• Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Apr 12, 2011
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 37
  2. Negative: 0 out of 37
Buy Now
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  1. Uncut
    Apr 7, 2011
    60
    These are good songs, but they're so boldly signposted, you can see them miles away. [May 2011, p.85]
  2. Apr 7, 2011
    60
    That said, the occasional ghastly clunker such as Miss the Misery apart, the songs do their job ruthlessly and brutally. But there's a welcome lighter touch on I Should Have Known, Grohl's touching address to Cobain (featuring Nirvana's Krist Novoselic on bass and accordion), and Walk, perhaps the most satisfying Foo rocker since Learn to Fly.
  3. Apr 15, 2011
    50
    It is exactly as you would have expected it to sound, and ultimately that isn't enough for anyone who doesn't rush out on the day of release to buy their albums.
  4. Apr 13, 2011
    60
    Wasting Light appears to be just another good, if forgettable, entry in the Foo Fighters catalogue.
  5. Apr 21, 2011
    60
    It sounds like fun was had in Dave Grohl's garage, but this good album could've been great had they spent more time songwriting prior to plugging in and cranking up.
  6. 40
    The three-year gap between albums will ensure this tops next week's album chart, but it's a drab, unrewarding experience.
  7. Apr 7, 2011
    60
    Really, though, this is nothing more than business as usual: some killer, some filler.
  8. Kerrang!
    Apr 21, 2011
    60
    This is a largely unimpressive album. [9 Apr 2011, p.50]
  9. Apr 11, 2011
    50
    It's all competently done, but none of it matches the invention of Grohl's drumming in the last decade with Queens of the Stone Age, Probot or Them Crooked Vultures.
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 237 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 5 out of 237
  1. Apr 21, 2011
    10
    rarely have i been so enthusiastic about an album as i have been for Wasting Light. easily the best record i have listened to in the lastrarely have i been so enthusiastic about an album as i have been for Wasting Light. easily the best record i have listened to in the last couple years. can't give it anything but a straight 10/10. well done boys you are well and truly back to your best. keeping rock alive since 1995! Full Review »
  2. Apr 17, 2011
    10
    This is a tremendous album (beyond that statement, I'm not sure a new Foo fan will understand my review). Within the history of Foo FightersThis is a tremendous album (beyond that statement, I'm not sure a new Foo fan will understand my review). Within the history of Foo Fighters albums, "Wasting Light" holds a very complicated place. It pulls the band even further away from the post grunge aesthetic, a pull that began with "Echoes." But "All My Life" was a foreshadow for this record. And "White Limo" reminds me a lot of "Wattershed." And Pat Smear is back in the band. "Wasting Light" dabbles much, much less with pop rock sensibilities. But not completely (see "Back and Forth"). Certainly it's the band's seventh album in its 16 year career, but "Walk," "Times Like These," and "These Days" make the album feel wiser and more serious than anything Foo Fighters has ever done. But not completely (seen the "White Limo" video?). For as much as there is on "Wasting Light" that makes it so different from earlier Foo albums, there's almost as much that proves it hasn't fallen far from the band's tree. Great songs that kick butt from a band that enjoys kicking your butt. Full Review »
  3. Mar 9, 2013
    10
    That's for sure the best record by Foo Fighters. And it is also the best album of 2011, with R.E.M.'s Collapse Into Now. The sound is veryThat's for sure the best record by Foo Fighters. And it is also the best album of 2011, with R.E.M.'s Collapse Into Now. The sound is very good and I think Walk is one of their best song ever. Foo Fighters are most of the present of rock. Very well done! Full Review »