The band wrote a song that was meant to stand alone and would not necessarily be viewed as a sign of what a follow-up to its 2013 sophomore album Sunbather might sound like, though at the time of "From the Kettle Onto the Coil"'s release, vocalist George Clarke said Deafheaven had, "a lot of different ideas for that, already.

Writing for Spin, Colin Stutz said: "The heavy-hitting 'From the Kettle Onto the Coil' is a devastating six-and-a-half-minute assault that dips into vibier moments but never loses its edge in its relentless attack, a welcome follow-up to the gloriously shredded Sunbather.

"[4] Writing for Exclaim!, Alex Hudson wrote: "The song is a venomous scorcher, its crushing drums and climactic guitars making the first couple of minutes feel like a continuous crescendo.

Eventually the arrangement shifts into head banging riffs, dramatically slow rhythms and a mellow middle passage, with frontman George Clarke's throat-tearing screams sounding particularly terrifying.

"[5] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Chris Coplan wrote: "After re-invigorating the black metal scene with last year's excellent Sunbather LP, Deafheaven return to basics with this latest single.