Before total liberation, before the conquest of crust, before social obsession, before Lagrimas, there was Cry The Monarch.
Cry The Monarch was a 3-piece atmospheric screamo band from Pomona, California that probably lasted from 2014 to 2017. Overall, the band is very obscure with little to no online presence and is relatively unknown to the modern day diy socal scene but I feel as it is important to note for any fans of Lagrimas. Cry The Monarch's discography is relatively short, having only one official EP + 2 singles which are just the two songs featured in that EP. Their music is very fuzzy with an atmospheric touch which when listening to it, you can clearly hear how similar this is to what would later become Lagrimas' sound.
(Due to the band being REALLY obscure, I had to rely on their Facebook and memory from the Lagrimas instagram stories about it. Forgive me if I get anything wrong here.)
August 12th, 2023 Update: I dm'd the Lagrimas Insta page about Juice's old band (this one lol) and got some more information so this should be more accurate to their history (hopefully).
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| Cry The Monarch @ Riverside (10/6/2015) |
Cry the Monarch formed in 2014, shortly after their (at the time) guitarist, Juice, had left High School in order to pursue music. During an event called "Growing Up is Dumb," they would throw an unofficial after party where they would ask bandmembers of Old Gray if they could perform at Juice's house to which they agreed. August 2nd, 2014 (I assume) would be the day where Cry the Monarch would do their first ever show. They wouldn't have an online presence until mid 2015 with the creation of their Facebook page. On June 28th, 2015, they would announce their first and only ever EP release titled, "If I Give Up" which would be released via cassette tapes through structures//agony records. These tapes would be sold with a limit of 25 in a blue grey tint. However, it wouldn't be until October 1st when their EP was officially released along with the tapes.
From there on, they would play shows in a variety of locations throughout southern California including multiple shows with All My Wishes Were Thrown Down A Well And Should Die There. These shows would range from the Che Cafe in San Diego to Bridgetown in La Puente.
Eventually, life would catch up to them and the band would slowly start drifting apart within the start of 2016. They would continue until May 24, 2016, where they would play their last show with New Berlin, Cheer Up Charlie, Andy's Room, and Nuance. Their page would hint at another show in December but that event never happened due to the band now being a thing of the past.
After the page had over 2 years of silence, in July 2018, the page announced that there would be something coming soon and by December, they would make their Facebook band profile set to black. It would be silent until the page would announce their new project, Lagrimas, which would bring the era of Cry The Monarch to an end.
August 12, 2023 Update: Back in June, I dm'd the Lagrimas instagram page where I asked Juice about his old band, Cry the Monarch, and this is what he responded with.
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"The band started in 2014 right after I graduated high school, I was really into screamo at the time and wanted to start a band like all the ones I was getting into. Our first show ever was at my house, with one of my favorite bands ever old gray. There was a big fest called growing up is dumb happening in Pomona, and I decided to throw an unofficial after party/show and randomly asked old gray to play, and they were down!! They’re still one of my favorite bands and biggest inspirations so that was a very special show for me!
Eventually we all just kind of drifted apart and life started happening and eventually cry the monarch just slowly ended! I think around like 2016 we played our last show, I don’t remember exactly where it was honestly, I’ve been thinking about doing a reunion show for fun but idk if that’ll happen since one of the members doesn’t do music at all and the other one is a professional musician so he’s always too busy"
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The entire journey of Cry The Monarch would be a straight forward journey. There were humble beginning for the band but it wouldn't lead to a large following nor would they band go out with a bang. It started out small and overtime, simply but slowly dissolved. While Cry The Monarch may not have gotten big, it sure was the humble beginnings for the band that the SoCal DIY scene now knows and loves, Lagrimas.
Past Versions:
Version 1 - https://web.archive.org/web/20230811214105/https://southwestdiy.blogspot.com/2023/06/cry-monarch.html
1. If I Give Up (demo)
1. Hollow
1. Winter
2. If I Give Up
3. I never thought the silence could be so loud
4. Dust
5. Hollow
If you are an artist/apart of a band and want me to interview you or if there are any artists from the SouthWest US that you would like for write about then be sure to message me on my socials or leave a comment below the post!
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