Following the record's release, Blue Murder embarked on tours supporting Bon Jovi and Billy Squier.

Its failure has since been attributed to a variety of internal problems, including a lack of proper promotion, mismanagement and poor business decisions by the band.

In 1986, guitarist John Sykes was fired from the English hard rock group Whitesnake by the band's lead vocalist David Coverdale.

[1] As the band began their search for a new lead singer, Cozy Powell, who had become frustrated with the group's lack of progress, left to join Black Sabbath in early 1988.

[1][2] The band were then approached by drummer Carmine Appice, who had previously worked with Rod Stewart, Vanilla Fudge and King Kobra, among others.

[16] Due to Rock's prior engagements with Bon Jovi and The Cult, recording was halted after six weeks, which allowed the band to audition more singers.

[11] Unable to agree on a frontman, Sykes was eventually persuaded by John Kalodner and the rest of the band to take up the role of lead singer.

[7][13] Having had no proper vocal training, Sykes initially struggled to sing the tracks, but eventually eased into it, drawing upon what he had learned working with David Coverdale and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott.

Originally, the group had wished for a simple black and white photo, but Geffen insisted on shooting in colour.

[23][24] Sykes described the band's sound in an interview with Raw magazine as having elements of both Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy, as well as the blues.

[22] Sykes's intent with Blue Murder was to create a heavier record than Whitesnake's eponymous album, while still retaining some of the same groove and vibe.

[20][25] When asked to name his favourite track from the album, Sykes chose "Jelly Roll" as it was one of the easiest ones to write.

The reissue featured a remastered version of the album, a 3,500 word essay by Malcolm Dome and an interview with John Sykes.

[37][38] Blue Murder's success fell short of expectations, as the sales for their debut album disappointed both the band and label.

Eventually, the band hired Bruce Allen to manage them, but by this point Appice said "it was too late" and the album had already underperformed.

[42] In retrospect, Carmine Appice called this a "dumb mistake", as the song was deemed "too long" and "not commercial enough" for MTV.

[44] However, due to the failure of "Valley of the Kings", MTV refused to play the video for "Jelly Roll", which Franklin felt prevented it from becoming a crossover hit.

He gave special praise to Bob Rock's production and commended the band's musicianship, particularly Sykes's guitar playing, which he thought elevated him to the same level as Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page.

[48] Rock Hard's review was similarly voiced, with "Riot", "Valley of the Kings" and "Blue Murder" being singled out as particular highlights.

[21] Warren J. Rhodes, writing for The California Aggie, called the album "excellent",[50] while Neil Jeffries of Kerrang!

[47] Spin's Jon Young, meanwhile, gave the record a scathing review, calling it a "disaster" and the band "aimless".

[51] He characterized Sykes's vocals as "shrill" and his guitar playing "hyperactive", while tracks like "Jelly Roll" and "Out of Love" were described as "bloated" and "weepy", respectively.

[49] White Wizzard guitarist Will Wallner, writing for Guitar World, called the album "phenomenal", with special praise being given to Sykes's playing.

[38] White Wizzard's Jon Leon, meanwhile, named Blue Murder one of his favourite obscure heavy metal records of the 1980s.

[56] In addition to calling the album "underrated", Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy stated in 2014: "These days there's a whole Brotherhood Of Blue Murder out there – musicians and crew guys who love this band.