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Shapeshifter Tour Part II
- by Kayla Jo

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 If Not For Me opened for the last day of the Shapeshifter Tour Part II at the newly named Ozark Music Hall. The audience was instantly pumped when they started the night with Demons. The R&B intro quickly shifted to a heavy guitar riff and synth-like vocals, initiating head banging and early crowd surfing within the first few minutes. The relatable lyrics of each song performed by the Pennsylvania band hit someone in the crowd, whether it was relating to loss, relationships, or just straight emotion coming from the heart. While the six song setlist seemed to fly by, Ozark Music Hall anxiously waited for Nevertel while riding the high of INFM ending with their most well-known song Feel Me Now. Nevertel braved the cooler weather this tour, with Fayetteville being no exception. Coming from Florida, the band instead cranked the heat with mainly new releases from their 2025 album Start Again, including Break the Silence (featuring Sleep Theory on the album), Sacrifice, and Criminal. The mix of hip hop and metalcore is a newly popular mix of genres, but Nevertel has been blazing the scene with the fusion of numerous genres since 2014. Heavy breakdowns litter the music, with both Jeremy and Raul hitting emotional screams to harmonize the hard riffs before splitting into their respective vocals. The set the tempo for Rain City Drive, who came before Memphis May Fire. Rain City Drive finally made it back to Fayetteville after many years of being on the road. With the newly improved venue, Rain City Drive used every asset available to give the small metalcore scene of Arkansas an insane show with flashing lights and strong vocals. Singles from multiple albums, including their newly released one named Things are Different Now were played throughout the night, including Blood Runs Cold, Cutting it Close, and Frozen. The Hall lit up with flashlights as the night took an emotional turn when Talk to a Friend was performed. The hard hitting song tells a story of treating others better than you treat yourself, which most people can relate to at some point in their life. Medicate Me (featuring Rory Spencer from Dayseeker) ended the night with a blowout with Matt harmonizing with Rory’s pre-recorded screams (Dayseeker is on their own tour) with an abrupt ending to set up the dramatic entrance for Memphis May Fire. Memphis May Fire Silence turned into a massive opening breakdown with heavy guitar and drums, accented with Matty Mullins’ screams as he took the stage with Paralyzed. The single released last year, prefacing Shapeshifter’s release this year, the newest album by Memphis May Fire. The Shapeshifter Tour Part I was full of singles from the new album and Part II was no exception. Old and new music blended through The Hall, giving old fans a chance to reminisce and new fans to follow new-to-them sounds to keep in their playlist rotation. Marty intermittently gave mini speeches to the crowd, highlighting the importance of mental health and being true to yourself. They closed out the night with Chaotic, another hit on their most recent album, but one that got introduced in Part I. It was an energetic way to end the night, with the band and crowd dancing all the way to lights on.

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