The first thing you will notice when listening to the first release, "Edge Of The Silverthorn" from Sweden's THE ROCKFORD HEROES, is the interesting mix of influences at work. It's like a giant slab of classic 70s Hard Rock collided with 90s era Metal. I can hear QUEEN, FOREIGNER, and WHITESNAKE mixing with a clear SAVATAGE and QUEENSRYCH influence.

I want to say that vocalist Dan Hultstrand sounds like someone, yet I can't really put my finger on whom it is. He's clearly taken his influences and combined them perfectly to form his own niche.

The songs are well written but don't always work for me on all levels. "The Day of Return" works well. "Forever", a ballad sounds forced. Hultstrand just doesn't sound comfortable singing it. He shines on the heavier songs when he can stretch his vocals in an almost Bruce Dickenson way.

This is, overall, an interesting listen. You clearly hear the band has a lot of talent to work with and really shines in places. There are also spots that could have reworked or thought out more. Definitely not a bad record and I believe it's a good start for this band. With time, they could really grow into their sound and become something great.

I think this band would benefit greatly from working with someone like Dennis Ward who could really tweak their sound on the production end and add a definite bit of experience in the songwriting side.

Again, I'm not knocking their sound. It's done well yet you can hear that this is a band with great potential that could really be brought forward. I look forward to hearing more from them and would gladly pay to see their live show.