At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
Andrew Dietzel of PopMatters gave the album 9 stars out of 10, saying, "By the Throat, succinct and emotive, is the perfect convergence of styles, attacking the listener's jugular with a powerful punk thrust, cynical observations, and an out-and-out assault on hip-hop's standards."[7] Adam Figman of URB gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying: "Combined with newly found experiences, newly discovered self-awareness and newly refined skills, By the Throat catches this almost forgotten duo at a new height of their combined powers."[8]