[7] Lyrically, it was praised for the band's continued progression and maturity as songwriters by delving into darker subject matters such as existentialism, death, depression and religion.

[18] Throughout the writing and recording, Jesse Lacey, Vincent Accardi, Garrett Tierney, Brian Lane and Derrick Sherman were each plagued with death and illness amongst their families and friends.

[20] Live guitarist Derrick Sherman who had been touring with the band for some time was also present during the recording sessions, contributing parts to all of the album's tracks.

"[23] Music executive Luke Wood of Interscope Records expressed frustration with the math rock and Slint influence on the early drafts of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.

A completed version of "(Fork and Knife)" recorded during The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me sessions was released as a standalone single in 2007.

Music writer Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic commended the band for their reaction to the leaks, praising them for starting over and recording original tracks that showed more growth and development than the demos.

[19] The liner notes dedicate the album to "Robert Sherman, Red Lacey, Leo Lacey, Bill and Virginia Sherman, James McAuliffe, Rosemary Kancelerski, Frances Ambrosio, Manfred Cardone III, Sid Rosen, Seymour Lane, Michelle Lane, George Moe, Alexander Lambros, and Omir Ortega, all of whom left us between the start and completion of the record.

"[20] Lacey suffered from depression during the writing stage of the album due to anxiety revolving around the high expectations put upon the band following the critical success of Deja Entendu.

"Jesus Christ" is about "analyzing crises of faith" in a conversation with God,[33] making references to Biblical figures such as Thomas the Apostle and Elijah.

Its lyrics touch on loneliness, the validity of the afterlife and the struggle to maintain faith, influenced by Lacey's religious upbringing and his attending South Shore Christian School during his adolescence.

[37] Travelling home with her family after a wedding, their limousine was hit by drunk driver Martin Heidgen, a few miles from where Lacey was living at the time, leading to the decapitation of the young Flynn, whose severed head fell into her mother's arms.

"[39] "The phrase itself was pretty cool, and reading it somewhere else would be striking, so that was what drew me to it, but listening back to the album I realised how much it represents quiet and loud, the good and evil, but it also has a lot to do with faith and some spiritual aspects of the band."

[30] The album cover is a picture titled "Untitled #44" from Nicholas Prior's "Age of Man" collection which the band saw at an art show in New York City.

[53] In one of a few exceptions during the UK tour, Lacey discussed that this was due to many journalists and publications misrepresenting and taking quotes out of context to make their interviews more interesting.

Lead singer Jesse Lacey was interviewed by WFNX on April 24, 2007 at the First Act Guitar Studio, Boston as part of an acoustic performance for VW Green Room that was subsequently made available to download.

[64][65] In 2023, Interscope's Luke Wood recalled the band's desire for lack of promotion for the album, "There wasn't a music video, there wasn’t even a photo shoot.

[24] After a July 30, 2008 solo show, Lacey stated that the long wait for the vinyl release of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was due primarily to the band's failure to secure the rights of Nicholas Prior's photograph.

On January 11, 2010, Brand New announced via their Twitter account that The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me would be released as a double vinyl LP set through Procrastinate!

The first pressing of the lyric booklets titled Pogolith 000 contained a number of stickers, patches and a poster alluding to the release of the leaked demos from the album.

"[26] Writing for AllMusic, Corey Apar called the record "dark and dense, yet accessible, a shadowy air permeating every crevice where Jesse Lacey's plaintive and often tortured lyrics aren't already residing."

[73] Alternative Press highlighted how there was not a song on the album that could even be compared to material from their debut Your Favorite Weapon, whilst only "Not the Sun" and "Archers" bared any resemblance to material from Déjà Entendu believing the album to be dark, difficult, depressing and desolate, "Devil is the sound of four men hitting absolute rock bottom and desperately trying to rescue themselves through any means necessary; we as listeners are forced to hear the band suffer as a means to reach catharsis-all presumably for our edification" likening it to Modest Mouse and Radiohead's The Bends.

[91] The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was Brand New's most critically acclaimed record until the release of Science Fiction in 2017 and was frequently considered to be their best album.

[92] In 2016, ten years after its release, Lacey mentioned this album as a particularly important work for the band, and one that they "still use as a measuring post with which we compare the music we make now".

[94] The tenth anniversary of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me spawned several discussions regarding the album's legacy on Brand New, on the genres of post-hardcore, indie rock and emo, and on music as a whole.

In a retrospective review, Ian Cohen of Pitchfork said that "by leaving his words and intentions up to interpretation, Lacey unwittingly shifted from a minor celebrity to a generational voice", giving the album an 8.5 out of 10 and comparing it to other critically acclaimed indie rock records of the 2000s such as Kid A and The Moon & Antarctica.

"[95] In an article titled "The Immortality of Brand New's 'The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me'", Vice staff writer Ryan Bassil declared "by cutting to the core of the darkest elements of the human experience, never answering any questions, but presenting the feeling within them, it is a record that has the ability to grow with the listener, gaining more and more significance as life goes on.

Tour mate and friend of the band Kevin Devine reflected on the first time he heard the track "Jesus Christ", praising it as "the best song [Brand New] had ever written... emotionally, educationally, intellectually, structurally, in every way".

[95] Andy Hull, frontman of American indie rock band Manchester Orchestra, complimented Lacey on being "a very clever songwriter", while guitarist Mike Weiss of mewithoutYou compared the influence of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me to that of Nirvana's Nevermind in how it "acted as sort of a pioneering watermark for musical genres that existed in our country", noting how it "broke the barrier [and]... destroyed that entire limitation, that boundary – and that is the importance of this record.

"[97] Jason Tate, the founder of music website AbsolutePunk, said that "After Brand New released Devil and God, you’d see all these bands that had been playing pop-punk make their attempt at a rock opus.

When discussing her opinions on being the subject of such a notable image, Prior answered, "She's seen her likeness in stores, on T-shirts and tattooed on people's arms... while it's always meant something positive to her, I think the significance of it grows and evolves and she does.