why is the phrase "power ballad" used like dirty words

[D]

People always shit on Power Ballads and i think they represent some of the greatest songs ever.

i dont think they are cheesy, i dont think they are goofy or they suck

I think it is one of the greatest styles in music.


why are powerballads shit on?
is it cause people are too cool and macho to admit they dig em?

[Walk]

Ballads are beautiful, inspiring, and motivating. Manowar's "mountains" or Metal Church's "anthem to the estranged" could be called metal ballads, for example.
"Power" ballads are cheesy, unoriginal, and overly dramatic. Every other BJ song fits into this category.

That's the difference between the two.

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

what is a power ballad  ?
is estranged a power ballad ?

[Skeletor]

what is a power ballad? ?
is estranged a power ballad ?

Most definitely not. A power ballad is something like 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by Poison, 'More Than Words' by Extreme or 'Bed of Roses' by Bon Jovi. I suppose Don't Cry could also be considered a power ballad.

[D]

those songs u mentioned kick ass though

everyone says power ballad like its leperacy but fuck those are some kick ass fuckin songs.

those are the songs u relate too and carry with u for life.

I think everyone has been fed the kool aide by the rolling stone type critics that power ballads are guilty pleasure type shit songs but fuck no they arent.

there are songs for all occassions, songs to party to and songs to be lonely and sad to.

where the fuck would we be without power ballads

God bless the bands who make them, definitely one of my fav genres of song.

[Walk]

Good ballads are always welcome, but power ballad just has too many negative connotations. They're usually very overproduced, too. Not raw enough. Rolling Stone makes the mistake of hating ALL ballads, because they want grunge and rap and whatever's popular to sell. I certainly don't feel guilty about liking Manowar ballads! (Courage, Heart of Steel, Defender, Mountains, Master of the Wind, good stuff there!)

[Slashly]

I guess it has became a dirty word cause many so-called rock bands (to name one Simple Plan) have started using a kind of power ballad wich sucks.But good power ballads rock!!Oasis is full of power ballads, Nickelback has a good couple of ones, and others too!










Baby Slash//

[Axls Locomotive]

every style ends up falling by the wayside in favour of another more modern style...to me around the early to mid 90's was its demise, it became an easy target in the light of grunge and other 90's styles...i grew up in the 80's and i think hair metal is great to listen to, including power ballads...they overwhelm you with emotion...

[usurper]

oooooohhhhhhh he said power ballad!!! I cant believe he said that!

[Mattman]

Most definitely not. A power ballad is something like 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by Poison, 'More Than Words' by Extreme or 'Bed of Roses' by Bon Jovi. I suppose Don't Cry could also be considered a power ballad.

I don't really consider "More Than Words" a power ballad, because it's a ballad that doesn't have any POWER, even if it is a good song.  When I think of a power ballad, I think of a song that starts out slow and soft and crescendoes to a huge chorus and overwrought guitar solo.  "More Than Words" is soft all the way through, so it's just a "normal" ballad.

I guess it has became a dirty word cause many so-called rock bands (to name one Simple Plan) have started using a kind of power ballad wich sucks.But good power ballads rock!!Oasis is full of power ballads, Nickelback has a good couple of ones, and others too!

I usually consider power ballads chiefly a product of 80s hair metal bands, but I suppose that a song like Oasis's "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" meets my criteria to be considered a true power ballad.  Most of their ballads, though, aren't really "power ballads" in the true sense of the term.

Two good examples of modern day power ballads are Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" and Simple Plan's "Untitled".  Both start out slow and soft, and build to gigantic choruses and/or big guitar solos.  In addition, both are widely considered to be cheesy, which also seems to be a prerequisite for power ballads.  I like 'em both, though.  The Simple Plan one I like mainly because it has a guitar solo.  Even if it is a simple one.  The song gives such an 80s hair metal power ballad feel that I gotta love it.

[Narcissa]

A power ballad is a pompous, OTT bunch of howling about love forsaken.

Sometimes they're good songs and sometimes they're utter bullshit.

Good power ballads - November rain - GN'R, Love Hurts - Nazareth, Don't wanna miss a thing - Aerosmith, and stuff like that.

[N.I.B]

Glitter by Motley Crue. A great song witha  great meaning. Power ballads kick ass, for the most part. I think that they "went out of style" when Nirvana came around.

[KeVoRkIaN]

Glitter by Motley Crue. A great song witha  great meaning. Power ballads kick ass, for the most part. I think that they "went out of style" when Nirvana came around.

You are so correct!!! 

[SLCPUNK]

A power ballad is a pompous, OTT bunch of howling about love forsaken.

Sometimes they're good songs and sometimes they're utter bullshit.

Good power ballads - November rain - GN'R, Love Hurts - Nazareth, Don't wanna miss a thing - Aerosmith, and stuff like that.

No way in hell I'd consider November Rain to be a power ballad...no way.

[Mattman]

No way in hell I'd consider November Rain to be a power ballad...no way.

Well, it does have a lot of the qualities of a power ballad.  Soft, intricate music...lyrics about lost romance...all building up to a screaming guitar solo.

The power ballads that I really hate are mainly the ones by the bottom-tier 80s hair bands.  "Honestly" by Harem Scarem, "Love of a Lifetime" by Firehouse, "Carrie" by Europe, and something by Stryper that I can't remember the name of...these are the worst kinds of power ballads.  They're sloppy, formulaic, predictable, and not even all that catchy or emotional.  They're so corporate and putrid that I can't stand them.

On the next level up, you have the power ballads that are just as formulaic as the worse ones, but are catchier and have a bit more emotion.  For these I include "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, "I Remember You" by Skid Row, "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake, and "Heaven" by Warrant.  Yeah, you know the drill, but for some reason these songs stay with me a little more.

Further on up, we have the power ballads that are interesting and catchy, and actually merit some level of respect among the modern casual music fan as guilty pleasures.  These included Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home", Def Leppard's "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", and most Bon Jovi or Aerosmith power ballads.

And finally, we have the giants, the songs that are by all accounts and purposes power ballads but are still hugely popular classics.  These are tunes like "Dream On" by Aerosmith, "Love Hurts" by Nazareth, "Don't Cry" by Guns N' Roses, "Mama I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne, and "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.

[Walk]

Nothing Else Matters isn't a power ballad, it's just a bad filler song. The Unforgiven could be called a power ballad, I guess, but the Unforgiven II is better because it's not as overproduced.

[N.I.B]

The best power balled ever made.... my vote will have to go with Alice Cooper's Poison

some great power ballads are:

Glitter, Home Sweet Home, Afraid - Motley Crue
Don't Cry, Estranged - GN'R
Poison - Alice Cooper
Dream On - Aerosmith
Beth - KISS
Chages - Black Sabbath
Fade to Black - Metallica

[Mr. Dick Purple]

I have to agree with some of you guys, that saying that power ballads are like "i remember you" SR, "Think 'bout You" GNR, "Living In Sin" Bon Jovi (yes the only song I like of Bon Jovi ), but no "more than words", then I could say that Dust in the wind by Kansas is a power ballad which is not.  , how about "wasting love" by Iron Maiden?? great Dickinson/Gers material 

[Dave_Rose]

Some Power Ballads are the greatest songs ever recorded and I love a good ballad my self

[Mattman]

Nothing Else Matters isn't a power ballad, it's just a bad filler song. The Unforgiven could be called a power ballad, I guess, but the Unforgiven II is better because it's not as overproduced.

No way.  The whole reason that I consider Nothing Else Matters a "power ballad" in the truest sense of the term is because it follows a formula that is very like most 80s power ballads - starts out soft and gentle, gradually builds to a huge chorus and guitar solo, lyrics about love.  It's a good raise-yer-lighters song for couples, and hence a power ballad.  The Unforgiven, on the other hand, is more of an experimental song, what with the minstrel-style guitar and the lyrics, which are more oblique and intellectual.

[KeVoRkIaN]

Analyzing the Black Album is like searching for corn in a turd

[im rickjames bitch]

are these songs power ballads?
skid row
18 and life
i remember u
iron maiden
children of the damned
metallica
one
fade to black
unforgiven I and II
welcome home
pantera
cemetary gates

[Dot]

I think that when people hear "Power Ballads" they immediately take themselves to the hair spray, make up and leather gay clothes of the 80s, but power ballads are cool.

[Mattman]

Analyzing the Black Album is like searching for corn in a turd

Why are people so tough on post-Black Album Metallica, especially on a Guns N' Roses fan site?  The fact is, our favourite band is far closer to 90s Metallica than 80s Metallica.  So why the hate?  I don't get it.  But maybe it's just because Load is my second-favourite Metallica album after Master of Puppets.

are these songs power ballads?
skid row
18 and life
i remember u
iron maiden
children of the damned
metallica
one
fade to black
unforgiven I and II
welcome home
pantera
cemetary gates

The Skid Row tunes are power ballads, but everything else doesn't really count.  I think of "power ballads" as being more commercial, with lyrics often about sentimental love or heartbreak.  The rest of the songs you listed are heavy metal songs that start out kind of soft, and while these are sometimes balladic in nature (especially "Fade to Black"), they're metal, not commercial hard rock, and they're too heavy to be power ballads in the usual sense of the term.

[SLCPUNK]

No way in hell I'd consider November Rain to be a power ballad...no way.

Well, it does have a lot of the qualities of a power ballad.? Soft, intricate music...lyrics about lost romance...all building up to a screaming guitar solo.

The power ballads that I really hate are mainly the ones by the bottom-tier 80s hair bands.? "Honestly" by Harem Scarem, "Love of a Lifetime" by Firehouse, "Carrie" by Europe, and something by Stryper that I can't remember the name of...these are the worst kinds of power ballads.? They're sloppy, formulaic, predictable, and not even all that catchy or emotional.? They're so corporate and putrid that I can't stand them.

On the next level up, you have the power ballads that are just as formulaic as the worse ones, but are catchier and have a bit more emotion.? For these I include "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, "I Remember You" by Skid Row, "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake, and "Heaven" by Warrant.? Yeah, you know the drill, but for some reason these songs stay with me a little more.

Further on up, we have the power ballads that are interesting and catchy, and actually merit some level of respect among the modern casual music fan as guilty pleasures.? These included Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home", Def Leppard's "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", and most Bon Jovi or Aerosmith power ballads.

And finally, we have the giants, the songs that are by all accounts and purposes power ballads but are still hugely popular classics.? These are tunes like "Dream On" by Aerosmith, "Love Hurts" by Nazareth, "Don't Cry" by Guns N' Roses, "Mama I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne, and "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.

Define power ballad then.

Bringin on the heartbreak was waaaay before "hair metal" for starters (as the other songs listed). So I think you are getting way beyond your years with what you are saying. No offense, seriously.

But the term "Power Ballad" to me symoblizes what also destroyed hair bands (besides grunge) was their copycat style. That is what a power ballad was, ie: a formula. They said "hey, the girls like these types of songs and they sell records..." Then everybody had that one song.

November rain was obviously much more than "baby come back and I'll treat you right this time" type of format.

[Queen of Everything]

Two good examples of modern day power ballads are Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" and Simple Plan's "Untitled".? Both start out slow and soft, and build to gigantic choruses and/or big guitar solos.? In addition, both are widely considered to be cheesy, which also seems to be a prerequisite for power ballads.? I like 'em both, though.? The Simple Plan one I like mainly because it has a guitar solo.? Even if it is a simple one.? The song gives such an 80s hair metal power ballad feel that I gotta love it.

Simple Plan is the dirty word ther, not Power Ballad.... Simple plan should be crucified

[dustNroses]

Power Ballads are legendary, When your in love at first, and the one you love doesnt know how you feel yet, You live off Power ballads, Its all i listened too when i fell in love. If they didnt exist, I dont know where id be now.