Toronto-based alternative metal act Monstrosa unveils their emotionally gripping and genre-defying new single, “778,” a guitar-driven alt-rock anthem that explores themes of self-empowerment, mental health, and resilience. Catchy yet heavy, the track encapsulates Monstrosa’s signature blend of metal riffs, emo rock, and melodic vocals while showcasing frontwoman Lauren Pryce’s deeply personal lyricism.

“778” serves as a reflection of Pryce’s transformative journey through her first experience living alone. The track explores the duality of navigating external dangers and internal battles, turning her initial frustrations into an introspective dialogue about self-love, artistry, and perseverance.

The official music video for “778” marks Monstrosa’s first foray into visual storytelling. Directed by Tiffany Wice and featuring handmade masks by art director Brittany Rose, the 70s-inspired horror aesthetic amplifies the song’s themes of self-confrontation and empowerment. This visual shift also introduces the band’s new theatrical stage personas, with the masks becoming a staple of their live performances.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

“778” was written about my first solo apartment. I started with a guitar riff and was fooling around with vocals when I came up with the repeating intro line “don’t follow me home, I live alone”. But as I continued to write, the lyrics started to shift in perspective from the fear of strangers (and about my lived experiences of danger from said strangers) to the fear of myself. My mental health history and diagnosis lent my healthcare practitioners to believe I would not be able to live alone. But despite preconceived notions, living alone ended up being the most empowering time in my life. I learned to embrace my inner demons and that experiencing emotions, even the extremely intense ones, was a safe thing to do.

I chose to visualize “778” specifically because it represents a shift both in sound and in appearance for the band. My band is now made up of mythical demons as I am embracing a more theatrical and metal persona going forward. As well, the new EP was written while living at the apartment that “778” is about, so it felt like such an organic decision to create a video for it.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

There were two huge inspirations behind the video; my obsession with visualizing my mental health disorder, and director Tiffany Wice’s love of horror films. Tiff and I had been talking for almost two years about doing a music video for Monstrosa. When I emailed her the demo of “778”, she sent me an absolutely brilliant music video pitch and we moved quickly from there.

Monstrosa’s name is inspired by a cricket I studied in undergrad called Cyphoderris monstrosa. “Monstrosa” in latin means monstrous, and I have always loved the idea of reclaiming monstrosity, especially as a queer woman with a highly stigmatized mental health disorder (BPD). Tiff’s talent and film-making abilities are extensive, but she has always had a love for the horror genre, writing/producing/directing many horror shorts of her own. I was excited when she approached me with this campy, 70s-slasher inspired, cinematic video as it portrayed my complex relationship to myself so beautifully. The campy tone took a rather serious song topic (being a danger to myself) and made it theatrical, approachable, and fun for viewers. I want my disorder to be demystified and destigmatized. I love getting to play with a band of my demons as it represents the self-empowerment I have taken my whole life to develop. The video also represents a key shift in my artist image as I now play live with the same demons you see in the video.

3. What was the process of making this video?

The first (and one of my favourite) steps was creating the masks for my bandmates to wear. Art director Brittany Rose conceptualized and handmade the four masks you see in the video. We brainstormed what the different demons would look like, using some of Monstrosa’s album artwork by Emma Embur as an inspiration. The bassist’s mask is inspired by the single art for our song “Youth”, the drummer’s mask inspired by Noh theater and my love of insects, and the guitarist’s mask inspired by the girl on the single art for our song “Axes”, who is a recurring character in Monstrosa’s visuals. Britt’s attention to detail and ingenious execution of the masks was a huge part of the video’s success. 

Tiff reached out to cinematographer Emily J. Zhang who we were lucky enough to have on the project as the Director of Photography. The two of them assembled a team of 15 incredibly talented individuals for two days of shooting, one of the days being in my childhood home! Tiff not only directed and produced the video, but also handled all the post-production and edited the video beautifully.