It was their first release after leaving Myrrh Records, and according to drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong, represented a major turning point for the band: "We went independent after this, and never were on a label where there were expectations of any kind of a 'ministry' or anything like that.

"[1] After the tour for Circle Slide was completed, the Choir and Myrrh Records parted ways, and the band fractured, with individual members pursuing other creative opportunities.

[3] Saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels recorded his solo EP Reveal, then began playing sax on tour for mainstream contemporary Christian performers Bryan Duncan and Crystal Lewis.

[3] Glasshouse Records was founded, and would release projects from Alba, the Throes, John Austin and blues artist Reverend Dan Smith.

[3] One of the most significant projects the Choir worked on during this period was At the Foot of the Cross, Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire, which was arguably the first "modern worship" album, a concept that would later become popular in Christian music throughout the 2000s.

[16] The song "Let the Sky Fall" was built upon tracks recorded in 1990, as it was originally intended for Circle Slide; however, the band and A&R rep Tom Willett agreed it didn't fit with the tone of that album, so it was finished for Kissers and Killers instead.

[3] The contemporary Christian music industry was centered there, which presented more opportunities for the band members to work with other artists; the cost of living also was less expensive, and it was a central location for touring.

Jettisoning the ambient textures of Circle Slide, Kissers and Killers instead focused on straightforward rock song structures with aggressive guitar lines and feedback.

[19] Daugherty used a Groove Tubes guitar emulator for many of the tracks,[19] which were also recorded in mono, as opposed to the stereo effects that were dominant on past albums.

[20] Daugherty would also employ an E-bow and a Fuzztame on "Amazing,"[21] as well as a MXR Distortion+ unit on "Weather Girl," the latter of which was influenced by the guitar work of Bob Mould.

"[18] Because of this, a mistake where Hindalong accidentally hit the microphone with a doumbeck on the recording of "Grace" had to be physically cut out and replaced with a backwards percussion effect, then overdubbed with a cymbal crash to hide the final edit.

"[30] In the lead review for the July/August 1993 issue of Notebored, critic Steven L. Roth highlighted the impact of 1990s-era rock by stating that the album was "buried under a little more reverb and distortion than what they’ve recorded in the past, indicating a faint signal of how far and wide the 'industrial revolution' has spread."

On the shift in lyrical focus, Roth added that "it is on Kissers and Killers that this tangled and painfully real representation of the little thing we call love is further expanded and scrutinized," and praised Hindalong's "resistance to conventionality" for "juxtaposing apples and oranges in an effort to avoid anything remotely close to a cliché.

"[31] Liz Liew, writing for Cross Rhythms, said that on Kissers and Killers, "Derri's guitar effects are more expressive, pronounced and creative," and added that the album should give the Choir a "well-deserved break with a mainstream label.