Reviews for "Human Clay" were largely positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that the record "does make it clear that there is an audience for post-grunge hard rock, as long as it's delivered without pretension and as long as it meets the audience's desire for straight-ahead, hard-hitting music." The lyrical content of "Human Clay" is a slight departure from that of "My Own Prison", touching on subjects such as fatherhood ("With Arms Wide Open") and lucid dreaming ("Higher"), as well as darker, more violent themes such as sexual abuse ("Wash Away Those Years") and hostility ("What If").