Aiding & Abetting gave Big Shiny Spears a mixed review, praising the production but noting that "this sort of music works much better at a higher speed, and that's all there is to it" and "there's not much substance behind the great sound."[3] The album was similarly received by Larry Dean Miles at Black Monday, who gave the album a mixed review but praised Nitzer Ebb's "Join in the Murderous Chant" and said "ILC have done justice here, creating another masterpiece from the parts of previous, god-like songs"[4] Scott Hefflon of Lollipop Magazine compared the material favorably to Cubanate, saying "a few dull-as-a-dead-fuck instrumentals ensure their searching artiste credentials, and the White Zombified vocals ensure that the kids’ll just love it."[5] A critic at Sonic Boom agreed, saying "the album appears very lopsided in places, and should probably be considered as a new Acumen release rather than a collaboration effort." However, they noted that "there are plenty of the usual tongue in cheek lyrical wonderments as well as a healthy dose of chunky guitars to thrill the headbanger in you."[6]
