Coal Chamber was formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascón, originally under the name She's in Pain.

[8][9] Roadrunner subsequently offered the band a record deal, but as they were negotiating, Fafara left Coal Chamber due to disagreements with his wife.

[8][9] A few weeks prior to their signing, John Tor was fired for "constantly fighting" with Rascón, after which they hired Mikey Cox as their new drummer.

[8] Roadrunner initially gave Coal Chamber a hard time about choosing their own producers,[9] but relented after Gordon sent a demo of "Pig" to Monte Conner, who was impressed by its recording quality.

[8][9] Korn bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu loaned all of his gear to Foss during the album's recording;[14] she also borrowed a five-string bass from Gordon on "Clock".

[18][19] Conner said that the album was not initially considered a priority at Roadrunner, and as such the label did not ship a large amount of copies or have a music video filmed before its release.

[5] Prior to releasing the album, the band were already known in heavy metal circles for performing at the inaugural edition of Ozzfest in 1996,[20] which also led to Sharon Osbourne becoming their manager.

[10] Mark Palmer, the manager of Roadrunner's UK branch, said that the album's buzz was "something we haven't experienced since the first Machine Head record, Burn My Eyes [(1994)]".

[26] To support the album, Coal Chamber toured heavily throughout the entirety of 1997, sharing the stage with artists such as Anthrax, Danzig, Downset., Faith No More, Grip Inc., Helmet, Machine Head, Pantera, Sevendust, Soilent Green and Type O Negative.

Chronicles of Chaos writer Adrian Bromley compared it to Korn and Deftones, remarking that he had "a hard time telling these bands apart.

[33] AllMusic's Steve Huey felt that the album was not original and lacked consistency and memorable riffs, but would still appeal to fans of alternative metal.

[15] Johnathan Selzer of Melody Maker acknowledged that whilst Coal Chamber could be accused of being "copyists" of Korn and Sepultura, the elements taken from those artists (and others) were all "means to an end" and that the album ultimately "rocks".

's Mike Peake considered the album "the biggest, meanest, heaviest noise [...] in months", though noted it was "not perfect—it's hardly what you'd call new, and it does lack the production punch of something like Demanufacture".

"[36] In an unfavourable review, Ian Winwood of Metal Hammer stated that the band were "lame" and "[sounded] like music that's being played on autopilot.

Reviewing the 2005 CD/DVD reissue for AllMusic, Johnny Loftus labelled "Loco", "Sway" and "Oddity" as "classics of a late-'90s L.A. metal scene that included Korn, Deftones, Fear Factory, and System of a Down."

He goes on to say whilst "Coal Chamber couldn't keep it up for a whole album", criticizing Fafara's lyrics and its "unimaginative two-note guitar riffs", it was "still an interesting listen, especially in relation to what they did differently from their peers.

"[44] In a 2011 retrospective review for Kerrang!, Paul Travers wrote that although Coal Chamber ultimately did not experience the same level of commercial success as their contemporaries, "for a brief time, at the dawn of nu metal, they were right there at the vanguard of a brand new sound that was—whatever hindsight might have to say about it—big, brash and utterly exciting.

[45] Lacey also criticized the track "Amir of the Desert", claiming it presents the band "[trying] their hand at some casual racism [...], complete with a 'comedy' indian accent that even the cast of Mrs. Brown's Boys would wince at.