On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profile" generated by the band's previously released single "Motown Junk" from 1991, "Generation Terrorists" was long-awaited by critics thanks to the members' proclamation that their debut would be the "greatest rock album ever" and sell around sixteen million copies around the world, "from Bangkok to Senegal". Recorded between July and December 1991 and released in February 1992, the album did not meet these sales figures but it was nonetheless ultimately certified Gold in the United Kingdom and also charted within the Top 100 in Japan.