Eight singles from the album were released to Christian radio, and all of them reached the top five on The CCM Update charts.

5 represented a departure from Third Day's self-titled debut album (1995),[9] which had first been published as a demo before being released by independent label Gray Dot, and then re-recorded for Reunion Records.

[14] The band felt that it was more representative of their current musical style than their debut album had been,[11] and that the more aggressive mixing on Conspiracy No.

[16] Powell recounted an incident where Taylor began messing with Brad Avery's guitar in the middle of recording to create a specific sound.

[16] Taylor encouraged the band to record most of the background vocals themselves and to experiment with alternative methods of ending songs while avoiding the use of fade-outs.

[17] Third Day felt that the result was more of a "group effort" than their debut album, with greater involvement from all members of the band.

Lee expected fans who had seen them live "wouldn't be surprised", but those who had only listened to their first album would think it was a "pretty big jump".

[10] According to Third Day, the album's unusual name was inspired by their experience watching the movie JFK on their tour bus.

After watching the film, Third Day took a broader interest in conspiracy theories, and decided to visually theme their next album around the idea.

5 name itself came from a dictionary the band had access to; the fifth definition listed related to a group of people gathering together to accomplish a common goal.

[18] The band felt this meaning, along with the idea of digging beneath the surface to find the truth, also had a "spiritual parallel".

[22] The album has been described as having a "fresh" and "electric" feel, featuring "guitars layered between fuzzy psychedelia, hard-edged riffs and acoustic jangle".

[15] "How's Your Head" was written for Powell's wife, and relates to the band's feelings of loneliness while touring away from their families.

[11] It features backing vocals from Alfreda Gerald, who also performed on the band's first album, and relates how God offers mercy to sinners.

Working with Zomba's label Silverstone, Reunion hoped to capitalize on Third Day's single "Northing At All", which had hit the top 30 on rock radio the previous year.

Janet McQuenney, Silverstone's director of artist development, pointed to the success of Third Eye Blind and Tonic as creating an opening for the band.

A CD single for "Alien" was released on June 8, 1997, featuring an exclusive bonus track as well as a rock remix of "Nothing at All".

The lead single "Alien" peaked at number one on the CCM Update Christian Rock chart in August 1997.

[51] The South Florida Sun Sentinel called it "the kind of breakthrough record that dc Talk delivered in Jesus Freak" and praised its variety.

He lauded it as a "breathtaking set with the genuine potential to be considered a Christian rock classic in the years to come", and was particularly complimentary of the "stunning" production, "grunge-style guitars", and Powell's vocals.

[33] True Tunes News felt the album made Third Day "a legit rock band deserving major attention".

[52] Dave Urbanski of CCM Magazine called it "an intense album with some wonderful moments", and praised Third Day for being "willing to take big risks".

[40] The album's mainstream ambitions also failed to materialize, which Powell attributed to their reputation as a Christian band.

[1] Some existing fans of the band were disappointed with the new musical style; their 1999 follow-up album Time returned to a Southern rock sound.

[40][57][58] In an interview in 2013, bassist Tai Anderson called the album a "mis-step" because the band "put intensity over the songs".

[59] However, he still felt the album represented a "successful season" for Third Day because they had become more experienced performing live shows during the accompanying tour.

[59] In a 2016 interview, guitarist Mark Lee, while acknowledging it as their least commercially successful record, said that the creative risk to explore an alternative rock sound showed the band that they "change and adapt, but still have our core beliefs shine through".