An uptempo song, "End of Time" exhibits the influence of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti; its bass line was inspired by the multi-instrumentalist's work.

From June 16 to 27, 2011, the songs from 4 were available to listen to in full each day on Beyoncé' official website, paired with its accompanying photo spread from the album packaging and a quote.

[11] At a private listening party for Beyoncé's fourth studio album was held on May 12, 2011;[5] she offered a select group of fans previews of the music video for the lead single "Run the World (Girls)" and five other songs including, "End of Time".

[34] Likewise, Brad Wete of Entertainment Weekly added that "End of Time" has some vibes of Jackson's 1983 song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'",[35] the rhythm arrangement of which is a complex interweaving of drum machine patterns and horns.

[36] Adam Markovitz of the same publication noted that the horns used in "End of Time" are similar to those used during Jackson's Off the Wall (1979–80), before adding that it consists of a "bionic" beat, which recalls the work of American rhythm and blues vocalist Bo Diddley.

[38] Priya Elan of NME noted that the chorus and the brass section of "End of Time" recall British musician Steve Winwood's 1982 song "Valerie".

[35] Likewise, Adam Markovitz of the same publication commended the song's "off-balance harmonies", before noting that "[it is] exactly the kind of genre-busting risk that few other current pop stars would even attempt, let alone pull off flawlessly with a no-big-thing shrug.

"[37] Similarly, Charley Rogulewski of AOL Music wrote that "End of Time" reuses the "post-apocalyptic vibe" of "Run the World (Girls)", however with "more originality and a two-faced delivery".

[34] Priya Elan of NME commented that "End of Time" is "much more instantaneous" than "Run the World (Girls)", and added that its sneaky bassline, which is reminiscent of Lauryn Hill's work, "is the perfect counter-balance to those pesky military drums".

[45] In the review of 4, Corner also noted that the "carnival-styled brass sections stand out as the record's quirkier production elements, adding bursts of sass" to the song.

[27] Erika Ramirez of Billboard magazine called "End of Time" an addictive song, adding that it "hits strong from jump with the orchestration".

[47] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph and Craig Jenkins of Prefix Magazine chose the song as a highlight of the album, with the later calling it "a joyfully vibrant collision of Afrobeat and Latin jazz".

[1][48] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone commented that "End of Time" effectively shows that Fela Kuti was a big inspiration for Beyoncé while producing 4.

[24] Matthew Perpetua of the same publication commended the song for being one of the most adventurous cuts on 4; he noted that Beyoncé sings "lovey-dovey lyrics over an ecstatic, beat-heavy arrangement".

[50] Claire Suddath of Time magazine wrote that the song "is just screaming to be covered by an earnest high school a capella [sic] group and posted to YouTube".

[51] Ricky Schweitzer of One Thirty BPM noted that "End of Time" revisits "the kind of girl-power territory" that Beyoncé used to experiment with as a member of Destiny's Child.

[53] Tom Pakinkis of Music Week noted that "End of Time" lets Switch get his "stuttering vocal trickery and disco filters out".

[56] Selling 18,222 digital copies, the song opened at number 26 on the South Korea Gaon International Singles Chart for the week ending July 2, 2011.

[59] "End of Time" was first performed by Beyoncé at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France, on June 20, 2011, during a promotional concert in support of her then-upcoming album 4.

[62] Jozen Cummings of The Wall Street Journal commented that "when [Beyoncé] went up-tempo on songs like 'End of Time', her virtuosic ability to engage in crisp choreography without cracking her huge voice took center stage.

[67] Echoing Cummings' sentiments, Mike Wass of Idolator added that "as great as those two tracks sounded live, 'Countdown' and 'End of Time' garnered the most applause.

"[68] Joycelyn Vena of MTV News concluded that "it was [Beyoncé's] ability to throw a party during faster jams like 'Party', 'Countdown', 'End of Time' and 'Run the World (Girls)' that put on full display her range as a performer, dancing and singing live the entire night.

[74][75] According to Chuck Darrow of The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Among the most stunning examples of the optical wizardry were the blue-and-white columns of light that framed the curtain-raising 'End of Time'".

[76] During the beginning of the show, Beyoncé asked the crowd to stand up on their feet, and according to Caryn Ganz of Spin magazine, "quickly demonstrated her voice and hips are as limber as ever".

[77] Maura Johnston of The Village Voice reviewed the performance positively, saying: "The night started off with 'End of Time,' the militaristic yet ethereal paean to fidelity off her most recent album, 4.

'Say you'll never let me go,' a choir commands over a triple-time drumbeat, and as far as opening statements are concerned it was a convincing one; the small size of the venue and exclusivity of the gig ... also helped, as much of this audience was ready to eat out of the palm of her hand.

[83] While reviewing the live video, Gil Kaufman of MTV News called it the "opposite end of the spectrum, a red-laser-flashing uptempo dance marathon with Beyoncé and her four sexy backup dancers shaking it over the song's Brazilian drum beat".

Led by former American Idol contestant and YouTube celebrity Todrick Hall, the dancers put down their red shopping baskets and started performing moves to "End of Time" as patrons snapped pictures on their cell phones.