The following year, Hüsker Dü recorded the double album "Zen Arcade" in 45 hours for the cost of $3,200. "Zen Arcade" is a concept album following a boy who leaves home to face a harsh and unforgiving world. Its artistic and conceptual ambitions were a great stretch given the purist sentiment then prevalent in U.S. punk rock. "Zen Arcade" received critical praise and significant mainstream music press attention, ending up on several year-end best-of lists. It also helped expand the band's audience beyond the punk community. In his review for "Rolling Stone," David Fricke described "Zen Arcade" as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera ... a kind of thrash "Quadrophenia"."