🎶 Gold Spire
🌎 Upsala, Sweden
📀Steps into Shadow
® Awakening Records
📅 19/06/2026

There are bands that choose to remain faithful to the traditions of extreme music, and others that seek new forms of expression by incorporating elements that, until a few years ago, would have been considered alien to the metal aesthetic. GOLD SPIRES belong firmly to the latter category, following in the footsteps of the mighty RIVERS OF NIHIL, who around seven or eight years ago introduced the saxophone into metal music with the landmark “Where Owls Know My Name” and opened the door for many bands to experiment with this sound.

GOLD SPIRES have taken things one step further, turning the saxophone (as well as the flute) into a fundamental ingredient of their formula rather than a mere garnish, giving it a role equal to that of the guitars and drums. It is telling that three of the album’s eight tracks are pure instrumental jazz compositions that sound as if they have emerged from a New Orleans bar at the beginning of the 20th century. In the remaining five songs, atmospheric and seductive jazz intertwines with crushing, heavyweight death/doom, creating a fascinating contrast. The saxophone either serves a complementary role, as on “Steps Into Shadow” — arguably the strongest track on the album — or works discreetly (or sometimes not so discreetly) alongside the familiar and beloved guitar riffs, creating melodic bridges throughout the compositions. A characteristic example of this approach can be found in “Liberation at Dawn”.

Arvid Sjödin’s filthy and abyssal vocals create yet another twisted contrast, particularly on “Crown of Disfigurement”, which also features a somewhat elevated mid-tempo pace, intensifying the sense of madness. It should be noted that this is Sjödin’s first appearance on a GOLD SPIRES album, and the choice seems ideal, as his deep, expressive growls further emphasize the album’s melancholic noir atmosphere while enhancing its cinematic dimension.

Steps Into Shadow fully lives up to its title. These are not footsteps through the shadows of a Scandinavian forest, but through the urban landscape of the American South, wandering down smoke-filled alleys illuminated by neon lights in a city that never sleeps.

This is not an easy album to absorb. It demands that the average metalhead step outside their comfort zone, look a little further, reflect, and ultimately realize that music has no boundaries. Or rather, that its only boundaries are the ones we impose upon it ourselves.

GOLD SPIRES dared — perhaps even a little more than they should have — but in doing so they delivered an album that stands as a genuine case study for the future of metal music.

 ★ 8/10
✍🏻 Kostas Boudoukos