Building off of the sound of Suffocation's debut album Effigy of the Forgotten (1991), it features more technical songwritng incorporating melodic and dynamic arrangements.

"[7] Similarly, vocalist Frank Mullen and drummer Mike Smith both claimed that Roadrunner wanted the band to record without Burns as he was too popular.

[11] Ultimately, Suffocation recorded Breeding the Spawn with producer Paul Bagin at Noise Lab in West Islip, New York—whom they had both used previously for the Human Waste EP.

[4][11][12] Hobbs said that the album's production was marred by various arguments and inner turmoil within Suffocation, which he felt "came through in the record", and the fact that its engineer was unfamiliar with the band's style of music.

"[14] Smith's unhappiness with Breeding the Spawn and Roadrunner's perceived lack of support for Suffocation led him to quit the band in 1994;[10][15] he would return upon their reformation in 2002.

[26] In their 2023 retrospective review, Metal Storm claimed that Breeding the Spawn was "The blueprint that many latter-day tech death bands would borrow from" and "an overlooked part of the trifecta that built the reputation of Suffocation.

"[3] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff gave the album a mixed review, claiming that Pantera was "actually heavier than far-flung death [sic] on half a dozen different scales.

"[17] Roadrunner apologized to Suffocation for the production of Breeding the Spawn, which Conner later referred to as a "mistake",[7] and allowed the band to work with whoever they wanted to for their third album Pierced from Within (1995).

[25][29] "Prelude to Repulsion" and "Anomalistic Offerings" were re-recorded on Suffocation (2006), with the latter found on the Japanese version of the album; "Marital Decimation" on Blood Oath (2009);[30] "Beginning of Sorrow" on Pinnacle of Bedlam (2013);[31] "Epitaph of the Credulous" on ...Of the Dark Light (2017);[32] and "Ignorant Deprivation" on Hymns from the Apocrypha (2023).

[33] In a 2006 interview, Smith said that Suffocation would only re-record Breeding the Spawn in full if the original lineup was involved, as it would take too long for the band to teach its songs to its newer members and "prevent us from moving forward".