GOLD SPIRE are still an awkward fit for anybody who wants to keep their metal in clearly marked compartments. The saxophone and flute are too prominent to be treated as decoration, the doom/death metal is too important to dismiss as a bit of heaviness added to an experimental rock record, and the doom element gives the whole thing a weight that stops the more unusual arrangements from floating away. On Steps into Shadow, these ingredients have been given a darker setting, with the Sundström brothers apparently more interested in getting the songs right than in seeing how far they can push the progressive side of the band.
The saxophone remains the big talking point, but I found the vocals almost as important to the album’s character. Arvid Sjödin, taking over from Heval Bozarslan, has a deep growl that suits this material without forcing it into conventional death metal territory. There’s a mournful quality to the combination of his voice and the woodwinds, particularly when the guitars ease off and leave the arrangement exposed. The Mire is a good illustration of what GOLD SPIRE can do with that space. A Clarion Call takes the idea further, putting the saxophone so much in the foreground that the heavier instruments seem almost out of place. That’s an unusual sensation, and one the band is clearly willing to pursue.
The difficulty is that the music doesn’t always make the most of its unusual instrumentation. The riffs can be surprisingly ordinary beside the arrangements built around them. GOLD SPIRE have spoken about moving towards more traditional hard rock songwriting, and the more direct approach makes sense; the songs don’t need another dozen technical flourishes. But direct songwriting also puts the riffs under greater scrutiny. When the saxophone isn’t supplying the most distinctive element, some of the guitar work has less personality than I’d like. The band has a recognisable sound, certainly, but the sound itself sometimes leaves a stronger impression than the compositions.
There are moments when the contrast between the woodwinds and the metal becomes genuinely unsettling, and others when it feels as if the instruments are simply pulling in different directions. I don’t mind a certain amount of friction. In fact, the band’s willingness to leave these sounds rubbing against one another is part of its appeal. But strangeness can only carry a song so far. A Clarion Call is an interesting arrangement; whether it is equally successful as a composition is another question. That distinction matters across the album, because the most unusual passages are not automatically the most memorable ones.
The slower material gives the record much of its character. GOLD SPIRE don’t seem particularly interested in keeping the listener under constant pressure, and the quieter sections have enough unease of their own to justify the space they occupy. The heavier passages consequently have somewhere to go, although the transitions between these different moods don’t always feel entirely convincing. Sometimes the music develops naturally out of the tension already present; elsewhere, the changes draw attention to the construction rather than the song. Considering how long the material was in development, I expected the overall flow to be a little more assured.
The album’s background adds another dimension without requiring the lyrics to spell everything out. Steps into Shadow is dedicated to the Swedish working class and the struggle for emancipation, with the 1931 Ådalen shootings providing an important historical reference. Swedish troops opened fire on a workers’ demonstration during a labour conflict, and the band connects that history with the weakening of solidarity and the return of fascist ideas. The subject is considerably more specific than the generic darkness that fills so many metal records, even if the lyrics themselves remain abstract enough to invite different interpretations.
I respect what GOLD SPIRE are trying to do, and the arrival of Sjödin seems to have strengthened the material. There is enough here to separate the band from the mass of progressive death metal acts, especially when the woodwinds and the heavier instruments seem to be working against each other for a reason. But I can’t say the songwriting has caught up with every idea in the arrangements. Steps into Shadow is an individual record with some genuinely compelling moments, yet I came away more convinced by GOLD SPIRE’s musical identity than by the consistency of the songs themselves. I’d rather hear them continue down this road than retreat into safer territory; next time, I want more of those riffs to stick.
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Released by Awakening Records on June 19, 2026
Music source for review – Grand Sounds PR
