A buildup of the miasmic tar that binds one realm’s passage to another now soaks through the skin-and-brass of Uppsala, Sweden-based progressive death metal quintet GOLD SPIRE as they present a second set of deeper fusion’d, eerily calm vignettes unto the snarling void. For their sophomore full-length album, ‘Steps Into Shadow‘, they’ve cracked open darker-shrouded view into the unknown where portents of doom amidst slow-stepped, vinelike rhythmic curl reflect greater extremes afforded their unique death, prog and jazz comprised station. Difficult as their concoction might be to chop up into the context of typical prog-death surrealism and rock-structured death metal in general the greater effect of this doubly refined work should speak expressly to the broad-minded extreme metal listener.

Gold Spire formed back in 2019 as a spiritual extension of guitarist Påhl Sundström‘s progressive rock, jazz fusion and death metal verve within Usurpress‘ endpoint. Featuring markedly different voice and rhythmic component, their sound would highlight performances from notable Uppsala-area spheres with Heval from Sarcasm on vocals, bassist Petter Broman of Obskyr and Wyvern, and perhaps most urgently saxophonist/flautist Magnus Kjellstrand who’d featured just as prominently as the riffcraft on offer. Their approach can be viewed as broadly defined avant-garde metal, a personalized style rooted in jazz influenced voicing, heavy/prog rock structural drift amidst ominous atmosphere. The easiest elevator pitch I’ve managed in conversation is something like “Morphine doing ‘Morningrise‘” but my review of their debut LP (‘Gold Spire‘, 2021) goes into great detail suggesting where I’d viewed their efforts on the jazz-death angled spectrum of extreme metal.

‘Steps Into Shadow‘ arrives without any specific expectations set beyond the slow-spoken, adrift vision of Gold Spire‘s debut. Their work here manifests similarly framed tangent, lightly tensioned and wandering pieces which approximate the sort of prog-rocking death vision you’ll find spiritually accessed within stuff like Bedsore and Speglas. Though the outcome is quite different from those bands all falls under a certain chilled-but-roaring umbrella outside of normative death metal rhythmus and voicing. The pairing of instrumental opener “Starvation” with the title track “Steps Into Shadow” highlights just how different their approach is from the more spastic, technical works typically associated with jazz and progressive rock imbued death metal while showcasing the easy flow between each movement/piece. The title track notably bites into something more death metallic in suggestion outright and provides one of the heavier moments on the full listen beyond mid-album bone-gnawer “Crown of Disfigurement”.

The most notable change here beyond a natural evolutionary step taken into easier-slinking, interconnectedness comes via the addition of vocalist Arvid Sjödin who is probably best know for his work in eclectic duo Floating. Vocals aren’t the major focus of either Gold Spire album but this time around we find a slightly more guttural timbre to suit the melodramatic veering of the title track and a samey narrative cadence as the overall default vocalization. The aforementioned “Crown of Disfigurement” probably comes closer to the earlier Opeth but noir-jazz rock idea posited earlier and this is where Sjödin is most creatively interjected within the slow-going doomed step of the band’s movement. Granted the effects used on “A Clarion Call” right afterwards should naturally stand out on the waltz through.

With those specific pieces in mind ‘Steps Into Shadow‘ reads as heavier, given to more intense moodiness as the full listen ramps toward its endpoint. This time around Gold Spire‘s greater dynamic is steadier in its points of rise-and-fall, offering smoother gradient in transition while going more places overall. There are fewer songs which end with a slow fade this time around and most every piece features as an arc rather than ranting vignette, making for a more engaging listen but perhaps a set of songs no more memorable in thread than ‘Gold Spire‘ overall. The one song I’d felt the band opened a new(er) door with here was probably the bopping push through “Drag Us Under”, less an interruption to what’d been established throughout the full listen and moreso a unique turn taken within those boundaries.

The novelty of deepening fusion is the main attraction here on ‘Steps Into Shadow‘ as Gold Spire simply do more with the palette designated by their debut, slipping into darker points of death metal invagination as well as slacking their shoulders looser unto noir-jazz landscapes otherwise. The greater effect is strangely easy-going even within its most bristling stance, making it tough to recommend any one part outside of the whole but easy to give a thumbs up to their greater creation/concept. Per my own experience the listening experience thrives within its stream of consciousness, a sauntering passage through the ominous and surreal possibilities afforded their unique configuration. A moderately high recommendation.

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