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Santa Cruz was formed in 2007 in Helsinki by guitarist and vocalist Arttu “Archie Cruz” Kuosmanen and drummer Joonas “Johnny Cruz” Parkkonen, with bassist Mitja “Middy Cruz” Toivonen joining in 2008; the group emerged from a local hard‑rock scene and quickly released two demos in 2008‑2009 before signing with Spinefarm Records in 2012. Their debut studio album, Screaming for Adrenaline, was issued in April 2013 and peaked at Number 27 on the Finnish album chart, followed by a tour of England, Belgium and Germany that same year. In March 2015 the eponymous second album Santa Cruz was released, debuting at Number 3 on the Finnish chart and featuring the single "Sky Diving Without a Parachute", which appeared in 2016. Subsequent releases included Bad Blood Rising (2017), Katharsis (2019), and The Return of the Kings (2022); the band also issued singles such as "We Are the Ones to Fall" (2014) and "Moonchild" (2021). After a series of lineup changes and a brief return of the original members in 2024, Archie Cruz announced a solo career in 2025, marking the end of Santa Cruz as a collective.
