Release the Panic has garnered positive reviews from the following publications: About.com, AllMusic, CCM Magazine, Christian Music Review, Cross Rhythms, Evigshed Magazine, Jesus Freak Hideout's Bert Gangl and Kevin Hoskins, New Release Tuesday and Worship Leader.

Even if you don’t normally listen to hard rock albums, the artistic nature of these songs draws you in and elicits an emotional response.

"[9] In addition, Worship Leader's Darryl Bryant found that "Release the Panic is unapologetically Metal Rock and having interviewed many teenagers and youth leaders, this CD hits them right between the eyes and challenges the listener to look deeply at the world they live in and make sense of it.

[1][3][14] First, AllMusic's Steve Leggett illustrated how the "Mixing a post-grunge sound, complete with a slight metal edge, and a radio-ready studio sheen, Red play songs that, although they're often filled with confusion, despair, and anger, are also ultimately positive and redemptive".

[1] In addition, Leggett alluded to how the album "doesn't mess with the formula very much, and if they sound like Linkin Park, say, or Chevelle, that firm faith in hope and redemption gives the band a kind of spiritual warmth not always apparent at first listen.

"[1] Jesus Freak Hideout's Bert Gangl called the album a "bi-polar approach", but did proclaim that "Release the Panic nevertheless earns its creators high marks for their willingness to shake up the established order a bit.

More importantly, though, its stronger entries offer convincing hints that the group's next release may well turn out to be its defining work.

"[3] Kevin Hoskins delivered the second opinion for the publication, and noted how "There's nothing new here as the Release the Panic keeps pace with exactly what Red has been known for, and while that music is good, it again fails to live up to the aforementioned hype.

"[14] Also Gangl wrote an entirely different review for The Phantom Tollbooth, and found that "Dyed-in-the-wool metal heads will probably view Panic’s ballads with the same contempt they heaped upon the better part of the Faces record.

And, truth be told, the softer offerings on Panic, thanks to their sometimes overly generic character, sail wide of the mark as often as they hit it.

"[16] Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings rated the album seven-stars-out-of-ten, and called found that the release "contains some excellent cuts.

At HM, Kim Flanders evoked that the "production is over-polished", yet "this release is perhaps a step up musically from previous deliveries.