Recorded at
Mark Van Hoen's studio, The Enclosure,
Mettle retains much the same feel as
Van Hoen's solo material as
Locust: dark, brooding, and with an almost tribal air. Of course,
Autocreation also adds the contributions of Tara Patterson and
Kevin Hector, registered mostly in terms of the breadth of sounds and a sense of movement and progression (which
Van Hoen's often looping atmospheres tend to lack).