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).