Shannon Larkin mentioned that "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain" is one of his favorite songs from The Oracle, stating "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain is special to me because I feel it has a different sound for the band, and it was a song that Tony and I put together many years ago, and honestly never imagined it being picked for a Godsmack record.

"[1] The single made its way to radio stations in the United States on July 12, 2010.

[2] On April 6, it was released as the first song from The Oracle, giving the fans the opportunity to download it through iTunes.

A rare balladic number, this song showcases a much more musical direction than Godsmack has ever taken in the past.

[5] Aaron Titan from 411mania.com commented that "This was one of the other songs that the band leaked out ahead of the album's release and it's kind of a different route for Godsmack", adding "Very introspective feel to it, and it kind of jams with these Alice in Chains-style melancholy guitar chords that reek of despair until it hits the pendulum chorus that has some of the most simple yet interesting guitar work we've gotten from Tony Rombola in quite a while.