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
18 Years Ago: AC/DC’s ‘Ballbreaker’ Released
The 13th AC/DC album turned out to be lucky for the Australian hard rock legends, which is why we're celebrating the Sept. 26, 1995 release of 'Ballbreaker.' The album continued their return to form after 1990's 'The Razor's Edge.'
45 Years Ago: ‘Weekend Warriors’ Becomes Ted Nugent’s Last Platinum Hurrah
He'd pushed out Derek St. Holmes, who contributed a lot during their inexorable rise to greatness.
35 Years Ago: Blue Oyster Cult Release ‘Some Enchanted Evening’
Blue Oyster Cult released their second live album, the aptly named ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ in September 1978 and proceeded to rack up the biggest record sales of their storied career. Not bad for a band that had spent much of their career to that point intentionally cloaking themselves in mystery while challenging listeners with oftentimes obscure or downright controversial lyrics.
27 Years Ago: Metallica Overcome Adversity With ‘…And Justice for All’
Metallica overcome adversity to release their challenging fourth album.
How Metallica Bottomed Out With ‘St. Anger’
They described this as an attempt to get back to their garage-band roots. It didn't work.
40 Years Ago: Nazareth’s ‘Razamanaz’ Album Released
After five years of serious dues-paying on the competitive U.K. music scene, Scottish rockers Nazareth were still looking for their big break when they unleashed their third album, ‘Razamanaz,’ in May of 1973. They finally found it.
When Judas Priest Got Tough on ‘Ram It Down’
Few people outside of the band’s inner circle had an inkling that they were standing at a crossroads.
How the Scorpions Briefly Lost Momentum on ‘Savage Amusement’
Until this, Germany’s favorite hard-rock sons had enjoyed a remarkable run of success since the start of the '80s.
When Van Halen Played Their First Show With Gary Cherone
Everything seemed lively onstage but behind the scenes, it was an entirely different story.
Top 10 ‘70s Glam Rock Songs
In many ways, the glam rock explosion of the early '70s was a “rage against the fading of the light.” By that we’re referencing the “fading” of the ‘60s’ cultural Technicolor dream: the Beatles’ break-up, the Stones’ Altamont debacle, the Manson killings, the deaths of Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison, and the general abandonment of the Age of Aquarius’ peacefully revolutionary spirit in exchange for
Van Halen Announce First U.S. Concert of 2013
In a move that's sure to silence persistent doubters and reasonable cynics everywhere, Van Halen appears committed to prolonging its latest reunion with long-estranged frontman David Lee Roth well into the summer of 2013.
Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ Turns 30
The 1980s were well under way by January 1983 – even mathematical geniuses like us can figure that out – but when it came to defining the look, the sound and the vibe of the '80s, there's no arguing Def Leppard’s third album, ‘Pyromania,’ released 30 years ago today (Jan. 20), played a major role.