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80s Metal Power Ballads

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Popular 80s Power Ballads

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80s Metal Power Ballads

Power Ballads through the 80s

The Power Ballad is probably one of the most controversial things to come out of the metal scene in the 80s. As a metal fan you either loved them or hated them. Most die-hard 80s metal fans hated them. While the formation of the 80s power ballad in general was credited to bands like REO Speedwagon, the instigator of the takeover of 80s metal by power ballads had to be Mötley Crüe's Home Sweet Home.

There were other power ballads before this one (Alone Again by Dokken for example), but the success of Home Sweet Home in 1985 really brought the copy cats out in force. Pretty soon the major labels were demanding that all of their metal bands include a power ballad on each album to try to recreate the success of Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain album.

During the late 80s, power ballads by groups like Whitesnake, Poison, Skid Row, and Bon Jovi were regularly in the top 10 on the Billboard weekly hot 100 charts. These were heights metal bands had never seen before. Below are some of the top charting 80s metal power ballads during this period based on the end of year Billboard Hot 100 Charts (you can click on the name of the song to watch the video):