Guitarist Jeff Loomis revealed in an interview that This Godless Endeavor is not a concept album but a "topic-to-topic" album, with all the songs addressing "real-life issues" that can "allegorically refer to the loss of identity, the system that we live in, the meaning of life, the denouncement of God as a solution to all the problems caused by the conflicts initiated by various religions in different parts of the world.

[14] AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia praised "the soaring vocals of Warrel Dane and lead guitar heroics of Jeff Loomis" as "twin beacons shining out from the band's gloriously metallic bulk."

He declared, "Don't forget the near-nine-minute title track, which culminates in what must surely stand as one of Nevermore's most consistent LPs in suitably epic fashion.

The album's review in PopMatters noted the complex influences, highlighting "traces of '80s progressive metal greats such as Queensrÿche, Savatage, and Fates Warning," as well as "monstrous doses of European elements, such as blazingly fast tempos, tautly performed arrangements, and unrelenting blastbeats."

In the Marvel comic Runaways, the character Chase Stein mentions the track "The Psalm of Lydia" to a co-worker as a flirt while at his job at a radio station.