About two years after the album's release, guitarist Jason Becker was diagnosed with ALS, which eventually led to his near-total paralysis.

[3] In a contemporary review, Wolfgang Schäfer of Rock Hard was not overly impressed by the album but remarked how Friedman and Becker refrained "from superfluous solo escapades", making the music more accessible and fueling the suspicion that Mike Varney wanted "to repeat the success of the dissolved Racer X with this band.

an improvement on their 1987 debut album Speed Metal Symphony and compared the "slightly more song-oriented approach" to contemporaries Racer X.

He praised Friedman and Becker's technical craft as "a very interesting listen at times" and that "there are even some beautiful moments, like the outro of the title track", while also noting an element of restraint in their playing compared to Speed Metal Symphony.

[4] Martin Popoff reviewed positively the album and considered it "too crazy, professional and intense for its day", becoming "a cult classic" and "a mid-years progressive metal cornerstone."