[2] The group gained attention upon release of its debut album, Forest of Equilibrium (1991), which is considered a classic of the genre.

[4] Cathedral was formed after Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) met and discussed their love for bands like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Pentagram, Trouble, and Witchfinder General.

[7]Cathedral's major label debut, The Ethereal Mirror, was noted by Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic for its experimentation, upbeat tempos, and groove-laden guitar riffs.

During this time, Cathedral released four full-length albums that continued to explore faster rhythms and 1970s-hard rock-influenced guitar riffs before returning to a relatively slow cadence for Endtyme in 2001.

[15] Shortly before the release of The Last Spire, Dorrian told Noisecreep that there will never be a Cathedral reunion, and called that idea "absolutely stupid.

"[16] Guitarist Gaz Jennings added that chances of a Cathedral reunion are "very, very slim", and that he "just can't see" it happening in the future.

[20] By the time that The Ethereal Mirror was released, the band had incorporated references to 1970s music, such as the disco influences heard on "Midnight Mountain".

I just wanted to do something a bit different, so we took all our influences like Vitus and Pentagram and the Obsessed and stuff and decided to take that kind of music one step further, bring it into the 90's, make it more extreme, more heavy and downtuned than any of those bands had done before.

[22]Beginning with the Soul Sacrifice EP, the band began to incorporate a diverse array of 1970s influences into its sound.

The Guessing Game represented another development in the band's sound, with Cathedral's progressive and psychedelic influences coming to the forefront.

For Dorrian, the album's direction was a result of the fact that: This time on the record it seemed like we've come to the point where we feel confident enough to bring these influences to the fore.

[24]Remarking on Cathedral's penchant for evolving its sound, Dorrian said: I just think it’s important for a band like us, if we have all these influences and aspects of things we like, to be a bit more adventurous and make it interesting for ourselves as much as the audience.