Gothic architecture towers on the front is the norm. In England, Germany and Scandinavia this is often the arrangement, but an English cathedral may also be surmounted by an enormous tower at the crossing. Smaller churches usually have just one tower, but this may also be the case at larger buildings, such as Salisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster in Ulm, Germany, completed in 1890 and possessing the tallest spire in the world, slightly exceeding that of Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest spire that was actually completed during the medieval period, at . The exteriors and interiors of Gothic cathedrals, particularly in France, were
The Last Spire origins for a honed and toned (almost) mid-tempo thrust". Chris Ward described the album as bringing Cathedral "full circle", and serving as a bookend to the band's debut; however, he also heard "enough of the flavours the band sprinkled into all their albums in between to give it the feel of a eulogy of the band's output." Dean Brown, describing "The Last Spire" as a "true doom record", also credited the band with a "masterful understanding of dynamics" that integrated Cathedral's "signature curveballs". Grayson Currin wrote for Pitchfork that "The Last Spire" "does not feel like a microwaved visitation with