Spire spires were an astounding architectural innovation, beginning with the early fourteenth-century spire at Freiburg Minster, in which the pierced stonework was held together by iron cramps. The openwork spire, according to Robert Bork, represents a "radical but logical extension of the Gothic tendency towards skeletal structure." The organic skeleton of Antoni Gaudi's phenomenal spires at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona represent an outgrowth of this Gothic tendency. Designed and begun by Gaudi in 1884, they were not completed until the 20th century. In England, "spire" immediately brings to mind Salisbury Cathedral. Its 403-foot (123-m) spire, built between 1320 and 1380,
The Last Spire out the time between recording days to give "us time to let the songs sit for a bit, and know exactly where to go with them". The interior of the album sleeve features artwork by long-time Cathedral artist Dave Patchett. Dorrian, describing the art as "climactic", notes that "it's not like a usual epic Dave Patchett piece where he does the full spread; it's just one section of the artwork now. It's basically thank you and goodbye, fuck you God or whatever. It's just a scene inside "The Last Spire" I suppose; almost like a nativity scene gone wrong." While