Ralph Santolla (December 8, 1966 – June 7, 2018) was an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

heavy metal guitarist. He played in many bands, most recently

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

, but also including Eyewitness,

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

(he never recorded any of their albums, but toured with them in 1993 and appeared in "The Philosopher" video), Millenium,

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...

, and the

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

band. In 2007, he replaced Allen West in

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

for their album

Xecutioner's Return ''Xecutioner's Return'' is the seventh studio album by American death metal band Obituary, released on August 28, 2007 through Candlelight Records. The title of the album is derived from the band's original band name, which was ''Xecutioner''. T ...

. Santolla was very proud of his

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

heritage and he played guitars by

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

and

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

with the

Italian flag The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...

painted on them. He most recently played

Jackson Guitars Jackson is a manufacturer of electric guitars and electric bass guitars that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson. The company was acquired by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 2002, which manufactures Jackson-branded guitar ...

, though he had also been associated with

ESP Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and Bass guitar, basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments ...

Dean Guitars Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Its products include solid-body electric guitars, bass guitars, and acous ...

and many others. He also used

Randall Amplifiers Randall Amplifiers is a manufacturer of solid-state and tube guitar amplifiers. Randall Amplifiers is currently a brand of U.S. Music Corp., a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis , JAM. History After graduating from community colleg ...

. He was well known for his

shred guitar Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style for the guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes "fast alternate p ...

playing style.

Biography

Born on December 8, 1966, Santolla was a practicing

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, which has caused controversy with Deicide fans, many of whom are against Christianity and are aware of frontman

Glen Benton Glen Benton (born June 18, 1967) is an American death metal musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and bassist for the death metal band Deicide and was also a part of the band Vital Remains, where he has performed in recording sessions ...

's open

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

. Many were surprised that Benton even let Santolla join the band, due to his frequent criticism of the religion. However, Santolla stated that he was "not going to pretend to be some dark and evil person just so people think I'm metal," and also stated that he respected Benton, despite differences in their religion and beliefs, for not being afraid to be true to himself. At a 2006 Deicide gig in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

that got out of control, Santolla was arrested for allegedly throwing a

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

can at an officer after Deicide was forced to stop playing. He had frequently talked about starting his own band with

Steve DiGiorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for working with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of whom he was one of the co-founders), Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autop ...

and

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

, both of whom he worked with in

. Before his death he was working on a new solo instrumental album, titled ''Requiem for Hope''. This is his second solo album, his first was '' Shaolin Monks in the Temple of Metal''. On May 24, 2007, Santolla left Deicide for undisclosed reasons. Also in 2007, Santolla was called in to fill the spot on

's album ''

'' and the subsequent ''

Left To Die ''Left to Die'' is an extended play by death metal band Obituary (band), Obituary. Track listing Personnel * John Tardy - vocals * Ralph Santolla - lead guitar * Trevor Peres - rhythm guitar * Frank Watkins (musician), Frank Watkins - bass ...

'' EP, replacing Allen West after he was incarcerated until 2008. In 2010 he rejoined

. In 2011, he departed Deicide. He played guitar on Deathembers debut album ''Going Postal'' track 9 ''Hailing Down''. In 2013 Santolla became member of thrash metal band

Toxik Toxik is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in Peekskill, New York. After breaking up for the first time in 1992 and briefly reuniting in 2007, the band reformed once again in 2013. Toxik has gone through several lineup changes over ...

. Santolla's last recording would be released right before his death. He played guest guitar on the song "From Neptune Towards Assyria" for the band Order ov Riven Cathedrals from Rome, Italy on their 2018 release "Göbekli Tepe" and on the song "They Will Listen To The Dead" for the band BlightMass from Lyon/Tampa on their 2019 release "Severed From Your Soul". While the album has been released after his death, the song and the album are dedicated to him.

Death

On May 31, 2018, it was reported that Santolla had suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and fallen into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. He was taken off life support and died on June 6, 2018; he was 51 years old.

Discography

With Eyewitness

* ''

Eyewitness Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to: Witness * Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience ** Eyewitness memory ** Eyewitness testimony Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Eyewitness'' (1956 film), a Britis ...

'' (1995) * ''

Messiah Complex A messiah complex (Christ complex or savior complex) is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a savior today or in the near future. The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual ...

'' (1996)

With Millenium

* '' Millenium'' (1997) * ''

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'' (1999) * ''

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

'' (2000) * '' The Best of... and More'' –

Compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

(2004) * ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'' (2004)

With Iced Earth

* ''

The Glorious Burden ''The Glorious Burden'' is the seventh studio album by the American power metal band Iced Earth. It is a concept album, which explores various moments in military history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revol ...

'' (2004)

With Deicide

* ''

The Stench of Redemption ''The Stench of Redemption'' is the eighth studio album by American death metal band Deicide. It is the first album by the band to feature Jack Owen (formerly of Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (formerly of Iced Earth) on guitars. Some editio ...

'' (2006) * '' Till Death Do Us Part'' (2008) * ''

To Hell with God ''To Hell with God'' is the tenth studio album by American death metal band Deicide. The follow-up to '' Till Death Do Us Part'' (2008), it was originally intended to be released in 2009 before being pushed back to a 2010 release, and was final ...

'' (2011)

With Obituary

* ''

'' (2007) * ''

Left to Die ''Left to Die'' is an extended play by death metal band Obituary (band), Obituary. Track listing Personnel * John Tardy - vocals * Ralph Santolla - lead guitar * Trevor Peres - rhythm guitar * Frank Watkins (musician), Frank Watkins - bass ...

'' (EP) (2008) * ''

Darkest Day ''Darkest Day'' is the eighth studio album by the American death metal band Obituary. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Candlelight Records. ''Darkest Day'' is the final Obituary album to feature both longtime bassist Frank Watkins, who ...

'' (2009) * Tardy Brother’s Bloodline (2009)

With Gary Hughes

* ''

Precious Ones ''Precious Ones'' is the third studio album released by Gary Hughes in 1998. Track listing All songs written by Gary Hughes. # "In Your Eyes" – 5:43 # "Don't Ever Say Goodbye" – 6:07 # "The Colours of My Life" – 5:05 # "Give My Love a T ...

'' (1998)

Order ov Riven Cathedrals

* '' Göbekli Tepe - track 5 - From Neptune Towards Assyria'' (2018)

Solo albums

* '' Shaolin Monks in the Temple of Metal'' (2002) * '' Requiem for Hope'' (2007)

References

External links

at official Santolla Facebook

at "Remembering" Santolla Facebook
Interview with Ralph Santolla
''Fourteen G'', 2005-10-03 {{DEFAULTSORT:Santolla, Ralph 1966 births 2018 deaths American heavy metal guitarists American people of Italian descent American Roman Catholics Iced Earth members Lead guitarists Death metal musicians American male guitarists Obituary (band) members Deicide (band) members Musicians from Tampa, Florida