Metascore
42

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 19
  2. Negative: 6 out of 19
  1. It never seems like a collaboration, it seems like it was assembled by committee, discussed in boardrooms, farmed out to contract players and stitched together on computer.
  2. What we get when we put the pieces together: an album where every single song is approximately the same length; an album where you could take apart any one track, combine those segments with other stray bits of the album, and still have the same basic entity you started with; an album whose choruses consist of phrases like “No, that bitch ain’t a part of me” repeated eight times; an album that, above all else, does not want you to think about it too hard.
  3. The idea of Cornell's sex-god wail over Timbaland's mechanized funk is appealing. But Scream draws out the worst tendencies in both of them.
  4. Timbaland rose to the challenge of making Chris Cornell a solo star by producing arguably the worst album he’s ever had a hand in.
  5. Scream veers between drab–sleek and rock–dude soulful; Cornell's yowl never sounds at home.
  6. The record sounds phoned in, plain and simple, and its awkward concessions to cliche, its trash heap lyrical conceits, and its dopey production have a cumulative effect that would be insulting if it weren’t so transparently uninspired and uninteresting.
User Score
4.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 151 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 151
  2. Negative: 82 out of 151
  1. Oct 17, 2020
    10
    Chris Cornell's voice does work well with Timbaland's production. This album has aged well.
  2. Aug 25, 2019
    10
    If you can just analyze this album outside the perspective of a rock fan, you will love it. It's 2019 and sounds good even now, and I couldIf you can just analyze this album outside the perspective of a rock fan, you will love it. It's 2019 and sounds good even now, and I could say sounds better than when it was released. Full Review »
  3. Dec 9, 2014
    8
    Nothing like his great first album, or his excellent Soundgarden or Temple of the Dog work, but this is soo much better than Carry On. AfterNothing like his great first album, or his excellent Soundgarden or Temple of the Dog work, but this is soo much better than Carry On. After hearing that this was a Timbaland album, and what with Carry On being rather uninspiring, I avoided buying Scream until last month - a good first impression and it continues to grow on me. Well worth it Full Review »