They started off being influenced more by NWOBHM, covering Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang etc. live and the demos were certainly more metal but even the debut had rounded off some of those rough edges.
To be fair, their label's strategy to bring in Bruce Fairburn & change to a more melodic radio-friendly direction did actually work .... just not for BnB, but for Bon Jovi.
I like the first 3 albums personally. In Heat has some good moments but was largely a let down.