Since its release, Close to a World Below has received universal acclaim.

Todd Nief of AllMusic gave the Close to a World Below four and a half stars, calling the album a late-career classic.

He stated that with Close to a World Below, Immolation released one of the most profound and creative death metal albums of the 2000s which gave a new voice to a genre deluged with cookie-cutter clones.

[1] Metal Storm gave Close to a World Below a near-perfect 9.7 out of 10 praising Ross Dolan's vocals along with the overall brutality of the album.

[2] All lyrics are written by Ross Dolan; all music is composed by Robert Vigna