[5] The single was promoted by a press junket organised by the record label on a boat sailing down London's River Thames,[6] and attracted media attention for the distinctive rubber packaging of the vinyl format.

[14] In the United Kingdom, the terms of the licensing deal regarding the inclusion of "Vow" on Volume meant that the track could only be released on a limited basis.

[2] Mushroom manufactured advance discs to promote a re-release of "Vow" in the United Kingdom, but later decided to alter the single, so that the international b-side, "Subhuman", would be the title track.

[16] Garbage requested that their initial singles were to be packaged with a "high-tech, design-led approach", which led to the manufacture of the aluminium sleeve for "Vow".

10,000 A2 posters of simply the G logo were affixed to prime sites around the United Kingdom; another 10,000 were set up two weeks later which also included the band's name, the name of the single and the release information.

[8] To support the release of "Subhuman" and launch the album, Mushroom organised the band's first fanzine press conference on July 25, on board a cruise sailing up and down the River Thames.

[6] The boat set-off from Embankment Pier early, without the band on board, and had to return to pick them up (it was later pointed out and reported that the conference had taken place on the sister-ship to the Marchioness, which had sunk with loss of life a few years earlier).

[24] Towards the end of the following year, "Subhuman" b-side "#1 Crush" was remixed by Nellee Hooper for inclusion on the soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.

[29] In 1998, "Subhuman" was included on Independent Access, a CD sampler given away by Newbury Comics stores in the United States with purchases of Garbage's second album Version 2.0.

[30] In 2015, Garbage announced the 20th Anniversary Edition of their debut album with a free download of an extended version of "Subhuman" with all pre-orders.

Totally distinctive and utterly brilliant"[31] while the latter lengthily enthused, "There are reminders of Curve, in the scowling, abrasive guitars, trussed down with a rubbery, mordantly funky rhythm programme.

This is severely internal music, right inside your head, pulsing like a migraine, with Manson crowing like a dominatrix as she presides over some impending psychological breakdown".

[32] Hot Press described "Subhuman" as "hypnotic drum loops combined with a guitar overload... an industrial noise-feat", adding that it was "a great single".

[33] Vox were equally positive, writing "trashing a bloated, ego-fuelled but nameless icon, "Subhuman" is one of [Garbage's] darkest songs to date.

"[34] NME were severely critical of "Subhuman", stating that the single was a disappointing follow up to "Vow": "Garbage go and ruin it all by being hopelessly techno-gothic.