[1] On September 3, 2019, the singer teased the release by posting a painting of an angelic figure whose hands touch a sword pierced into a planet resembling earth.

"[5] Selim Bulut of Dazed Digital described the track as "a more ethereal piece of electro-pop, driven by a thumping kickdrum and synth arp bassline".

[5] Writing for Uproxx, Derrick Rossignol noted that "it's an engaging piece of atmospheric but dance-ready electronic pop" and compared it to some of her previous works.

[7] In his review of Grimes' album, Miss Anthropocene, Anna Richmond described "Violence" as a song about "an abusive relationship, [...] only understood as being sung by the actual Earth to the very crisis of climate change" and, sonically, "four-to-the-floor trance with a Madonna-esque vocal melody".

[citation needed] After reading the book, Grimes is then seen performing dances among a group of female warriors whose movements mimic war combats;[14] all of them are wearing facemasks to obscure their features.