To suggest that Progressive Rock is a dead genre is factually untrue. However, there are these bands out there today who clearly present a classic Progressive sound, yet do not announce themselves as such. Case in point; THE ROCKFORD HEROES. This Swedish Quartet present a refreshing, classic Progressive Rock sound right from the get-go on their debut EP "Light Scares".

The first thing that came to my mind when I was listening to the opening track "Streets Of Gold" was that RUSH is the one band I would suggest that THE ROCKFORD HEROES sound like the most. Unfortunately, I can't say that THE ROCKFORD HEROES grip the imagination while making heads nod in enjoyment quite as well as RUSH does, but they have a pretty enjoyable sound nonetheless.

There isn't really a whole lot to say about this EP, other than that it's a well orchestrated piece of work from a up-and-coming Rock band with a Progressive Rock sound. The best track on here was "Streets Of Gold" in my opinion, and next two tracks are pretty solid as well. The EP does kind of lose steam by the time we get halfway through "Love Lies Bleeding" and doesn't really recover after that. So, basically, this would have been an 8/10 if it were just the first 3 songs.

The sound is pretty good for a smaller band, and the songs are overall well-written, and well-performed. So this release merits a nod of approval even acknowledging its lack of originality and uniqueness. It's pretty good; to sum it up bluntly. You can get it for free off the band's website, so I recommend checking it out. Hopefully we'll see a major release from this band fairly soon.