Critic's Review
Pemberton Roach, All Music Guide
Heavy Pettin', while created by a group of obviously talented musicians, is a classic illustration of the wisdom of the A&R man's maxim, "it ain't nuthin' without a hit song." Produced by the venerable Brian May of Queen, the guitars are big, the drums are bigger, and the vocals are appropriately high pitched and screechy. Unfortunately, there isn't a truly memorable hook anywhere on this album. Bits and pieces of Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and Kiss pop out here and there to tease the listener, but no song ever really delivers on its initial promise. On the upside, dual lead guitarists Punky Mendoza and Gordon Bonnar have some absolutely furious guitar chops, which repeatedly threaten to sustain one's interest. In fact, this is an album that has many of the elements for greatness, but also a few fatal flaws. In addition to the unimaginative melody writing, a big part of the problem is lead singer Hamie, whose lyrics are often flat-out amateurish and whose voice, when it isn't doing that annoying David Lee Roth falsetto "Ow!" thing, seems to be continually hovering around the same whiny note. It's really too bad, because the members of Heavy Pettin' seem like they're having a blast. That said, this album is definitely of interest to guitar players looking for some lesser-known but totally rippin' riffing, or perhaps TV sitcom directors desirous of some non-descript early-'80s metal background music for the ubiquitous "teenage daughter goes to her first rock concert" episode.
