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Second album from Finland's The Mist from the Mountains, a band working in the melodic/epic end of the black metal pool. Like the debut, there are a number of vocal styles ranging from clean male and female, black rasps, death growls and even some pagan-style chanting, all seamlessly integrated. There are many acoustic passages, guitars, drums and the aforementioned chants, which are soothing and contemplative, and that description covers a lot of the music on Portal – The Gathering of Storms, even the blasting parts which are worked into the smooth and atmospheric song structures. I'm not finding this album as gripping as I typically prefer my atmospheric black metal to be, though I still enjoy it, if in a different way. I believe fans of Summoning (the acoustic parts), Moonsorrow and maybe even a bit of recent Amorphis should find Portal – The Gathering of Storms a worthwhile listen.