[6] The band began working on their follow up to The Paradigm Shift in 2015, with Head claiming that it would be "heavier than anyone's heard [us] in a long time".

The song "Take Me" was originally written by Jonathan Davis for his debut solo album, but after hearing it, the rest of Korn re-wrote the track and decided to include it on The Serenity of Suffering.

[7] The artwork includes the stuffed toy from Korn's fourth album, Issues, and was created by Ron English.

[11] AllMusic wrote: "Without pandering to career-peak nostalgia, Korn deftly execute all the hallmarks that have come to define their sound", calling it "one of their best albums".

"[17] A less favorable review came from Rolling Stone, writing: "Suffering is heavy enough to stand proudly in the Korn kanon, but not daring enough to be much else.