The album cover was chosen from contest entries submitted on Myspace.

[4] AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson stated that, while the album was not "essential", it was "a solid and well-executed effort" by the band, singling out "Breathe Again", "Monster", "A War Never Won" and "Company of Sorrow" in particular as standout tracks on the album.

[1] Metal Storm reviewer found the album solid and "extremely pleasant but not sensational", because Metal Church did not "take any risk with this new release" and kept the songs "really simple and not original.

reviewer Keith Carman praised Ronny Munroe's performance which he compared to Bruce Dickinson's, but found the music old-fashioned and "mired in more crooning, stock riffs and mid-tempo beats than anything truly engaging", concluding that "This Present Wasteland is a fitting moniker for a band living off nostalgia more than current ability.

"[7] Rock Hard reviewer called the current line-up "only a shadow of the aggressive quintet of the past" and remarked the scarce originality of the compositions and the pessimistic mood of the album.