The album uses electronic drums rather than acoustic drums. The title track utilizes a unique compositional technique described by Satriani as pitch axis theory, which consists of shifting modes underneath a pedal tone (in this case, E). "The Enigmatic" uses the enigmatic scale.[3] "Rubina" is one of two tracks named after his wife, the other being "Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" on The Extremist (1992). "The Headless Horseman" is performed entirely using a two-handed tapping technique, and was revisited in the form of "Headless" on Flying in a Blue Dream (1989). Not of This Earth has been reissued several times. The original cover art used for the first vinyl and CD editions was lost early on, having since been replaced with an alternate cover which has been used for all releases since 1988. Notably the guitar, an Ibanez 540S, with which Satriani is pictured on this second edition cover was never actually used by him, instead being merely "a promo shot that got too much press" Phil Carter at AllMusic gave Not of This Earth four stars out of five, describing it as having "superior compositions, a signature style, a unique tone, and playing that's out of this world." He praised Satriani's "fluid playing and wicked licks [that] are enough to drop jaws and widen eyes" and that "There isn't a weak track on this disc" 1. "Not of This Earth" 4:04 2. "The Snake" 4:43 3. "Rubina" 5:56 4. "Memories" 4:06 5. "Brother John" 2:10 6. "The Enigmatic" 3:26 7. "Driving at Night" 3:33 8. "Hordes of Locusts" 4:59 9. "New Day" 3:52 10. "The Headless Horseman" 1:53
Joe Satriani – guitar, keyboard, percussion, bass, production John Cuniberti – vocals (track 10), percussion, engineering, mixing, production Jeff Campitelli – drums, percussion, DX, whistle Bernie Grundman – mastering
