Former Deicide/Sebastian Bach guitarist Ralph Santolla dies aged 48: musicians pay tribute

News
By ( Total Guitar ) published

Metal veteran taken off life support following heart attack

Former Deicide and Sebastian Bach guitarist Ralph Santolla has died aged 48.

Santolla, who had also played with Obituary and Iced Earth, had fallen into a coma following a major heart attack, and was taken off life support on 6 June.

His mother, Sue Santolla-Rocha, announced his death on Facebook: “Just so we all start to heal, Ralph Santolla is not laying on that bed at St Joseph Hospital. He has gone, and he is happy and at peace in heaven.”

A number of Santolla’s peers have paid tribute to the guitarist on social media - we’ve posted a selection below.

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Categories
MusicRadar
MusicRadar

MusicRadar is the number one website for music-makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, DJs or producers...

  • GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.
  • TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.
  • STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the craft of music-making that no other music website can.
More about guitarists

“He seems to access a different part of his vast library of music genre from the jukebox-in-his-head! This album is a round-the-world musical trip”: Joe Bonamassa announces new album, Breakthrough – listen to the title-track now

"There had to be some sort of telepathy going on because I've never seen spontaneous inspiration happen at that level”: The genius of Eric Clapton's controversial masterpiece, Layla

“If this was real, it would be really impressive. But since it’s not real, it’s really impressive": Watch the bonkers four-note piano
See more latest
Most Popular
Fake magic piano
“If this was real, it would be really impressive. But since it’s not real, it’s really impressive": Watch the bonkers four-note piano
Lawrence Hart
Watch UK electronic artist Lawrence Hart build a track from scratch in his hardware-stuffed studio
Joe Bonamassa plays a vintage Gibson Les Paul SG equipped with a Maestro Vibrola. He wears a gray patterned suit and sunglasses.
“He seems to access a different part of his vast library of music genre from the jukebox-in-his-head! This album is a round-the-world musical trip”: Joe Bonamassa announces new album, Breakthrough – listen to the title-track now
ENGL EP635 Fireball IR Pedal: This fire engine red preamp pedal presents two channels, heaps of features, monster gain.
“The EP635 delivers the unmistakable high-gain aggression and clarity that Engl fans love”: Engl packs its iconic Fireball head into a compact dual-channel stompbox with onboard noise gate and IR support
Terence Trent D'Arby
"I said, ‘What’s that?!’ He looked at me strange and said, ‘We’re line checking. We’ll be gone in five minutes’. I said, ‘You won’t - meet me in that room in 10 minutes’": How a happy synth accident inspired a US number 1 single for Terence Trent D’Arby
Sammy and Eddie in 1986
“This was 100% a communication from the beyond": Listen to the song that Sammy Hagar claims to have written with Eddie Van Halen in a dream
A still from Pink Floyd at Pompeii MCMLXXII featuring David Gilmour on the left, Nick Mason on drums at the centre of the frame, with bassist Roger Waters and keys player Richard Wright to the right.
“I’m imagining it was a very dry, kind of arid, close sound”: Steven Wilson on the challenges of mixing Pink Floyd At Pompeii – MCMLXXII, how the movie captures a band in transition, and why it is “pure Floyd”
godin
“Thank God I was French and my voice was terrible, so I couldn’t write songs - otherwise I would be like any other musician”: Air's Nicolas Godin reflects on the success of Moon Safari
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Score £900 off a Gibson Les Paul Standard, £350 off the Adam Jones Epiphone Les Paul Custom and hundreds off Fender, Squier and EVH
Red Witch Apothecary Series Pedals: these beautifully crafted stompboxes have colour-coded aluminium dials, floral designs and some unique analogue circuits.
“I wanted to design a pedal range that’ll last 10, 20, 30, 40 years... It could be something you could bequeath to those you love”: Exquisite stompboxes, built to last a lifetime, meet Red Witch’s Apothecary Series