DATE: Saturday March 28th
VENUE: Capital City Music Hall
SUBJECTS: Nailbite, Ultraviolent, Strange Culture, Unwithered

Nailbite is one of the most popular metal bands in the central Pa area and has toured all over the east coast, playing DWP festivals, headlining shows and festivals in other states. The band hasn’t played a show in the central PA area since last May and has not hit the stage at all in 2026. Until tonight. Let’s get into the openers first.
The night began w/ a line at the Nailbite merch stand for nearly an hour, just as it was dying down, we were treated w/ the first band of the night: Unwithered. The band is a little Pa and a little MD but all brutality. Leading off w/ a cover song from The Acacia strain tells you how metal they are. Lead vocalist going by the name Ghostiee has pipes for days. They initiated a wall of death however comically the crowd missed the cue and just stayed in that position which became a crowd killing playground for the rest of the crowd. At one point they got two volunteers to “Duel” for a prize which turned into an all-out assault from the two crowd members. using heavy riffs along w/ guttural growls to hook the crowd instantly and hold them for the full 30 minutes. You can catch Unwithered at Phantom Power in Millersville on May 19th opening for Infected Rain.

Brett Anspach of Ultraviolent brings the house down at Capital City Music Hall.

As 10PM rolled in it was time for the featured attraction. As mentioned earlier this was the first show of 2026 for Nailbite and they didn’t disappoint. Sounding better than ever we got the smiling lead vocalist Lonna and then Guitarist Jonn Biting shyly comes to the mic “This song is called Disengage”. Opening w/ one the bands oldest songs and then taking you on a journey through their catalog throughout the set. Lonna was her usual giddy self when not growling in our faces w/ her usual live energy. John Biting Sr. on bass as usual hanging out of the spotlight and off in the dark off stage for 95% of the show. They hit every album and EP in order for the most part including two tracks off the “Anomaly” EP: those being the title track and “Velvet Nights”. There was sing along’s, there were mosh pits and there was a lot of happy folks who had missed the seeing the band on stage. They played one of my absolute favorite tracks called “The Heart” off the newest release “7”. We were also treated to two new tracks off the upcoming album set to be released next year. Desolation guitarist John joined the band on the track “Little Friend of Mine”. After set closing “I’m Fine” the crowd led a “one more song” chant which the band granted us w/ the track “Move”. All in all the band has never sounded better, is releasing the best songs of their career and have some really big things planned for late 2026 and 2027. They have a slew of dates announced w/ many more to come including a return to Harrisburg late in the year.

UNWITHERED

1. “Car bomb” (Acacia Strain Cover)
2. “Twisted Nation”
3. “Ms. Andry”
4. “Gangrenous Maw”
5. “Seekers of The Light”
6. “Needle Teeth”
7. “The Bottom Line”
8. “War Machine”

STRANGE CULTURE

1. “Underneath”
2. “Remain Gone”
3. “2 Men 1 Trench”
4. “Looking Glass”
5. “Volcano Butcher”
6. “MMGT”
7. “One Thing”

Unwithered Open the night at Capital City Music Hall.

Next up was the band who shares two members (Drummer & Guitarist) w/ Nailbite. Strange Culture brought their brand of heavy rock to the stage. They have a very Sevendust vibe w/ Nick on vocals and Noah w/ his drumming and backing screams. The band isn’t as heavy as the other acts on the bill but brought a different kind of energy w/ them. More singing than screaming, though there was plenty of that as well, they were able to capture the crowd’s attention from the beginning of the set. Playing songs such as “Remain Gone”, “Looking Glass” and set closer “One Thing” they left the audience wanting more, which is always the way you want it.

Following up Strange Culture was the direct support for the evening, Pine Grove’s Ultraviolent. Led by charismatic front man Brett Anspach (who is also a member of Monument of a Memory & Galactic Empire) they had everyone in the crowd moving or raising their hands or basically whatever he asked. For my money Brett is one of the best front men in the scene. The band had just released a new 3 song EP: “Supermassive” the day before and we were treated to the debut live performance of the track “Prism”. Front to back the crowd was moving the entire 45 minutes. They did a switch up w/ Brett hitting bass and Avery LeVan handling vocals for the track “Roots”. We then were treated to Two unreleased tracks “Bottom Feeder” & “Eyes of God” to close out the raucous set. We will be putting them on a bigger show in the future so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that.

Nailbite Vocalist Lonna Nelson wows the crowd at Capital City Music Hall in Harrisburg.

SETLISTS:

ULTRAVIOLENT

1. “Aftermath”
2. “Dreadknight”
3. “Drought”
4. “Thunderdome”
5. “Hay in The Needlestack”
6. “Cataclysm”
7. “Steel Rain”
8. “Insult To Injury”
9. “Prism” (Live Debut)
10. “Roots”
11. “Bottom Feeder”
12. “Eyes of God”

NAILBITE

1. “Disengaged”
2. “Cut it Out”
3. “Anomaly”
4. “Velvet Nights”
5. “The Heart”
6. “Nostalgia”
7. New Song
8. “Erased”
9. “Little Friend of Mine”
10. “I’m Fine”
ENCORE
11. “Move”