Rolling Stone affirmed that "this music isn't supposed to be fun," and continued: "Rage Against the Machine have jacked up the
sociopolitical siege mentality in their
metallic hip – hop to such a
dogmatic degree – and honed their sound to such maniacally shrill perfection – that the band and the roaring joys of its harangue 'n' roll seem virtually sexless."
AllMusic reviewer
Stephen Thomas Erlewine was less impressed, citing the band as "lacking the dexterity to fully execute their metal/hip-hop fusion," and concludes that "
Evil Empire succeeds only on the level of a sonic assault."
Walter Schreifels, frontman and guitarist of
Quicksand, included the album on his list of the ten best in the
post-hardcore genre. He adds it exposed a more general audience to hardcore, who were unaware of such, more so than the band's
self-titled debut album, which is more rooted in rock and hip-hop. Andrew Flory and John Covach, in their book ''What's That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History'' declared the album is what cemented the band as "an important force in the
rap-rock style. In 2024,
Loudwire staff elected it as the best hard rock album of 1996. ==Track listing==