Holger Stratmann of "Rock Hard", who rated the album nine out of ten, praised HIM's ability to surpass their debut and their skill to write "simple, compact earworms". Particular praise was also given to Valo's vocals and Gas Lipstick's drumming, which were echoed by Antti Mattila of "Soundi", who awarded the album four stars out of five. Mattila compared the material as being lighter and more accessible than the band's debut, and commended the album's production, remarking: "a sound this strong isn't created out of nothing". "Rumba"'s Tero Valkonen gave "Razorblade Romance" eight out of ten, praising both the performances of the band and Valo, but noted the production as "playing it safe". Jarkko Jokelainen of "Helsingin Sanomat" was generally positive in his review of "Razorblade Romance", giving praise to Valo's performance, but criticized some of the material backing him as sounding "flat". Antti J. Ravelin of Allmusic was mixed in his review, calling the album "over-produced" and awarding it two-and-a-half stars out of five. He did still commend the material and stated that "horrendous cliches in lyrics and playing don't really matter, because HIM recycles them well". He concluded by stating: "the songs as a whole are organized well, and it's easy to listen the album the whole way through."