[2] He had frequently talked about starting his own band with Steve DiGiorgio and Gene Hoglan, both of whom he worked with in Death.

[3] Also in 2007, Santolla was called in to fill the spot on Obituary's album Xecutioner's Return and the subsequent Left To Die EP, replacing Allen West after he was incarcerated until 2008.

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".

[citation needed] Santolla was a practicing Roman Catholic, which caused some controversy among Deicide fans, many of whom are against Christianity and are aware of frontman Glen Benton's open Satanism.

Many were surprised that Benton even allowed Santolla join the band, due to his frequent criticism of the religion.

[citation needed] On May 31, 2018, it was reported that Santolla had suffered a heart attack and fallen into a coma.