A high-energy glam metal/hard rock quartet based out of Helsinki, Finland, Santa Cruz was formed in 2007 by vocalist/guitarist Archie Kuosmanen and multi-instrumentalist Johnny Parkkonen. By 2009 the band was operating as four-piece with the additions of bassist Middy Toivonen and drummer Taz Fagerström, and after releasing a debut EP, Anthems for the Young 'n' Restless, they inked a deal with Spinefarm Records. The group's full-length debut for the label, Screaming for Adrenaline, dropped in 2013, with an eponymous sophomore effort arriving in 2015. The fall of 2017 saw the release of a pair of singles, "Young Blood Rising" and "River Phoenix," in anticipation of the release of their third studio long-player, Bad Blood Rising, which arrived in November. ~ James Christopher Monger