This is the second album and second part of a trilogy from The Mist in the Mountains whose have found themselves being mentioned in the same breath as proponents of nature-inspired, epic black metal such as early Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar and fellow Finns Moonsorrow.

An acoustic start places us deep in the forest. “And So Flew the Death Crow” expands into folk metal. It builds up into epic and fiery territory but for me there was an air of inevitability about it. “The Seer of Ages” by contrast pumps along in a melodic rock-metal way. The chorus is aimed at creating a mystical and lofty air, I guess, but this is such a fusion of musical ideas – epic metal, rock, folk, black metal – that it ends up being obfuscated. The acoustic spoken passage was predictable as not very inspiring, which surely was the point of it. Explosively “The Seer of Ages” transforms into harsh death metal before the pace picks up and the chorus of warriors rings out. There are a lot of stylistic changes but no coherence, I was finding.

“At The Roots of the Vile” starts fierily enough and maintains a lofty, epic tone. After the warmonger’s chorus, we are taken to a dark, dank place. The next section is a folksy chant before it gives way to a final fiery blast. The atmosphere then changes with the melancholy and acoustic tones of “Among the Black Waves”. Half way through this ten-minute piece, the song explodes into the pre-advertised epic metal style. “In Longing Times” then moves from an acoustic folk style to one which is more expansive. The album ends with “Saiva”, a fiery epic romp. To a point it’s a call to arms and certainly the intensity is there. As it seemed to be heading into an epically fiery oblivion, a rather languid folksy narrative strikes up to rescue us and the final section takes us into the mists.

Storms gather but I found the progression of this album predictable and aimless. I sensed pride, chest-beating and defiance but also felt that “Portal – The Gathering of Storms” was somehow going through motions I had experienced before but in a way that touched me less. The problem I had with it was not that the album lacked atmosphere but the fact that a combination of the prolonged passages and numerous styles, which for me destroyed the continuity, seemed to detract from a tangible scene, and merely served to water down instead of heighten the epic quality that goes with a work of this kind.

(6/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/TheMistFromTheMountains

https://primitivereaction.bandcamp.com/album/portal-the-gathering-of-storms