Power Ballads

Every once in a while, the hardest-hitting rock lays waste to our senses not as a downtuned-guitar skull-assault, but as a sentimental ballad chock-full of burning emotion. If you've ever been in love, or had your heart ripped out of your chest, then you've hoisted a lighter to one of these confessional monoliths.

What do Bon Jovi, Richard Marx, Cutting Crew, and Toto have in common? In the real world, perhaps a hair stylist with a seriously artistic itch. In the world of rock 'n' roll, an incomparable way with the mighty power ballad. You know the drill: hit play, close eyes, ignite butane, and sway till you come over all seasick.

Yeah, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"; sure "Love Is a Battlefield"; and, no, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". For every unqualified epic of the power ballad, did you know there are just as many simmering emotion-volcanoes bubbling just beneath the surface? Doubt us? Try Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and Queensryche's "Silent Lucidity".

If you've ever stood in a sea of unshorn, snakebite-fragranced rockers, and suddenly noticed a few eyes moistening in the glow of tiny hoisted flames, you were experiencing a supreme power ballad moment. From Guns N' Roses to REO Speedwagon, Kiss to Aerosmith — at one time or another, all great rock bands have dimmed the lights, slowed the tempo, and opened up their hearts. Sentimentalists, ready your thumbs (and try not to scream like a kitten when the lighter gets hot).