In an interview with Jo Whiley prior to the first play of the single "Magazine", singer Tom Smith said: "We had a lot of help from a guy called Blanck Mass, who makes very brutal electronic music.

When asked about the content of the album Smith said: "There's a thread on a lot of these songs – the need for human connection or coming together as people; an intimacy, with a loved one or a friend, as an escape from the outside world.

[5] Andrew Trendell of NME awarded the album with 4 out of 5 stars, using the track "No Sound but the Wind" as a symbol for the band's improvement over the last records with Violence: "It's an aching but hopeful lament to marching on against the odds.

"[9] Matt Collar, writing for AllMusic, gave the album 4 out of 5 stars: "With Violence, the Editors have crafted a big pop album on their own terms, rife with grand, operatic gestures and heat-seeking hooks that cut deep, just as they put salve on your wounds.

"[10] Writing for Drowned in Sound, Cady Siregar gave the album a rating of 7 out of 10, the same score Violence's predecessor In Dream received.

"[8] Similarly, Richard Driver of PopMatters, while awarding the album with 7 out of 10 stars and drawing a positive conclusion, writes: "Violence sounds too much like Editors sought to remake themselves as part of a worthy collaboration with artist Blanck Mass under leadership by producer Leo Abrahams, with success intermittent and weak spots highlighted inadvertently.