As It Stands & Tarnished Updates, Plus New Videos!!

We're back with more news on this Tuesday evening, including a few new videos from both sides of the border, and leading off, here's some big updates on what a fondly remembered local band has been up to as of late!

Defunct(?) local hardcore quintet As It Stands have elaborated on their teasers regarding "The Lost Tapes" via their Facebook page, so what is going on in their camp? Well, "The Lost Tapes" is indeed an EP that they recorded 10 years ago but never released, and it will officially be released on FRIDAY at midnight! No word on physical copies, but you will be able to stream and/or download "The Lost Tapes" via Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, and Google Play. You can hear glimmers of the studio output in the teaser videos they've posted (embedded below is their newest one from Thursday.) As best as I can gather, the EP they are referring to was recorded at Metalworks Studio in Mississauga with producer Kevin Dietz in June 2011, and those five songs ("A Sinking Sinner", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For the Kids", and "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky") were previously uploaded in unmixed form on Soundcloud, only to be pulled from there presumably recently.

In fact, early A.I.S. guitarist Ryan McLaughlin's production company Relentless Audio plugged "The Lost Tapes" on their Facebook page, so is that a hint that he mixed his old band's EP? Time will tell! Unless there is a bigger surprise in store, I don't believe "The Lost Tapes" will include the also-unreleased songs recorded locally at Stereo Soul Studios in mid-2010 ("Rise Above" & "One Last Chance") or in Stoney Creek later that year ("Conception" & "Big Problem, Little Lock City"). We'll have more on As It Stands' long awaited EP later this week, so stay tuned for more details, and watch the newest teaser clip below!

Next up, let's continue getting caught up on Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished's prolific string of video uploads on their Facebook page as of late! Many of them into early December related to their now-concluded merchandise giveaways and the winner announcements (with or without the fox mask), so you can check those out at your leisure on their Facebook page to see who won what and when! On December 5th, the guys shared a TikTok video of them (minus Gary) acoustically covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California", and it's well done while it lasts, though the tight vertical camera angle isn't ideal. Also, did you know that the fox masked-character is named Puzzle Piece? He tells us so in this TikTok shoutout clip, whicb leaves us with more questions than answers! On Sunday, they shared a comedy sketch called "Never "Saw" It Coming", where Puzzle Piece plays a Saw-style torture game with Josh and Nathan.

Amusing, especially if you're familiar with the Saw movies and the options Josh is given! Lastly, following it's own gradual Facebook teasers (like this western-style one from last week, Tarnished unveiled the long-awaited music video for their original song "Metalyn" on Facebook and their YouTube channel yesterday, so what should you know about it? Filmed by Jay London Photography, the video features Tarnished performing on a roof-top in Sault Ste. Marie (with the International Bridge behind them), intercut with scenes of actress Malia Lefebre finding a cassette Walkman on the ground and getting her groove on to (presumably) this very song, before ultimately finding Alex's guitar at the end. Well edited and shot, this is a good first video from this fast rising band, and it straddles the line between hard rock and mainstream accessibility well! Give it a watch below, and see much more above!

We'll close with something festive for the holidays, namely this video of Sault Ontario progressive/hard rock solo artist Mike Cliffe covering the Christmas carol "We Three Kings"! Posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday in his first upload there in ten months, this is a relatively simple but effective guitar rendition with a nice and intricate ending, so give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on Friday, barring sudden and unforeseen news that has to come sooner! Thanks everyone!