Emerging Artist Reviews

Album Review: John Santana - Darkness Of Metal

by The Metalverse

Updated September 23, 2025

John Santana's debut album cover "Darkness of Metal"

Hailing from the UK, new rock songwriter John Santana has just released his first 2 singles, Who's Crying Now and Darkness Of Metal (an Ozzy tribute). Santana just announced he has signed a deal with Heart Point Records, managed by Sony Orchard for his music. The singles are leading up to his upcoming full-length album Darkness Of Metal.

The first of the two singles,the self-titled Darkness Of Metal, starts off with blistering lead guitar riffs and booming drums before bursting into action as soaring guitar melodies, fierce singing, and booming bass create a sound that quickly delivers a classic rock/metal sound that will bring listeners back to a nostalgic 70s-80s era of rock 'n' roll. The lyrics pay tribute to heavy music icon Ozzy Osbourne with lines like "We'll never forget him, In time through echoes of his name, A fire still burns bright, He will always be a legend".

You can watch the official video on YouTube below:

John Santana's second release, Who's Crying Now, changes things up with a female singer delivering vocals that are more pop and opera-influenced as soft rock chords and melodic piano fill in the background, delivering a catchy and possibly more mainstream sound. John Santan showcases instrumental versatility with Who's Crying Now taking a ballad-like, infectiously catchy sound that contrasts the edge of the previous release Darkness of Metal–a hard-hitting track that captures the essence of old-school rock and metal.

Burn Them All In Hell takes a sound that mixes 80s hair metal, power metal, and classic metal–using soaring vocals, rapid guitar chords, and impactful drums. Drawing parallels to acts like Iron Maiden, Burn Them All In Hell brings back the nostalgic sound that showcases a modern classic rock sound.

A Crying Shame brings reverbed, haunting vocals to the forefront as bright piano melodies fill in the background alongside mellow guitar, creating a softer sound as high-pitched vocals pierce through the mix. John Santana showcases a soft-rock sound filled with meaning and a focus on powerful melodies.

Steal The Night starts with acoustic guitar and high vocals before bursting into energetic drums, layered vocals, and a dynamic chorus. Steal The Night does an excellent job of balancing contrast between softer verses before launching into powerful choruses in a huge shift of energy. John Santana delivers an acoustic "stripped" sound that changes things up.

Kill Them All quickly builds a classic metal sound, blending the lines between thrash and power metal. The track creates a theatrical sound with dramatic vocals, booming riffs, and an exciting sound. In a bridge, Kill Them All introduces softer vocals and piano before building into a final, explosive chorus.

Santana leaves new fans excited to hear what comes next, with possibilities for the music to go in many directions. John also plans to release more upcoming music with tracks Black Pearl Queen and Black Raven Quest coming in the future.

Overall, Santana showcases an impressive debut that provides clear production, powerful songwriting, and memorable musicianship. You can stream John Santana's first two tracks available now!

Find Them Here: YouTube

Thanks for reading!