Pleasures of the Flesh was to originally feature cover art with an illustration of the band depicted as cannibals preparing and eating their meal.

[1] The album's release was delayed numerous times when Exodus continued touring in support of Bonded by Blood, and singer Paul Baloff had left the band just prior to the recording sessions, which began in 1987.

[2] Pleasures of the Flesh received a negative review from AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, who awarded the album two stars out of five, and called it a "very disappointing release".

He added that the album "left little hope for the future, but incredibly, Exodus would rebound with excellent results on 1989's Fabulous Disaster.

"[3] Martin Popoff described the album as a "full-frontal, uncannily displayed, top-flight thrash" work, with some "daunting compositional sophistication" in it.