Mantlecraft by Bield

For so long, our world has been bound by the Lichen. A suffocating stillness, a gradual forgetting that turns everything to stone. As Aethelgard, as Chroniclers, we’ve always walked the Gloom Spires, gathering the Petrified Remnants, tracing the faint lines of what was. Our music, built from those very fragments—Resin Harps carved from ancient, fossilized wood, the sharp chime of Memory Shards—it’s been our way of speaking to the silence, of mapping this desolate quiet.

With Mantlecraft, something shifted. We felt a deeper pull, a resonance from beyond the familiar desolation. This isn’t just an album; it’s the record of our Resonance Pilgrimage. We embarked on it not knowing what we’d find, only that the Songs of Mending, ancestral harmonies long believed lost, might still whisper somewhere beyond the Lichen’s choke.

You’ll hear that journey unfold. From the hushed, almost hesitant steps in ‘Threshold Carved’, where we felt the weight of departure, through the oppressive grip of ‘Lichen’s Hold’—that track, it’s a pure confrontation with the binding itself, stripping back layers until only the stark struggle remains. Then there's ‘Spire's Edge’, a dizzying passage, that moment of leaning into the vast unknown.

But then, something broke through. ‘Mantle Remembered’, the heart of this work, feels like uncovering a hidden spring. It’s where those ancient songs finally began to emerge, not just as whispers, but as a collective pulse, a gathering warmth. We let the Resin Harps interlock, the Memory Shards beat out a new kind of rhythm, something ritualistic and deeply affirming. And yes, even a glimpse into the ‘Keeper’s Lament’ reveals a deeper tragedy, a complex stillness we hadn't quite understood before.

This whole process, piecing together the broken frequencies, tuning our instruments to hidden overtone series for ‘Resonance Found’—it was like unlocking something fundamental, finding clarity where there was only ambiguity. You can hear the Menders gathering strength in ‘Menders Rising’, a collective will forming from individual struggles, pushing back against the inertia.

‘Heritage Unbound’ isn’t just a triumphant sound; it's the feeling of something long-dormant finally breathing again. It’s the culmination of everything we sought, the reclaiming of a memory so vast it reshapes the very air. We built this from deep drones, from bowed strings stretched thin, from the granular whisper of decay transforming into the roar of rediscovery.

This wasn't about making pretty sounds. It was about seeing if a world consumed could still remember its own vibrant past. Mantlecraft is our answer, a sonic cartography of that stubborn refusal to succumb, a meditation on how heritage, once thought lost, can still become a living map for those who listen. We hope it sparks something in you, too—a recognition of your own dormant songs, waiting to be found amidst the silence.

Bield crafts instrumental soundscapes that stretch time itself. Using modified strings, custom percussion, and layers of sustained tones, we create slow-burning compositions that feel both primitive and timeless. Our music builds gradually, pulling listeners into meditative states where minutes dissolve.