The song received polarized reviews from contemporary music critics; although many perceived it as a highlight on the album and noted its radio appeal, others saw it as an unworthy comeback with a generic sound. In a review of "The Open Door", R.J. Carter of the music website "The Trades" said that "Call Me When You're Sober" has a "perfect" intro that shows Lee's vocal ability and added that the song is "the album's standout performance". A writer from "The Boston Globe" deemed the song the album's "hard-charging opening salvo". Ed Thompson of IGN picked the song as one of the album's highlights. AllMusics Stephen Thomas Erlewine picked the song as one of the album's three highlights, saying that it had structure, hooks and momentum. In his review of "The Open Door" for the "Hartford Courant", Eric R. Danton observed that Lee was more certain and in charge of the whole album, something he found to be exemplified on the "terse rocker" with an "acerbic message" that is "Call Me When You're Sober". "The New York Times" Kelefa Sanneh praised Lee's vocal performance calling it "terrific"; he noted that the song "crashes through different styles while remaining diabolically hummable". Sanneh further classified the song as "classic Evanescence", which according to him meant "bombastic, meticulously produced... unreasonably addictive". The writer went on to describe the song's chorus as "grandiose" and its bridge as "glorious, glimmering".