were bona fide British rock royalty through the '70s. That began to change with this album.
How Kyuss Began to Fall Apart With ‘Welcome to Sky Valley’
On June 28, 1994, a little-known band named Kyuss bid adventurous music listeners a hearty 'Welcome to Sky Valley' via their third studio album.
When Queen Celebrated Their Outsized ’70s Tours on ‘Live Killers’
It's the perfect memento from their breathless classic-era concerts.
When Black Sabbath Hit Rock Bottom With ‘Forbidden’
For once, even the harshest of critics and most devoted of fans were in agreement.
How Stevie Ray Vaughan Addressed Addiction on ‘In Step’
A sense of not-quite-finished business made his tragic death a few years later even more difficult to accept.
When Led Zeppelin Began Recording ‘In Through the Out Door’
They'd been sidelined for years by personal issues, including the death of singer Robert Plant's son.