The album is one of David Tibet's more personal records, with several songs dedicated to friends, colleagues and people he had met.

The liner notes indicate that some believed Hitler was Kalki, the tenth and final incarnation of Vishnu, who would destroy the cosmos upon a white horse at the end of each world cycle.

On its 2003 re-release, the cover sported Tibet's face again, though a second re-issue a year later on Durtro Jnana Records (due to World Serpent's sudden disappearance) featured a beige-toned pattern across the portrait.

These later pressings included a bonus disc titled The Thunder, Perfect Mind which contained outtakes and alternate mixes of songs, as well as five live tracks recorded in Paris on 15 December 1990.

All of the studio tracks save "Red House" and an acoustic version of "Anyway, People Die" had previously appeared on Emblems: The Menstrual Years.