Anderson was critical of the 'over-saturated' metal scene at the time, garnering influences from post-rock, contemporary classical and singer-songwriters such as Tom Waits and Nick Cave.

The guitar was no longer a purely riff-based instrument, but provided an ambiguous atmosphere through tremolo-picking either large chords or single melodic lines.

The best way to separate myself from what I see as a biologically flawed being is to embrace the very thing these individuals seem bent on destroying[4]On March 28, 2005, Profound Lore Records released a double LP version of The Mantle on grey-colored vinyl.

York praised the production, the mature detailed arrangements of each song, and "how smoothly they are woven together, creating an album that flows from beginning to end, using its entire 68-minute running time to make its point without wearing out its welcome."

They compared the album to Opeth's Damnation, in its dreary and "tremendously addictive" acoustic passages, whilst also treading the line of post-rock and indie-folk.

They praised the album as moving with timeless relevancy and claimed its legacy helped inform "generations of frustrated shoe-starers, sky-gazers and nature votaries a half-decade later.