"Rolling Stone" staff writer J. D. Considine gave "Louder Than Love" three and a half out of five stars, saying that "Chris Cornell has the sort of soaring, muscular voice Ian Astbury can only dream of, while guitarist Kim Thayil comes across like The Edge with an attitude". He stated that "the songs on "Louder Than Love" are mean, lean and fighting fit". However, Considine criticized Cornell's lyrics, observing that "much of what the band has to say is clichéd, confused or generally incomprehensible". He ended his review by saying that "even when his lyrics are as dumb as rocks ... Cornell delivers them with such full-throated intensity that they actually sound impressive." Allmusic staff writer Steve Huey gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "too much of the album drifts along without focus or variety." Critic Robert Christgau gave the album a C+, stating that it is "covertly conceptual, arty in spite of itself, and I bet metal fans don't bite".