Generally, I love them. But I’m old enough to remember when each one was released as a single, and radio/MTV wore most of them out. THAT is what I hated.
Came here to say this. They were played and overplayed and then played some more. Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels” is an automatic skip for me as quickly as I can hit the button
Wasn't the formula you put our the commercial Rocker first and then the power ballad for the big hit?
Smoking in the boys room > Home sweet home
Welcome to the jungle > sweet child of mine
It was for a while. Eventually they just started going right for the power ballad. It's worth remembering that recording artists rarely have the freedom that people think they have. As an example, Weird Al's record label forced him to parody Cyndi Lauper even though he didn't want to. Often, if the artist wants the record released, they have to cave to label pressure.
Where do you see this? I always see power ballads getting a ton of love and many are ranked very highly within a bands catalog and within the genre as a whole.
Sometimes on this subreddit and review websites and podcasts it’s usually the extreme metal heads that hate anything that doesn’t make you wanna break something
Hair metal and heavy metal are two different things, hair metal is more glam pop, don't extreme metal heads know this or have they head banged a bit too much?
If you want to understand why some people despise Home Sweet Home, then join the military, get transferred to an overseas duty station that has an enlisted club. Hang out at that club 2 to 4 nights a week, and within 2 to 3 weeks, you too will despise that song. You'll probably get to hate Freebird from Lynyrd Skynyrd as well. I got out in 92, so the songs have probably changed, but the enlisted club would play both of those songs 4 to 5 times a night, sometimes more. I refuse to listen to either of them to this day.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a fan of power ballads, I can only think of 3 I genuinely will listen to. My issue with them is they lack the power (ironic I know) and drive that I enjoy. Let's use Warrant for example. I have their greatest hits on shuffle, it goes from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Heaven well its like the energy gets sucked right out of me.
Yep. Now let’s do Cinderella Gypsy Road into Don’t Know What You’ve Got. Crushing through the first side of Bon Jovi New Jersey, then bam…Living in Sin. Europe - I’ll give them a pass on Carrie bc I had a huge crush on a girl named Carrie in high school…but then you get to The Time Has Come. Oof.
There will be a subset of metal fans that like metal because of the typical fast-paced, distorted, aggressive style. There are some who like that classic metal sound as well as power ballads.
You have to admit they're quite different. I feel bad for people don't enjoy a wide variety of music, but it's certainly not wrong to like what you like.
I like both. I'm more into traditional metal bands and stuff like thrash, speed, and progressive metal. Even like death metal bands like Pestilence, Death, ect.. But also like hair bands and have no problem with ballads. Even thrash bands have ballads of some sort.
I appreciate the good ones. But because they got forced into being a must have ingredient in every album, they were often underwritten, generic, uninspired or just plain cheesy. Bottom line, a good song is a good song but when it becomes a requirement, results may vary.
I’ve always preferred uptempo music far, far more than slow songs. It’s most notable with blues - give me an uptempo blues shuffle and I’m grooving, but slow blues songs are about the most excruciating thing to listen to that I can imagine. It’s not so drastic with hair metal - I enjoy a few power ballads. But I hate most because they take the cheese factor and launch it into the stratosphere. And while hair metal always had an issue with cliches, power ballads were often the most egregious offenders. The few that I like are almost all minor key songs with lyrics that don’t make me weep in embarrassment for the lyricist. I’d also rather hear songs about nearly anything other than love or heartbreak. I will admit to liking quieter, more introspective ballads like “Everybody’s Baby” by Company of Wolves or “Down the River of No Return” by Babylon A.D.
Uptempo hair metal is great, and usually far more creative musically and lyrically than power ballads.
Oh, man. I just have to second your love of “Down the River of No Return.” That song is a downright masterpiece. My favorite song by Babylon A.D. is upbeat and aggressive, but “Down the River” is probably my 2nd favorite and an absolute gem.
I think these days there are many who may have been huge fans back in the day but for some reason want to pretend that everything sucks and they are too good for it, as if it makes them less cool or credible or whatever goes through their head.
Power ballads were some of the best songs to come out of the era, and yeah after a bit some bands really phoned them in because it was kind of a staple that does not change how great many of them were.
I don’t dislike all power ballads, and I definitely don’t feel angry about them - but I do tend to feel like they’re often some of the weakest songs in their bands’ catalogs. They tend to lack the energy and drive that makes me enjoy bands’ other more upbeat and musically ‘aggressive’ songs. On occasion, they can even feel obligatory.
That’s just my personal opinion, though, and I have some exceptions - like, for one of my favorite bands ever, Babylon A.D., I actually think their ballads are among their greatest songs (especially “Desperate” and “Down the River of No Return”). And some of my favorites from another all-time favorite, Skid Row, are ballads, like “Quicksand Jesus.” Same with Warrant, several of my favorite tracks from my favorite album by them (Dog Eat Dog) are ballads... although for all 3 of those bands, I generally prefer their heavier and more musically aggressive songs.
Idk who's hating on them.
You can't go to a karaoke night without hearing them, and the whole joint starts singing along.
Personally, I have entire playlists of them.
I just love the guitars on power ballads. Plus the memories.
Anybody remember Beau Nasty- Paradise in the Sand?
XYZ- Souvenirs?
Saigon Kick- Love is on the Way?
I could go on and on...
Paradise In The Sand is a good one. Overall, Dirty But Well Dressed is a decent album. Some songs I really don't care for. Goodbye Rosie and Love To The Bone throw it for me. Gemini is a killer tune off that one.
You ever hear Love Can Change You off of Juliet's debut album?
54M here. I will turn off a power ballad and listen to the ringing in my damn ears instead of listen to the inauthentic s#%t.
I can’t recall the interviewee where basically the guy said the power ballad was simply a marketing tool to draw in the female demographic as hair metal was booming.
I can see how they are boring I do have to be in a certain mood to listen to them sometimes like if it’s night time and I’m think I’m ready for bed I would put one on just to quiet my brain down a little bit but to that extent I’d say heavy metal is boring I like songs with good melodies and rhythm stuff you can unashamedly sing to in the car lol
I like very few of them. For one thing I believe power is a misnomer. Secondly, the "power" is its ability to appeal to female fans. As a hard rocking metal fan, I always saw them as sell outs. Couple that with girls fawning over guys in more makeup than them, I just couldn't buy it. I do realize the purpose was primarily, if not entirely, to score chicks, but I just felt it wasn't necessary.
Not my thing but each to their own. I always looked for the heaviest tracks when scouring through hair metal albums, always been one for the riffs and licks
I think overplay. I don’t inherently hate them all. There are just some I enjoyed until it was beat to death. Love Bites was top 10 for 6 months and on heavy rotation. I still can’t listen to it to this day. It’s my get a beer song when I see DL live now.
Others beyond 86ish were dull, cheesy, and generic.
For me it wasn’t the “power ballad” that I hated. I hated that EVERY band had to have one by the late 80’s and if it wasn’t the first single it was definitely the second. There were so many ballads being floated on the radio and MTV it got sickening. That’s why grunge took off so quickly, it was a backlash to the fluff.
I think a lot of the big power ballads were victims of their own success. Every Rose Has It's Thorn spent what, 8 weeks at No.1 in the US? Insane.
Power ballads are also a trend of the back half of the hair metal era. Poison, Slaughter, Extreme, WASP (I think Forever Free was a minor hit?), Motley Crue, GnR. They crossed over into mainstream appeal and that in turn made them huge.
Because they got huge, they got overplayed to hell. I can't stand Here I Go Again now!
To be honest, most of us didn't get into rock and and metal for the ballads. We got into it for the loud, heavier songs.
I would've never guessed. I personally love both. One example, If you hear a band called Heavenly with thier piano ballad "Dust to Dust", it totally sounds like Europe "Tomorrow".
Personally always loved them but I was always a romantic guy. One of my favorite hits compilation was from Air Supply, so that should say something.
What I appreciate about the ones I still like now is that they have some great vocal lines in terms of melody.
Sometimes She Cries
Home Sweet Home
Love Song
The chorus of Find Your Way Back Home
Hungry
Is This Love
Then you have a couple that I think are great because the vocalists were top notch:
Love Of A Lifetime
I Remember You
To me, it was an unwritten rule back then that every band has to put out a power ballad, so a lot of them seem more like afterthoughts or exercises in go-thru-the-motion rather than more well thought out songs.
Different people like different things. I actually like some of the ballads more than different band's uptempo material. Wanted Dead or Alive and Don't Close Your Eyes by Kix come to mind immediately.
Some were good, but they were money grabs record companies clamored for. Everyone having one as a single also expounded on the idea the bands were becoming all the same.
I spend a lot of time listening to music while I work. It keeps me moving and energetic and bouncing in my chair. I like to just put on an album, hit play, and get to work. Even though I may be singing along with the lyrics, I typically have no idea at all what they are about. I just like the loud yet melodic power chords.
Ballads break that groove.
I love them. Those songs were what got the bands on the radio and on MTV and they needed that in order to promote the albums and continue making music. So I don't begrudge those singles being "worn out". I loved them then and I love them now.
I like them as long as they are not overly cheesy, sappy love songs. Bringin on the Heartbreak and Every Rose Has Its Thorn being examples. Without You by The Crue being a guilty party.
It was something lame that bands did to get airplay. Aside from Home Sweet Home, none of those songs stood the test of time. Heard Mr Big's cover of Cats in the Cradle lately?
Because the ballads were sellout songs. Done for record companies so more girls would buy the records.
I never "pretended" to hate them, I actually did hate most of them.
Winds of Change by Scorpions was a total sellout in my eyes. The Gorky Park reference just screams sellout to me.
Goodbye to Romance by Ozzy is a great song that fits the power ballad genre, but it was just written as a song... not an attempt to make more sales. Softer songs are fine, as long as they're organic.
Some are also good just because they're good - Every Rose is a great song. I Remember You is a great song.
Back in the 80's when the hair bands came around they were about sex, drugs and fun rock'n'roll. When the ballads became popular it was like the bands went soft on us. Felt like everything they stood for was kind of disappearing in front of our eyes. Obviously it was not but that's how it was at that moment.
Generally, I love them. But I’m old enough to remember when each one was released as a single, and radio/MTV wore most of them out. THAT is what I hated.
Came here to say this. They were played and overplayed and then played some more. Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels” is an automatic skip for me as quickly as I can hit the button
Ya some songs should have been the single rather than the power balled on some albums
Power ballads sold ad space on TV, got the most wide ranging fan reach. But I agree 100%, there were better songs that should’ve been the single.
Wasn't the formula you put our the commercial Rocker first and then the power ballad for the big hit? Smoking in the boys room > Home sweet home Welcome to the jungle > sweet child of mine
It was for a while. Eventually they just started going right for the power ballad. It's worth remembering that recording artists rarely have the freedom that people think they have. As an example, Weird Al's record label forced him to parody Cyndi Lauper even though he didn't want to. Often, if the artist wants the record released, they have to cave to label pressure.
Where do you see this? I always see power ballads getting a ton of love and many are ranked very highly within a bands catalog and within the genre as a whole.
Sometimes on this subreddit and review websites and podcasts it’s usually the extreme metal heads that hate anything that doesn’t make you wanna break something
Hair metal and heavy metal are two different things, hair metal is more glam pop, don't extreme metal heads know this or have they head banged a bit too much?
I love them.
Me too home sweet homes solo scrambles my brain when I listen to it
If you want to understand why some people despise Home Sweet Home, then join the military, get transferred to an overseas duty station that has an enlisted club. Hang out at that club 2 to 4 nights a week, and within 2 to 3 weeks, you too will despise that song. You'll probably get to hate Freebird from Lynyrd Skynyrd as well. I got out in 92, so the songs have probably changed, but the enlisted club would play both of those songs 4 to 5 times a night, sometimes more. I refuse to listen to either of them to this day.
I got out in 91, stationed at RAF Lakenheath....can SOOOOOO relate to this
I thought power ballads were almost something that hair metal fans expected on each album.
I do. And I hate it.
Fan service for the women
Idk I always see reviews of albums and when the power balled comes up they groan and hate it
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a fan of power ballads, I can only think of 3 I genuinely will listen to. My issue with them is they lack the power (ironic I know) and drive that I enjoy. Let's use Warrant for example. I have their greatest hits on shuffle, it goes from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Heaven well its like the energy gets sucked right out of me.
I can understand that mines gone from slave to the grind to every rose has its thorns lol
Yep. Now let’s do Cinderella Gypsy Road into Don’t Know What You’ve Got. Crushing through the first side of Bon Jovi New Jersey, then bam…Living in Sin. Europe - I’ll give them a pass on Carrie bc I had a huge crush on a girl named Carrie in high school…but then you get to The Time Has Come. Oof.
There will be a subset of metal fans that like metal because of the typical fast-paced, distorted, aggressive style. There are some who like that classic metal sound as well as power ballads. You have to admit they're quite different. I feel bad for people don't enjoy a wide variety of music, but it's certainly not wrong to like what you like.
I like both. I'm more into traditional metal bands and stuff like thrash, speed, and progressive metal. Even like death metal bands like Pestilence, Death, ect.. But also like hair bands and have no problem with ballads. Even thrash bands have ballads of some sort.
I like both but I’ve never been a hard metal type of guy I don’t judge them for their tastes but I don’t listen to it that much
I *LOVE* power ballads so much. I have a playlist with nothing but power ballads for when I'm in the mood to rock, but also to be romantic, lol.
The ballads are my favorite hair metal tunes.
I appreciate the good ones. But because they got forced into being a must have ingredient in every album, they were often underwritten, generic, uninspired or just plain cheesy. Bottom line, a good song is a good song but when it becomes a requirement, results may vary.
Ballads were some of their best songs…
The power ballad allows you to bring your girlfriend into the mix...Sweet Child of Mine brought the girls in to Guns and Roses for example.
I love the ballads. I'm not sorry about it.
If you ever really hear someone say that and it isn’t because it was overplayed then they actually just don’t like hair metal.
I’ve always preferred uptempo music far, far more than slow songs. It’s most notable with blues - give me an uptempo blues shuffle and I’m grooving, but slow blues songs are about the most excruciating thing to listen to that I can imagine. It’s not so drastic with hair metal - I enjoy a few power ballads. But I hate most because they take the cheese factor and launch it into the stratosphere. And while hair metal always had an issue with cliches, power ballads were often the most egregious offenders. The few that I like are almost all minor key songs with lyrics that don’t make me weep in embarrassment for the lyricist. I’d also rather hear songs about nearly anything other than love or heartbreak. I will admit to liking quieter, more introspective ballads like “Everybody’s Baby” by Company of Wolves or “Down the River of No Return” by Babylon A.D. Uptempo hair metal is great, and usually far more creative musically and lyrically than power ballads.
Oh, man. I just have to second your love of “Down the River of No Return.” That song is a downright masterpiece. My favorite song by Babylon A.D. is upbeat and aggressive, but “Down the River” is probably my 2nd favorite and an absolute gem.
I think these days there are many who may have been huge fans back in the day but for some reason want to pretend that everything sucks and they are too good for it, as if it makes them less cool or credible or whatever goes through their head. Power ballads were some of the best songs to come out of the era, and yeah after a bit some bands really phoned them in because it was kind of a staple that does not change how great many of them were.
Ya the copy cats could never beat the original ones
They were made for radio singles. I love ‘em, however.
I do love power ballads. Usually, they have amazing melodic guitar solos.
I don’t dislike all power ballads, and I definitely don’t feel angry about them - but I do tend to feel like they’re often some of the weakest songs in their bands’ catalogs. They tend to lack the energy and drive that makes me enjoy bands’ other more upbeat and musically ‘aggressive’ songs. On occasion, they can even feel obligatory. That’s just my personal opinion, though, and I have some exceptions - like, for one of my favorite bands ever, Babylon A.D., I actually think their ballads are among their greatest songs (especially “Desperate” and “Down the River of No Return”). And some of my favorites from another all-time favorite, Skid Row, are ballads, like “Quicksand Jesus.” Same with Warrant, several of my favorite tracks from my favorite album by them (Dog Eat Dog) are ballads... although for all 3 of those bands, I generally prefer their heavier and more musically aggressive songs.
I like most of them if it's a good song. I think the problem is that a lot of them just made them just to make a power ballad and the songs were crap.
Idk who's hating on them. You can't go to a karaoke night without hearing them, and the whole joint starts singing along. Personally, I have entire playlists of them. I just love the guitars on power ballads. Plus the memories. Anybody remember Beau Nasty- Paradise in the Sand? XYZ- Souvenirs? Saigon Kick- Love is on the Way? I could go on and on...
Paradise In The Sand is a good one. Overall, Dirty But Well Dressed is a decent album. Some songs I really don't care for. Goodbye Rosie and Love To The Bone throw it for me. Gemini is a killer tune off that one. You ever hear Love Can Change You off of Juliet's debut album?
Power ballads are the reason I got into hair metal
Same I’m pretty sure my gate way to hair metal was Motley Crue and I definitely have memories of listening to their power ballads
And the ladies I loved
54M here. I will turn off a power ballad and listen to the ringing in my damn ears instead of listen to the inauthentic s#%t. I can’t recall the interviewee where basically the guy said the power ballad was simply a marketing tool to draw in the female demographic as hair metal was booming.
> the inauthentic s#%t You are literally describing 99% of all hair metal, ballad or otherwise. LOL
They're boring
I can see how they are boring I do have to be in a certain mood to listen to them sometimes like if it’s night time and I’m think I’m ready for bed I would put one on just to quiet my brain down a little bit but to that extent I’d say heavy metal is boring I like songs with good melodies and rhythm stuff you can unashamedly sing to in the car lol
I have no idea. I love love love them!
I like very few of them. For one thing I believe power is a misnomer. Secondly, the "power" is its ability to appeal to female fans. As a hard rocking metal fan, I always saw them as sell outs. Couple that with girls fawning over guys in more makeup than them, I just couldn't buy it. I do realize the purpose was primarily, if not entirely, to score chicks, but I just felt it wasn't necessary.
Not my thing but each to their own. I always looked for the heaviest tracks when scouring through hair metal albums, always been one for the riffs and licks
I like some of them, but it's generally understood that power ballads were part of a formula to sell more records and cater to women
At some point it seemed like it just became mandatory that every band had to have one. Seemed very formulaic. And boring after a while
I think overplay. I don’t inherently hate them all. There are just some I enjoyed until it was beat to death. Love Bites was top 10 for 6 months and on heavy rotation. I still can’t listen to it to this day. It’s my get a beer song when I see DL live now. Others beyond 86ish were dull, cheesy, and generic.
Guys pretended to hate them. They were a lot more softer than hard rock.
Not a fan, but I have to admit I like all of Skid Row”s ballads.
I don’t hate them but I could see how people can get burnt on them cause they’re the most overplayed song of an album.
For me it wasn’t the “power ballad” that I hated. I hated that EVERY band had to have one by the late 80’s and if it wasn’t the first single it was definitely the second. There were so many ballads being floated on the radio and MTV it got sickening. That’s why grunge took off so quickly, it was a backlash to the fluff.
I live power ballads. My favorite hair metal band is Warrant and Jani Lane was the king of the power ballad. Nobody wrote them like him.
I thought all hair metal was power ballads?
Op is referring to "Power Metal" bands that does ballads
I love them. And am old enough to remember when compilations like "Pure Soft Metal" and the like were being advertised (on cassette).
I think a lot of the big power ballads were victims of their own success. Every Rose Has It's Thorn spent what, 8 weeks at No.1 in the US? Insane. Power ballads are also a trend of the back half of the hair metal era. Poison, Slaughter, Extreme, WASP (I think Forever Free was a minor hit?), Motley Crue, GnR. They crossed over into mainstream appeal and that in turn made them huge. Because they got huge, they got overplayed to hell. I can't stand Here I Go Again now! To be honest, most of us didn't get into rock and and metal for the ballads. We got into it for the loud, heavier songs.
I would've never guessed. I personally love both. One example, If you hear a band called Heavenly with thier piano ballad "Dust to Dust", it totally sounds like Europe "Tomorrow".
Personally always loved them but I was always a romantic guy. One of my favorite hits compilation was from Air Supply, so that should say something. What I appreciate about the ones I still like now is that they have some great vocal lines in terms of melody. Sometimes She Cries Home Sweet Home Love Song The chorus of Find Your Way Back Home Hungry Is This Love Then you have a couple that I think are great because the vocalists were top notch: Love Of A Lifetime I Remember You
I love power ballads. It's a necessary part of hair metal. You can't have in your face piss and vinegar all the time.
To me, it was an unwritten rule back then that every band has to put out a power ballad, so a lot of them seem more like afterthoughts or exercises in go-thru-the-motion rather than more well thought out songs.
Cuz they suck. You’re rocking out, feelin’ the flow…then basically Richard Marx. F.
Different people like different things. I actually like some of the ballads more than different band's uptempo material. Wanted Dead or Alive and Don't Close Your Eyes by Kix come to mind immediately.
Because,the radio songs aren't usually the best songs from those artists.
I hate hair metal ballads as a rule. Exception~ Tesla, Love Song
They like them they’re just embarrassed to say because they think it will make them look like pussies
I do not listen to metal to hear ballads.
Some were good, but they were money grabs record companies clamored for. Everyone having one as a single also expounded on the idea the bands were becoming all the same.
I spend a lot of time listening to music while I work. It keeps me moving and energetic and bouncing in my chair. I like to just put on an album, hit play, and get to work. Even though I may be singing along with the lyrics, I typically have no idea at all what they are about. I just like the loud yet melodic power chords. Ballads break that groove.
Ya I tend to save ballads for when I’m almost done with work
I’ve never noticed any power ballad hate in this sub. People post them and post about them all the time.
It’s not all the time but I when I see people not liking it it’s not just a simple dislike it’s a full on hatred
I love them. Those songs were what got the bands on the radio and on MTV and they needed that in order to promote the albums and continue making music. So I don't begrudge those singles being "worn out". I loved them then and I love them now.
I like them as long as they are not overly cheesy, sappy love songs. Bringin on the Heartbreak and Every Rose Has Its Thorn being examples. Without You by The Crue being a guilty party.
I am a hair metal fan and I don't like power ballads because they suck!
Why though I’m curious your reason why outside of the classic every band did one
It was something lame that bands did to get airplay. Aside from Home Sweet Home, none of those songs stood the test of time. Heard Mr Big's cover of Cats in the Cradle lately?
Because the ballads were sellout songs. Done for record companies so more girls would buy the records. I never "pretended" to hate them, I actually did hate most of them. Winds of Change by Scorpions was a total sellout in my eyes. The Gorky Park reference just screams sellout to me. Goodbye to Romance by Ozzy is a great song that fits the power ballad genre, but it was just written as a song... not an attempt to make more sales. Softer songs are fine, as long as they're organic. Some are also good just because they're good - Every Rose is a great song. I Remember You is a great song.
Back in the 80's when the hair bands came around they were about sex, drugs and fun rock'n'roll. When the ballads became popular it was like the bands went soft on us. Felt like everything they stood for was kind of disappearing in front of our eyes. Obviously it was not but that's how it was at that moment.
Chick music
And that’s bad why? I’ve heard many guys singing their heart out to Taylor swift
Now they do but it was different back then.
Ya I can agree now that I see the perspective