[12] The album was named after Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, on unpredictable events and randomness.

One theme found in a few of the songs ("Wake Up", "Terrified", and in particular "Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)") is the concept that human existence is insignificant in comparison to the universe as a whole, and that wars, fighting and killing seem pointless.

[17] "Angel in the Swamp" takes influence from the Movielife,[16] touching on pop punk, and concluding with Queens of the Stone Age-esque guitar work.

[18] "We're Not Gonna Make It" talks about a couple in a biracial-relationship;[14] its chorus recalled the Page Avenue single "Anthem of Our Dying Day".

AbsolutePunk staff member Drew Beringer felt that the album "re-energized the band" as it was packed with 13 songs that are "set to rock your balls off", creating the best material they could offer.

[16] Alternative Press writer Luke O'Neil remarked that people who enjoyed their debut "may be surprised at the consistently hard-edged power throughout" The Black Swan, as the band "still display a canny ear for pop at times".

[11] Melodic writer Henrik Holmgren remarked that the "first thing I notice is the sound, it almost shoots out of my speakers", going on to praise the musicianship and state that it was on par with their debut.

[12] Rock Hard reviewer Marcus Schleutermann wrote that the guitar riffs, "which are quite cool in themselves, the screams and the uptempo passages are so 'skillfully' integrated in terms of production that they don't really hurt".

[34] Cleveland Scene's Michael Gallucci thought that it "drives home each and every point with ear-piercing screams, amp-shredding riffs, and world-in-crisis lyrics".

[14] The staff at Las Vegas Review-Journal commented that while it had its drawbacks, "such as a sound that’s almost too consistent between tracks as well as few lyrics that are automatically memorable; but fortunately, the songs are extremely tight".

[33] AllMusic reviewer Corey Apar wrote that although they seem "self-assured [...] all it really means is, well, The Black Swan is another Story of the Year album", mentioning that it would not convert any non-fans.