"The 2nd Law" has had a lasting impact on Muse's career, marking a new chapter in their musical evolution. The album's success helped to establish the band as one of the leading rock acts of the 2010s, and paved the way for their subsequent releases, including "Drones" (2015) and "Simulation Theory" (2018). The album's themes of disorder and chaos also resonated with fans, who have interpreted the music as a reflection of their own experiences and emotions.
The Stanford Daily called the production "glossy and its scope massive" but noted that the "loose collection of mostly unglued or cliché songs remains ultimately unmemorable". Ultimate Guitar's review, which gave the album a user score of 7.4 out of 10, praised the fun, Prince-esque energy of "Panic Station" and the flamenco-inflected "Animals" while dismissing the dubstep-influenced closing tracks as "laughable" and "flat". muse the 2nd law 2012 flac