On Friday, May 9th, 2025- Memphis May Fire brought 'The Shapeshifter Tour' to New York's The Brooklyn Monarch. The band is in celebration of their brand new album titled 'Shapeshifter'. Opening bands Elijah, Wind Walkers, and Caskets showed New York City what metal was all about and really brought the heat for the night.
A dreary Friday evening didn’t hold fans back for showing up early to The Brooklyn Monarch for the Shapeshifter tour. Kicking off the evening was Elijah. Elijah is an artist from Nashville, Tennessee. Elijah specializes in writing mainly rock and metal tracks touching on subjects related to everyday personal struggles that draw fans in from the first listen. Elijah is known for his versatility in songwriting ranging from rock anthems to hardcore smashers. Currently touring with Elijah are guitarists Xander Raymond Charles and Brandon Kyle alongside Chris Blankenship on drums. Elijah has put in tremendous work now amassing almost 650k monthly listeners on Spotify and has supported artists such as From Ashes To New, Point North and For The Fallen Dreams.
Elijah kicked off the set with “SKIN” , a single released on March 7th. Started off with fans chilling and singing along until the breakdown approached and Elijah demanded someone move. In the blink of an eye multiple fans showed off their moves to a killer breakdown from Charles and Kyle. Later on Elijah played “HUMAN” which features Matty Mullins from Memphis May Fire. Fans definitely knew this one as they sang along with Elijah all the way to another killer breakdown. The heaviest was yet to come as Elijah told the crowd it was time for one more song and it was the heaviest ever written. This one was ”UNDERRATED” which was released on April 11th. This song rages like no other and it began with chunky riffs. Elijah began unleashing furious screams as the crowd pushed, shoved and two stepped. One last time we approached a breakdown and Elijah demanded the pushing and shoving to stop and to create all out hardcore chaos. He told fans "I want to see those ninjas in the pit" and immediately it was non-stop spin kicking and people doing back flips. The New York scene loves their hardcore side and the pit quickly split open and dozens of people spin kicked and swung their arms to a slow destructive breakdown as Blankenship rattled the snare adding to the chaos. Elijah warmed up the fans for what would be a killer show and fans hope to see him again soon.
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Next up was Wind Walkers. Wind Walkers is a post hardcore band from Central Massachusetts that recently joined Fearless Records. Wind Walkers creatively fuses metalcore and post-hardcore with rock anthem choruses that grab the attention of anyone who listens. The band currently consists of vocalist Trevor Borg, guitarists Neil Comeau and Timothy Comeau, bassist Craig Martin and drummer Ethan Chessman. Wind Walkers has toured with fan favorite bands such as The Plot In You, Caskets and I See Stars which helped them gain a multitude of new fans along their journey. Wind Walkers now has over 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify with multiple songs reaching well over 3 million streams each. Their biggest hit being “Without Me” which hit over 32 million streams. Fans were hyped up for Wind Walkers as they took the stage.
Fog filled the stage and a massive breakdown is how it all got started. Wind Walkers performed “The Overlook” a track from their 2023 smash hit album “What If I Break?”. Early on the band showed their heavy side. Borg shows his immense talent with unleashing a blood curdling scream to start the song along with the aforementioned breakdown. Neil and Timothy chugged the starting breakdown which had the crowd moshing early. What makes this band so special is the creativity in switching from heavy metalcore sounds to rock anthem ballads. Later on they played their Fearless Records release “The End Aesthetic” which released on April 18th. This track was a soothing rock track with a pop rock inspired chorus and instrumentals. Neil and Timothy played bouncy rifffs alongside Martin on bass who chipped in on the party style instrumentals and vibe. Wind Walkers ended their set with fan-favorite song “Hangfire”. The crowd surfers came out to pay for this song as people were non stop tossed in the air giving security a workout. Fans sung along to the iconic choirs and the pit was filled with fans jumping around with their arms around each of their shoulders. Wind Walkers killed another set and made dozens of new fans on what’s becoming an avenging that is exceeding expectations.
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Next up to take the stage next was Caskets. Caskets is an English post-hardcore band from Leeds that formed in 2018. Caskets took the scene by storm with bouncy, upbeat but yet heavy instrumentals complemented with scream your heart out choruses. In 2020 they released their smash single “Glass Heart” as their first track under Sharptone Records and they elevated their game the following year with the release of their debut album 'Lost Souls'. Led by frontman and vocalist Matthew Flood with Benjamin Wilson and Craig Robinson on guitars alongside James Lazenby on drums, Caskets has toured the world with acts such as blessthefall, We Came as Romans and Dayseeker. Caskets amassed over 1.2 millions monthly listeners on Spotify with their top two tracks exceeding 60 millions streams.
The eerie fog continued to fill the room as Caskets took the stage and fans erupted. Fans were active from the start as the pit was filled with everyone jumping and dancing. The energy amped up when Caskets played “More Than Misery” a track from their 2023 album 'Reflections'. This track features a gnarly solo from Wilson that led into a crushing breakdown. Fans split open the pit and brought the hardcore moves back into play. Robinson belted out the screams while Lazenby attacked the snare and cymbals as the noise shook the venue to its core. To finish off the set, Caskets played their biggest hit “Glass Heart”. This song has just under 90 million streams on Spotify and has become a staple in the scene that everyone knows the word to. "Glass Heart" channels the emotions of betrayal in toxic relationships and how they make you reflect on your own sanity and self worth; subject a lot of people have unfortunately had to endure and power through, but this track proved to get people through the darkest times as every single word of this song was sang at the top of every fan's lungs. Crowd surfers were plentiful throughout the whole performance. Fans joined arms and danced around and sang in unison creating a surreal moment. Flood’s soothing powerful vocals blessed the crowd until the final chorus as he let the fans take care of the last few lines. Caskets thanked the crowd for the continued support and are excited for their next chance to play in New York.
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It was finally the time for tonight’s headliner. Making their way across the country on the Shapeshifter Tour is Memphis May Fire. Memphis May Fire is a metalcore band that originated in Denton, Texas in 2006 and are currently signed to Rise Records. The band currently consists of vocalist Matty Mullins, guitarist Kellen McGregor, bassist Cory Elder and drummer Jake Garland. Memphis May Fire have been a staple in the scene for years as they have supported giant acts such as Parkway Drive, Yellowcard and Breaking Benjamin. On top of that they have played countless Warped Tours and other feats across North America and Europe. Memphis May Fire began as a pure metalcore style but eventually would evolve into a more radio friendly metalcore style with their 2018 album 'Broken'.
Fans still adored their work no matter what approach was taken but in early 2020 Mullins stated the band would return to their heavy roots which got fans ecstatic. This led into the release of their 2022 'Remade In Misery'. This record features their 3 most streamed songs “Misery”, “Make Believe” and “Blood & Water” which all have curated over 30 million streams on Spotify. The band didn’t hold back when they began writing again. Now it’s 2025 and Memphis May Fire released 'Shapeshifter' and it’s some of the heaviest music they have released yet. An album that targets the “masks” people wear and the battle of self identity in an age where social media is the focal point of everyday life. This is the band's eighth studio album and it is the perfect listen to vent your frustrations of every life. Memphis May Fire boasts their heaviest tracks yet such as “Love Is War” and title track “Shapeshifter”. Now amassing just about 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Memphis May Fire is locked and loaded for their new era and the fans were absolutely stoked to see the band melt their faces off.
Memphis May Fire slowed things down with “Miles Away”, an emotional ballad about being away from your family when you need each other the most. Fans put on their phone lights and swayed their arms left to right the whole time. Memphis May Fire said it was time for one last song. This one was “Chaotic” the lead single to 'Shapeshifter'. Elder and McGregor fired up another bouncy riff and this song was almost all sing along. The band walked off stage but fans did not buy that it was over. Fans stuck around chanting “ONE MORE SONG”. After a few minutes the band returned to the stage and the crowd erupted. Next up was “Hell Is Empty” another track off of 'Shapeshifter'. A much slower song that lead into one of the best breakdowns of the night. Next thing you know there is a fan in a banana suit moshing and crowd surfing. Fans pulling out all the ideas to have the best night of their lives. Memphis May Fire thanks their dedicated fanbase for years of endless unconditional support. They closed off the set with “Blood & Water” and it was absolute insanity. One last time chaos ensued in the pit. That would wrap up an absolutely killer evening on the Shapeshifter Tour. Fans should be excited for Memphis May Fire to come to their city. Their live performance is absolutely unmatched from their stage presence to the booming sound of their music.
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