Intending to create a more refined product over their successful EP, The North Stands for Nothing (2010), the band began preparing the album in late 2010 to early 2011, with recording beginning on 1 November 2011 and concluding in February 2012.

In a video published by the band in October 2010, vocalist Lawrence Taylor spoke of how they'd begun work on new material and that it is "just the beginning of the thinking process".

Bassist Aaran Mackenzie describes him as "the main riff writer" while drummer Adam Savage explains, "[Long] does a lot of pre-pros, then he brings it to the band and we'll have a listen and a jam".

When speaking about working with producer Carl Bown, guitarist Long said that "it's cool having someone we don't really know giving us input" adding that he thinks they need that "outsiders view".

[14][15][16][17] Andrew Neufeld, lead vocalist of the Canadian hardcore punk band Comeback Kid, is featured on the album's opener, "Dead Behind the Eyes".

[13] On 3 April 2012, Daniel P. Carter premiered the track "Dead Behind the Eyes" on BBC Radio 1 – subsequently playing it twice in the same show due to high demand.

Bassist Mackenzie said in an interview "it was weird for something that heavy to be played at about 11:30am" and that it "split the country", drummer Savage added that they "kind of liked how much it pissed [some] people off".

Writing for Big Cheese, Nick Mann praised the authenticity of the album's production, lauding "every instrument sounding crisp, clear and powerful" without adding too many aspects, "meaning that the occasional use of piano and pseudo-choral vocals add to, rather than detract from the underlying intensity that drives the record forward.

"[31] Mann noted the band's metallic intensity was immediately apparent in the first track, "Dead Behind the Eyes", and that this remained consistent throughout the album, further praising "Seven Hills" and "Be(lie)ve" as other standouts.

[36] Jon O'Brien of AllMusic noted that although While She Sleeps were largely overshadowed in the British metalcore scene by fellow Sheffield band Bring Me the Horizon, the record sounded promising enough that "they might not be second-best for too much longer."

O'Brien especially praised the band's more melodic forays away from their heaviest approach such as "Reunite" and the instrumental "The Chapel", though he also recognised that most of the tracks "are designed to be shouted along with from the rooftops".