{"id":647893,"date":"2026-06-19T22:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/647893\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T22:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:12:10","slug":"review-gold-spire-steps-into-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/647893\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Gold Spire – Steps into Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Andy<\/a> on 2026\/06\/192026\/06\/19<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by: P\u00e5hl Sundstr\u00f6m<\/p>\n

Style: Progressive Death Metal, Smooth Jazz, Death\/Doom Metal
Recommended for fans of: Rivers of Nihil<\/a>, Kenny G, Black Crown Initiate, Bohren & der Club of Gore
Country: Sweden
Release date: 19 June 2026<\/p>\n

This is undoubtedly neither the first nor last review of Steps into Shadow to mention Rivers of Nihil, and perhaps that\u2019s unfair to the Swedish five-piece Gold Spire. But in March of 2018, RoN ruined the next several years of progressive death metal with the release of Where Owls Know My Name, pushing the sax-in-death-metal gimmick to a widespread phenomenon. Even now in 2026, WOKMN\u2019s negative ripples are felt scene-wide, with every other prog band trying to shoehorn awkward saxophone solos into their songs\u2014almost none succeed at being good. Gold Spire add to the ever-growing list of bands who fuse death metal and sax; do they do it competently, or is it yet another band who fruitlessly chase RoN\u2019s success?<\/p>\n

Unlike RoN et al., Gold Spire use the sax less as a gimmick on their sophomore release\u2014with solos forcefully and disjointedly tacked on top of a death metal song\u2014instead fully implementing the instrument into their compositional identity\u2026 Kind of. When used in conjunction with metal, Magnus Kjellstrand\u2019s sax playing is at its fullest potential. At the very end of the title track, for instance, the sax grows into restless dissonance with some overblown notes thrown in for good measure, similar to Howling Sycamore, providing the end of the track some anxious wildness that caps off the moody death\/doom buildup well. In \u201cLiberation,\u201d the flute and sax harmonize with the riff past the halfway point; \u201cCrown of Disfigurement\u201d gets blasty in a more true death metal fashion while we\u2019re treated to the aural delight of one saxophone in each channel; and the rich tone of the woodwind provides extra gravitas to the chorus-y part of \u201cA Clarion Call.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

At least as often, Gold Spire carve out separate atmospheric moments to let the saxophone (and flute) take the lead, rather than allowing the winds to interact with the heavier riffs. The problem with these sections is that the sax parts are plain bland\u2014smooth sax like Kenny G, but nowhere near as interesting as the man himself\u2019s solo with Imperial Triumphant. The moments exist to serve as mood builders, atmospheric contrasts to the weighty death\/doom, but they come across as desperate to use the winds, no better than the other gimmick bands\u2014which is a shame because they sometimes have above average songwriting. But their atmospheric, bland parts in the death\/doom songs are nothing when compared with the fact that three of the eight songs\u2014fourteen out of forty minutes\u2014are instrumental \u201csmooth jazz\u201d pieces. At their best, the tracks are dark and foreboding \u00e0 la Bohren & der Club of Gore, but they mostly just kill time, seeming to build up to something and never arriving there. The band\u2019s new vocalist, Arvid Sj\u00f6din (Floating), also has earth-trembling lows that fit the dark vibe of Steps into Shadow\u2014leaving him out of several tracks just kills the mood.<\/p>\n

The death\/doom itself sounds like a less explorative Sweven, and Gold Spire have produced a vibes-based album. The riffs, although never suffocatingly heavy, are solid headbangers for the genre and pace, tinged with the slightest air of gothiness. But the band would also fare better for themselves if they used proggier song structures besides the atmospheric jazz-cum-riff dichotomy. Steps into Shadow somehow meanders while never doing anything interesting structurally but also isn\u2019t punchy enough for its relatively short songs to hit hard.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the setup that Gold Spire work with, and I think their niche has some legitimate promise. But for now, they don\u2019t really do enough with their gimmick and feel like yet another atmospheric death metal project with sax. Gold Spire need to pick a songwriting lane and stay in it: be pithy or be proggy. The short songs with extended saxophone breaks\u2014both mid-song and interspersed album-wide\u2014don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Steps into Shadow, Crown of Disfigurement, A Clarion Call
You may also like: Burial in the Sky<\/a>, Maudlin of the Well, Five the Hierophant, Sweven<\/a>, Floating, Speglas<\/a>
Final verdict: 5\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Awakening Records<\/a><\/p>\n

Gold Spire is:
\u2013 Arvid Sj\u00f6din (Vocals)
\u2013 Erik Sundstr\u00f6m (Drums, Keyboards, Backing Vocals)
\u2013 P\u00e5hl Sundstr\u00f6m (Guitars)
\u2013 Magnus Kjellstrand (Saxophone, Flute)
\u2013 Petter Broman (Bass)<\/p>\n

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