Less commercial than Bride's later works,[2] the album, which was somewhat more extreme and darker than many contemporary Christian releases, received a mixed reception and did not sell particularly well.

[4] The album's opening track, "Forever in Darkness," is a fast, rhythm guitar and bass-driven song with an epic chorus.

Followed by a minute of lead guitar playing, the song closes hauntingly as Dale repeatedly wails "forever in darkness."

"Show No Mercy" takes a slower pace with acoustic guitar playing, and the lyrics deal with spiritual warfare: "I am strong and you are weak / Jesus gives me power to defeat / I can't be bought and / won't sell out/ The battle cry is good and loud/ Show no mercy!"

The song proceeds slowly through its verses and gains momentum until it reaches an anthemic chorus backed by a powerful guitar riff.

"The First Will Be Last," a mid-tempo track until its chorus, which contains a touch of vocal harmonies, features a passage narrated by a female voice low in the mix, followed by Osborne's sweeping lead guitar work.