Ricardo Iorio

Ricardo Iorio (born June 25, 1962 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) is an Argentine heavy metal musician of Italian and Native Argentine descent who participated in various of the most important metal bands of the nation. He was one of the founders of V8 (1979 –1987) and later founded the successful band Hermética (1988–1994). He has been the singer and main composer of Almafuerte since 1995. His songs are realistic urban stories dealing with the life of lower classes, as well as Argentine 'metalheads'. Even though he played the bass with every band he integrated, he has recently chosen Beto Ceriotti to be the new bassist of Almafuerte, remaining as the singer and main composer of the band (mostly lyrics). Extremely nationalist, Iorio continuously proclaims in his songs and in the media the pride in being Argentine and Argentine history, and mixes native music styles like tango, Indian and gaucho culture with the heavy metal base of Almafuerte. The young people who go to Almafuerte's shows consider him to be like a patriotic guru. He left Buenos Aires city to live in the countryside, where the pampa starts to turn into Patagonia, with his daughter Sofía and his girlfriend Fernanda. Iorio's wife, Ana Mourin, committed suicide in 2001. Iorio has also participated in several projects outside metal music, such as with folk musician León Gieco, Rubén Patagonia, Augusto Romero and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs's bassist Flavio Cianciarulo (they recorded an entire album called "Peso Argento"). He also had a great friendship with the late argentinian guitar player Norberto Napolitano, also known as Pappo, who invited Iorio to record some songs for his "Pappo y Amigos" album.