Writing for AllMusic, critic Paul Henderson called the album "[a] must for devoted fans of the genre and a worthy introduction to early-'80s hardcore for the uninitiated.

They first became associated with BYO Records in July 1983 when they shared a short Canadian tour with Youth Brigade, the American punk band the members of which ran the label.

Travel from Canada to Los Angeles was fraught with complications, as both bassist Jimmy Schmitz and guitarist Marc Belke were denied entry at various points.

Drummer Evan C. "Tadpole" Jones had begun to suffer from exhaustion during the recording sessions, and he and Schmitz left the band after a show in late May.

The new lineup assembled for the North American tour in support of the album included drummer Jon Card and bassist Dave Bacon.

The initial release of the 12-inch LP featured a copyrighted image by Diane Arbus entitled Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, NYC.

The final and widest-issued version (shown above) featured a Christmas massacre scene, which includes a thickly veiled allusion to the original Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.

SNFU biographer Chris Walter describes the early reviews of the album in underground punk sources as "uniformly good.