Frontman Glen Benton has expressed dissatisfaction with the album's production quality, which he attributed to budgetary restrictions at the time.

Coles noted that the album is "an example of how death metal refined the nasty edge of grindcore but retained a sinister sound.

"[5] Glen Benton's vocals on the album have been called "absolutely hideous and tortured" and "pure evil."

[5][2] According to Benton, he originally composed the album's fourth track "Dead by Dawn" on an acoustic guitar while watching The Beverly Hillbillies.

said, "Though Deicide’s later albums cemented their sound into what we now consider brutal death metal, it was the unhinged satanic rancor of their debut that made them a force to be reckoned with.

"[18] Bradley Torreano from AllMusic praised Deicide's guitar riffs as "creative" and "memorable", saying the album "struck a chord that would, for good or bad, instantly inspire legions of like-minded groups.