The back cover features bassist Jamie Stewart, and an additional illustration on the insert, from left to right, features Astbury, Duffy, and Stewart. The album cover features guitarist Billy Duffy with his Gibson Les Paul, partially obscuring a picture of vocalist Ian Astbury.
The album reached the Cult's highest chart position in the US, peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200 charts, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 1990. Sonic Temple marked the first time the band worked with Bob Rock, who would later produce The Cult, Beyond Good and Evil, Choice of Weapon and Hidden City. Later on, they tracked a new demo version of the record (15 songs) with Chris Taylor (drummer for the Bob Rock band). During 1988, The Cult recorded the first (14 track) demo version of this album with Eric Singer (of Kiss) on drums.