In regards to the sound of the single, it is said to be similar to the band's earlier albums such as The Sickness and Ten Thousand Fists.

As early as October 2020, frontman David Draiman stated that he wanted new Disturbed music to be "blisteringly angry", considering everything going on in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the demo of "Don't Tell Me" had been recorded the band felt like it needed a female voice, and they thought Ann would be perfect.

[19] Another review came from Kris Peters from Heavy Magazine: "Yes, Disturbed will always continue to do what they want musically, but don't ever think that means they are going soft.

"[20] Joe Daly of Metal Hammer gave the album a rating of 4 out of 5 stars in a review published on Louder Sound.

He said, "Polarising or not, Disturbed have reasserted their claim to the modern metal throne and Divisive will surely delight their existing fans, while picking up a few more along the way.