The mildly offensive album art -- essentially, it's a play on the album's title -- disguises the fact that
NOFX
's
punk rock
is hardly breaking new ground. Taking the heavy guitar attack of
the Sex Pistols
and melding it with the us-against-them mentality of mid-'80s American
hardcore
,
winds up sounding like a conservative
punk
band with
metal
leanings. Some of the songs are standouts, but most of the album blends together. As an expression of adolescent rage,
Heavy Petting Zoo
serves its purpose -- it's basically just a barrage of heavy riffs and gut-busting bellowing -- but it doesn't hold up on repeated listens. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine