Everson Poe is a one-person project from Chicago, IL. Mae Shults has been releasing music as Everson Poe for over 10 years. As a queer & genderqueer individual, they incorporate themes of gender identity and mental health into nearly all of their songs, filtered through lenses inspired by various forms of pop culture, or simply their own imaginative storytelling.
Though never bothering to be constrained by genre, the majority of Everson Poe’s releases for the last few years have mostly contained elements of black-, doom-, and sludge-metal. With too much free time caused by the current pandemic, Mae is at least not short on creativity.
After a post-punk album, a metal album, and a relaxing electronic album, Rituals is their fourth album released this year. In line with Monstrous Existence, the instruments are heavy and the lyrics are heavier, but there are also many moments of beauty—and even elation—to be found. Drawing inspiration from the Shades Of Magic book series (Antari), the television show Dark (Ariadne), a gruesome nightmare in which they lost all senses but touch (Notre Fin Nous Connaît), and disdain for religious zealotry (Fallow / Hallowed), each story holds rituals at its core. Take the hand of the person next to you and close your eyes; now repeat after me…’
“Rituals” goes live on November 13th via Trepanation Records.
For fans of: Thou, Oathbreaker, Amenra, Un, Kowloon Walled City, Mizmor, Vile Creature, Windhand, Subrosa
