The record's sleeve featured the same lightning-strikes-the-Capitol art that appeared on the ROIR cassette, and the back cover had the inner J-card's band photo, credits, lyrics, and Kaplan's liner notes.

Because Alternative Tentacles UK was a short-lived venture, the Bad Brains EP is rare, and for eight years was the only appearance of these songs on vinyl.

Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1982, Robert Christgau said, "Turn a fusion band into hardcore propheteers and you end up with fast heavy metal.

"[14] The album was a crucial step in the evolution of hardcore punk and the eventual fusion of hard rock and reggae adopted later by bands like Sublime, Fishbone, and 311.

Chuck Eddy wrote that Bad Brains "incorporated metal dynamics, Rastafari dub (for which they'd never again find a pocket as deep as the one here), and reckless R&B polypercussion.

The last factor's the one they're rarely given credit for, but the first time I heard their manned collision 'Pay to Cum', the only great song they will ever record, I thought it sounded like the Buzzcocks produced by Chic.

[nb 2] In 1990, Dutch East India Trading, through its imprint Homestead Records, was the first label to release the album on vinyl in the United States.

[nb 3] In 1996, ROIR reissued the original album on CD, featuring a hidden bonus track, followed by an on LP version the following year.