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
Ranking the Opening Song on Every Iron Maiden Album
So many great ones. This was tough!
Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums of All Time
See our picks for the Top 50 Thrash Albums of All Time, and find out which disc is No. 1.
Deep Purple Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide
Charting more than 50 years of changing faces.
Worst Solo Albums by Superstar Band Members
A look back at artists who should have stayed in their famous bands instead of making these awful solo albums.
20 Years Ago: System of a Down Encourage Fans to ‘Steal This Album!’
On Nov. 26, 2002, System of a Down made the most of a bad situation issuing 'Steal This Album!' after a leak.
How Motorhead Set a Template With Their First Album
This debut peaked at No. 44 in the U.K., proving the fledgling band had something special going for them.
Rock’s Most Dysfunctional Bands
Rock bands are a lot like families and, just like any family, they can be very dysfunctional.
10 Heaviest Albums of the 1970s Not Recorded by Black Sabbath
So you think that ‘70s heavy metal starts and ends with Black Sabbath? Think again!
50 Disturbing Songs That People Love
You may be surprised by the disturbing nature of some of the songs you've been singing along to for years!
When Ozzy Osbourne Bit Off the Heads of Two Doves
An event intended to promote goodwill with his label went horribly wrong.
How AC/DC Elevated Their Career With the Live ‘If You Want Blood You’ve Got It’
By 1978, AC/DC had packed their relatively short, half-decade career with five albums and hundreds of concerts.
When Metallica Finally Returned to Thrash on ‘Death Magnetic’
This doubled as musical homecoming and an open apology to their long-suffering fans.
‘I Can’t Do It': Motorhead’s Lemmy Stops Show After Two Songs
Motorhead was forced to stop last night's (Sept. 1) show in Austin, Texas after just two songs as frontman Lemmy Kilmister continues to battle health problems.
27 Years Ago: Metallica Overcome Adversity With ‘… And Justice For All’
Metallica overcome adversity to release their challenging fourth album.
When Black Sabbath Made Their Only Album With Ian Gillan
There was reason for excitement, given the band's resurrection behind Ozzy Osbourne's first replacement, Ronnie James Dio.
How AC/DC Finally Soared to Platinum Success on ‘Highway to Hell’
Subtle new contributions helped make this a commercial breakthrough, including a brightening of their familiar sound.
When Led Zeppelin Were Robbed of $200,000
It was hardly a crippling loss amidst their multi-million dollar 1973 tour, but more troubles were on the way.
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 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.
How Iron Maiden Came Into Their Own With Pivotal ‘Piece of Mind’
It all began with the simple decision to lobotomize their mascot.