03/06/2026
LIVE REPORT! 02/27 Crows Nest Showcase
📍 Kelly’s Pub
Last Friday showcased a 4-band bill at Kelly’s Pub, a place once reserved for the afters (or priors) on Culture Room nights, today serveing as an all ages spot for local shows, much needed in the absence of the Legion. All 4 of these bands ply their trade on Crows Nest records, a 1-man Metal Factory run by Luca Lazar - a young man wise beyond his years, not yet of drinking age, but already seasoned in his musical palate.
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Here at Classic Steel, we love filling holes - and UNDERCRYPT fill a gaping void where Old School BM energy is much needed. Black Metal, above all, is a genre inspired by geography - for frontman and Moog-wielder Nick Cody to conjure frostbitten riffs and grim passages straight from He***te Records, is a testament to the imagination of this potent trio. We’re blessed to enjoy UNDERCRYPT.
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HACKSAW (friends of the program) have quickly become a band who will elevate any bill they’re on. Whether opening for a big touring band, or stacking the teeth of the order at Friday’s show, frontman Colin Keough adds intense energy over some of the hardest hitting riffs and surprisingly jazzy drums. HACKSAW benefit from a rhythm section that also man the strings in Bloodtied, and a dual guitar attack that layers riffs with extra peanut butter to our satisfaction.
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AMNIO - brainchild of label master, Luca are a Melodeath band closer to the vein of Edge of Sanity than The Haunted, with dark Black Metal-tinged riffs to cement the old school Swedish-inspired approach. AMNIO - never sacrifice aggression for melody, nor ignore the inclusion of higher register guitar passages and mid-paced portions to flesh the songs out brilliantly.
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EPHEMERAL were last - and I believe with a different configuration as last I saw them, the drummer/vocalist now serving as frontman, with Luca of Amnio behind the kit. This was the best we’ve heard the band, with the 3-pronged string assault and standalone vocalist finishing the crushing sound of South Florida’s Bolt Thrower.
