GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

64 A Camp
78 Akron/Family
73 Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
74 Amazing Baby
62 Tori Amos
54 The Answer
74 Anti-Flag
74 Art Brut
71 Au Revoir Simone
65 Zee Avi
70 Bachelorette
77 Bat For Lashes
68 Big Business
76 Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
67 Black Dice
57 Black Eyed Peas
74 Black Moth Super Rainbow
71 Blank Dogs
65 Booker T.
54 The Boxmasters
65 The Boy Least Likely To
74 Brakes [aka brakesbrakesbrakes]
68 British Sea Power
66 Jeff Buckley
75 Busdriver
59 Busta Rhymes
64 Cage The Elephant
82 Bill Callahan
80 Camera Obscura
68 Cam'ron
79 Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
58 Chester French
82 The Church
61 Ciara
72 Clues
69 The Coathangers
74 Jarvis Cocker
90 Leonard Cohen
70 Elvis Costello
66 Graham Coxon
76 Crippled Black Phoenix
71 The Crocodiles
69 Cryptacize
71 Crystal Antlers
56 The Crystal Method
69 Dananananaykroyd
76 Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse
71 De La Soul
77 Death Cab For Cutie
68 Deer Tick
81 Deerhunter
70 Depeche Mode
78 Dinosaur Jr.
85 Dirty Projectors
86 DJ Quik & Kurupt
77 Doves
68 Dredg
76 Bob Dylan
82 Steve Earle
70 Eels
62 El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez
58 Eminem
60 Empire Of The Sun
54 The Enemy
67 Jeremy Enigk
68 Nathan Fake
85 The Felice Brothers
79 The Field
65 Fink
60 Fischerspooner
77 Flatlanders
62 Flo Rida
64 Franz Ferdinand
77 Gallows
72 Melody Gardot
59 Ginuwine
71 Golden Silvers
61 Gomez
69 Grand Duchy
73 Great Lake Swimmers
59 Great Northern
72 Green Day
86 Grizzly Bear
75 The Handsome Family
69 Ben Harper And Relentless7
75 PJ Harvey & John Parish
66 Heaven & Hell
85 Levon Helm
74 The Hold Steady
79 Patterson Hood
75 Jon Hopkins
82 The Horrors
69 Hanne Hukkelberg
74 Ida Maria
65 Immaculate Machine
75 The Intelligence
76 Iron & Wine
79 Isis
68 It Hugs Back
88 J Dilla aka Jay Dee
61 Jadakiss
86 Japandroids
61 Joan Of Arc
84 Joe Lovano Us Five
72 John Doe & The Sadies
70 Joker's Daughter
62 Jonas Brothers
53 Mike Jones
71 The Juan Maclean
76 Junior Boys
68 Kasabian
74 Diana Krall
56 Lady Sovereign
43 Ben Lee
68 The Lemonheads
76 Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
77 Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
65 Little Boots
79 The Low Anthem
67 Jason Lytle
75 The Maccabees
76 Magik Markers
80 Major Lazer
70 Malajube
71 Manchester Orchestra
85 Manic Street Preachers
57 Marilyn Manson
66 The Mars Volta
68 Dave Matthews Band
62 Maximo Park
70 Meat Puppets
80 Method Man & Redman
77 Metric
75 Micachu & The Shapes
69 Chrisette Michele
76 Miike Snow
67 Mika Miko
75 Rhett Miller
49 Mims
72 Mr. Lif
72 Moby
78 Moderat
70 Mandy Moore
80 Mos Def
70 Bob Mould
74 Nadja
72 New York Dolls
72 Nite Jewel
67 NOFX
76 Noisettes
60 Paolo Nutini
67 Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
74 Papercuts
76 Passion Pit
74 Peaches
71 Pet Shop Boys
68 Peter Bjorn And John
82 Phoenix
76 Pink Mountaintops
63 Placebo
66 Pomegranates
64 Iggy Pop
67 Prefuse 73
81 Ramblin' Jack Elliott
76 Rancid
54 Rascal Flatts
68 Lionel Richie
77 Alasdair Roberts
73 Rick Ross
55 Asher Roth
72 Savath & Savalas
61 Polly Scattergood
65 The Shortwave Set
60 Shout Out Out Out Out
66 Silversun Pickups
85 Todd Snider
78 Sonic Youth
72 The Soundcarriers
61 The Sounds
74 Regina Spektor
63 Spinal Tap
65 Spinnerette
81 St. Vincent
59 Still Flyin'
58 Street Sweeper Social Club
87 Sunn O)))
82 Sunset Rubdown
84 Super Furry Animals
74 Richard Swift
78 Taking Back Sunday
85 Tanya Morgan
81 Otis Taylor
71 Telekinesis
70 Telepathe
80 Thee Oh Sees
79 The Thermals
74 Rob Thomas
64 Thunderheist
74 Tiga
57 Tinted Windows
72 Tortoise
82 Allen Toussaint
71 Trembling Bells
69 Two Fingers
84 UGK
68 Keith Urban
71 John Vanderslice
85 The Vaselines
74 The Veils
73 Viva Voce
63 Patrick Watson
79 White Denim
77 White Rabbits
57 The Whitest Boy Alive
74 Wilco
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
78 Wolves In The Throne Room
65 The Wooden Birds
67 Wooden Shjips
81 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
70 Pete Yorn
93 Neil Young
60 Neil Young
72 Yusuf

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Heathen Chemistry
by Oasis

Oasis reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 55 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.4 out of 10
based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 69 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

This is the fifth studio album for the one-time superstars, who now retain only the brothers Gallagher from their original lineup. Former Ride guitarist Andy Bell and Heavy Stereo bassist Gem Archer make their first studio appearances as members of the band, and in an Oasis first, all four members share in the songwriting.

LABEL: Sony
RELEASE DATE: 02 July 2002
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Alternative, Rock, Britpop

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Blender
Sounds like a band back on track. [#8, p.120]
80
New Musical Express
Oasis can't help but sound like a group battling to free themselves from being last century's thing.
Read Full Review
80
Launch.com
Oasis is back, and in top form.
Read Full Review
80
CDNow
Heathen Chemistry finds the quintet back in cracking mid-'90s form.
Read Full Review
75
E! Online
Pretty much the same Beatles-esque pub-rock with Middle Eastern punches you'd expect--though with more shared singing and songwriting duties than past outings have had.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters
Heathen Chemistry gets back to what Oasis do well.
Read Full Review
70
Billboard
While the electronic flourishes and arrogant bombast that respectively marred the band's last two efforts are thankfully gone, there's nothing on Heathen Chemistry to suggest that the "Wonderwall" commercial glory days of the mid-'90s are coming back.
Read Full Review
70
Dot Music
Essentially, Oasis have tentatively begun to master the art of becoming veterans: writing songs that reflect their circumstances and not a mythical image of what they once were; songs that suggest there's life in the old beast yet.
Read Full Review
67
Entertainment Weekly
A step up from the previous two tossers. [12 July 2002, p.84]
60
All Music Guide
It's hard not to find this album kind of disappointing, a confirmation that no matter what they do, Oasis Mach II will never have the sheer abandon or thrill as Definitely Maybe through Morning Glory.
Read Full Review
60
Rolling Stone
As on the last few Oasis outings, particularly the arrogant Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, from 2000, Noel's nerdy-architect tendencies are counterbalanced by the bratty and hedonistic snarl of his brother Liam.
Read Full Review
60
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Those who are already fond of the band, and who go into Chemistry with a proper sense of lowered expectations, should leave entertained.
Read Full Review
60
Vibe
Crackles with anger, energy, and defiance. [Aug 2002, p.156]
50
Mojo
There's got to be something better, man. [July 2002, p.94]
50
Uncut
The new material, with some exceptions, lacks spark and flair, having a sense of anti-climax about it. [Aug 2002, p.106]
40
Alternative Press
Noel Gallagher's songwriting is more derivative than ever. [Aug 2002, p.78]
40
Playlouder
That the band that churned out some of the best records ever made in a phenomenal two-year creative splurge should be reduced to anything as pubby as this is nothing short of tragic.
Read Full Review
40
Spin
The good news is that they haven't completely lost their nerve; they still play their bombastic brat-rock like it's the apotheosis of Western pop culture. Sadly, this is also the bad news. [Aug 2002, p.113]
40
Q Magazine
Any good news – Liam’s decent fist of songwriting, the less oppressive sound, the professional playing – is rendered largely irrelevant by the gaping chasm where more decent songs should be.
Read Full Review
30
New York Magazine
Psychedelia is really only compelling when ego takes a backseat to kaleidoscopic music, and the Gallaghers are, of course, incapable of such a gesture.
Read Full Review
30
Village Voice
Nowadays, the Gallaghers can only offer stylized guitar murk and hookless acoustic ditties; even scarier, you can understand their lyrics, which are more mush-headed and lovey-dovey than you'd expect from a band this self-satisfied.
Read Full Review
12
Pitchfork
Heathen Chemistry also takes the time to cop riffs and progressions from previous Oasis hits.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 69 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eric C gave it a0:
Pick up a guitar, put your fingers anywhere on the strings, and just strum that cord over and over. Than sing whatever the hell you want, or just whine in a singing voice, and you have as much creativity as a band like Oasis.

Sean gave it a10:
Brilliant....Stop comparing everything to Definitely Maybe and look at it as just another album and it comes out brilliant

evan j gave it a10:
This truly a great Oasis album. From the moment it starts to the end of Better Man you're constantly pulled into the album. The production and flow are amazing. Definately one of the most underrated albums ever.

Rico R gave it a9:
I'm tired of people giving this album a bad rap, its got some really great songs. I'm biased perhaps because I first saw oasis play live on the heathen Chemistry tour and I was blown away. These songs have a special place in my heart.

dave n gave it a6:
Nobody in their right mind saw Oasis crashing and burning as much as they did after they released "Morning Glory". The first two CDs were absolutely brilliant, but then they released their third CD and it was crap. It didn't get much better after that. Finally comes Heathen Chemistry which offers a glimmer of hope into Oasis future. While it doesn't even compare to the greatness of "Definitely Maybe" or "Morning Glory" its their best effort besides those two and that definitely provides some light in an otherwise black tunnel.

Steve K gave it a7:
Not bad like some songs solid it led htem to dont believe the truth which is awsomee so good job.

Tony S gave it a7:
This is a good album by Oasis but when you're one of the all time greats, good isn't good enough. There are 6 classics on here but 4 very ordinary tunes a very short instrumental. The band produced the record themselves and apart from a few inspired moments, it's clear the boys should have got someone in, who knows what they're doing. The biggest crime is not knowing how to mix Liams vocals, he sounds too tame on certain tracks here, while Noels voice sounds too loud in the mix on some of his vocals. Overall, a good album but quite forgettable.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use