media response to "calculating infinity" was positive. allmusic writer jason hundey described that the album "spews forth anger and venomous misery in a way that is comparable only to spontaneous combustion", adding that it expands upon "the ultra-aggressive, deliciously technical approach they adopt toward grind and hardcore". hundey praised the release for being "both screechingly abrasive ... and morbidly beautiful", dubbing it "explosive and brilliant" and highlighting the tracks "43% burnt" and "weekend sex change". "decibel" magazine's kevin stewart-panko wrote: "regardless of what you think about "calculating infinity", you can't deny that the 11 tracks on this album revolutionized extreme music and raised the bar in terms of technicality, musicianship, speed, dynamics," describing it as a "groundbreaking metallic hardcore album". the "cmj new music report" noted that "this noisy album is almost painful to listen to, but it's compelling enough to turn you into a happy masochist." "terrorizer" magazine ranked the album as the 15th best release of the year, while "metal hammer" also included it in a retrospective top ten list for 1999 published in 2017.