Yet another poll: The Battle of the DT Power Ballads

[erwinrafael]

Here in the Philippines, we love singing videoke/karaoke and a videoke experience is not complete without belting out a power ballad. Following the footsteps of legendary songs like Metallica's Nothing Else Matters, Damn Yankees' High Enough, Skid Row's I Remember You, GnR's November Rain, and half of the discography of German gods Scorpions (STILL LOVING YOUUUUUU!), which DT power ballad is the king? Which has the awesome belting moments that would make Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson give a standing ovation, while Simon Cowell looks disapprovingly? Which power ballad would move women to tears? Which would earn the ire of self-proclaimed metalheads in public, but have them singing out wholeheartedly in private? Which would earn a black and white music video of a concert montage, full of slow motion footages of the audience singing along, John Petrucci playing a dramatic guitar solo with his hair blowing in the wind, and James LaBrie making a stage dive? Which song would make you fight for the microphone while shouting "THAT IS MY SONG! THAT IS MY SONG!"

My votes:

Anna Lee

This is the Life

My ultimate vote: MISUNDERSTOOD, just because I will win the singing contest with this:

*first instrumental ends

Playing a lion being led to a cage
I turn from surreal to seclusion (excitement builds)
From love to disdain (crowd noise gets louder)
From belief to delusion
From a thief to a beggar (a girl faints)
From a god to GOD SAVE MEEEEEE! 

crowd goes       

thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you very much.

VOTE NOW, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.

 

[cramx3]

Dont totally understand some of the choices.... but I voted Anna Lee, This is the Life, and The Bigger Picture.  I love all three of those songs more than the rest of the actual songs mentioned.

[erwinrafael]

Dont totally understand some of the choices...

Here, let me help:

Another Day (final chorus)

You won't find it here
Look another way
You WON'T FIND IT HEeEERE
So try ANOTHER DAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY
(sexy sax comes in)


Lifting Shadows Off A Dream (final prechorus)

And she listens openly, oh
Oh, and she listens OOOOOPEENNNNLLYYYYYYYYYYY


The Spirit Carries On (final line)

The spirit carries OOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN
(JP wails on top of a mountain)


The Answer Lies Within (bridge)

You're gonna shiiiine! (walks away knowing he would lose this battle)


The Ministry of Lost Souls

"I'm only here because Systematic Chaos needs representation."


Wither (bridge)

(emo face) I drown in hesitation, my words come crashing down
And all my best creations burn into the ground (looks at the girl)
The thought of starting over leaves me paralyzed
Tear it out again, another one that got away (bows dramatically, girl faints)

[TheGreatPretender]

Just what qualifies as a power ballad for you? I mean, personally, I'd say that as much as I like Anna Lee, it's not even the best power ballad on the album, compared to Take Away My Pain.

Misunderstood I wouldn't consider any kind of a ballad. Same with TMOLS. There's a ballad there, but that's like calling A Nightmare To Remember or Endless Sacrifice a ballad.

[bosk1]

You have a very strange definition of "power ballad."  I think Misunderstood may be my favorite song on the entire list, but I simply could not vote for it as a "power ballad."  Anyhow, I voted for TSCO, This Is The Life, and (reluctant to include it as a "power ballad" as well, but at least in my live in the zip code next door) The Bigger Picture.

[erwinrafael]

Just what qualifies as a power ballad for you? I mean, personally, I'd say that as much as I like Anna Lee, it's not even the best power ballad on the album, compared to Take Away My Pain.

Misunderstood I wouldn't consider any kind of a ballad. Same with TMOLS. There's a ballad there, but that's like calling A Nightmare To Remember or Endless Sacrifice a ballad.

Hahaha!

FII is actually the hardest to judge. Anna Lee got the crown, though, because it can induce more lighter waving from the crowd, it has the best belting moment, and JP actually shed a tear when he got carried away from the drama of his guitar solo.

Misunderstood has a ballad in there, it can win pop singing competitions if you just edit away the reverse guitar solo.   

And TMOLS only joined the poll for the sake of being in the poll. If you remove the instrumental, though, that song is purely a power ballad.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

"Don't turn your back on paradise"

[BlobVanDam]

You have a very strange definition of "power ballad."

Yeah, that.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I chose: Another Day, Lifting Shadows Off A Dream, and James LaBrie.

[TheGreatPretender]

I chose: Another Day, Lifting Shadows Off A Dream, and James LaBrie.

James LaBrie is my favorite power ballad ever.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

It's my second favorite, but there was no Kevin Moore option.

[fischermasamune]

Went with Misunderstood, TITL and TBP, but I think many of them have punch.

[Dublagent66]

LSOAD
Wither
TITL

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Not sure in what universe does Misunderstood count as a power ballad. Must be a pretty wacky place over there.

Went with Another Day, The Spirit Carries On, and The Bigger Picture.

[Outcrier]

Voted for TSCO, ToT option and James LaBrie   

What, Misunderstood is a power ballad?

[jammindude]

Where the crap is Vacant?  Beneath the Surface?

[TheGreatPretender]

Where the crap is Vacant?  Beneath the Surface?

Would Vacant be a POWER ballad though? I thought it was just a regular ballad. Is there a difference?

[BlobVanDam]

Where the crap is Vacant?  Beneath the Surface?

Would Vacant be a POWER ballad though? I thought it was just a regular ballad. Is there a difference?

To be fair, very few of these come close to what I would consider a power ballad. TALW doesn't count as a POWER ballad by any stretch either.

[erwinrafael]

You have a very strange definition of "power ballad."

Yeah, that.

Well, from the authoritative source called the internet:

"In general terms, the characteristics of a power ballad are explained quite effectively in the two-word name. They're either sentimental ballads with occasional shifts into overdrive or loud rockers slowed and quieted by romantic yearning, depending on how you look at it. At any rate, power ballads seamlessly combine elements of hard rock (guitar solos, strong vocals and theatricality) with a trend toward acoustic guitars, keyboards, reduced aggression, and subdued riffage."

DT Forums. Where I engage in a self-aware absurd post and end up in a debate on definitions!

[BlobVanDam]

If we're not debating semantics, then dammit, we're just not doing our DTF duty!

[JiM-Xtreme]

I voted Another Day, The Spirit Carries on and Lifting Shadows. To me, the only other two in this list that even count are Wither and This is the Life.

[erwinrafael]

Where the crap is Vacant?  Beneath the Surface?

Would Vacant be a POWER ballad though? I thought it was just a regular ballad. Is there a difference?

To be fair, very few of these come close to what I would consider a power ballad. TALW doesn't count as a POWER ballad by any stretch either.

Yeah, but I can not find a better candidate from Octavarium.

[The Letter M]

Where the crap is Vacant?  Beneath the Surface?

Would Vacant be a POWER ballad though? I thought it was just a regular ballad. Is there a difference?

To be fair, very few of these come close to what I would consider a power ballad. TALW doesn't count as a POWER ballad by any stretch either.

Yeah, but I can not find a better candidate from Octavarium.

Who says there needs to be one? Although, if I picked anything from TOT and 8VM to sound like anything like a power ballad, it'd be the verse and chorus parts of "Sacrificed Sons" and "Endless Sacrifice", both of which follow a similar format to "The Ministry Of Lost Souls". They're the songs with slow verses and heavy choruses that have extended instrumental sections in the middle. If you edit those out and make them all 4-6 minute songs, they might be power ballads, but in the vein of songs like "Anna Lee" and "Another Day", TOT-8VM-SC just don't really have any (although "Forsaken" might fit a bit better than TMOLS, but it's more just a heavy rocker than a ballad).

-Marc.

[erwinrafael]

Who says there needs to be one? Although, if I picked anything from TOT and 8VM to sound like anything like a power ballad, it'd be the verse and chorus parts of "Sacrificed Sons" and "Endless Sacrifice", both of which follow a similar format to "The Ministry Of Lost Souls". They're the songs with slow verses and heavy choruses that have extended instrumental sections in the middle. If you edit those out and make them all 4-6 minute songs, they might be power ballads, but in the vein of songs like "Anna Lee" and "Another Day", TOT-8VM-SC just don't really have any (although "Forsaken" might fit a bit better than TMOLS, but it's more just a heavy rocker than a ballad).

-Marc.

I do. I am the OP. I set the rules. 

Sacrificed Sons and Endless Sacrifice has fast energetic vocal sections, so no, they won't qualify. TMOLS, only the instrumental section has a fast section. Edit it out and you have a slow rocker there.

[Rodni Demental]

Forsaken might be considered to be one, but I can see how Ministry could be power ballady, 'cept it's a bit overweight with that middle section.

Status Seeker? By the somewhat loose definitions that's gotta be the closest thing to a power ballad from WDADU surely.

[The Stray Seed]

Voted for: Another Day - Spirit Carries On - The Bigger Picture =))

[sylvinception]

Poll thread NOT CREATED by chaossystem ?

Are you fucking kidding me ? 

Voted for Lifting Shadows, their best ballad by far.

But of course, and WOT A SUR-PRI-SE, TSCO won...

[Zydar]

Another Day, closely followed by The Spirit Carries On.

[hefdaddy42]

Not sure I'd count ANY of these as power ballads.

[?]

Another Day
Lifting Shadows
TITL

I thought about voting for Misunderstood, but I don't consider it a ballad.

[RoeDent]

Not sure I'd count ANY of these as power ballads.

What other criteria are there besides them being slow and having guitars?

[hefdaddy42]

Not sure I'd count ANY of these as power ballads.

What other criteria are there besides them being slow and having guitars?

lol

I don't know, to me that term has very specific connotations having to do with the 80s rock scene.  Rock bands doing a "ballad" with some overdriven guitar and solos.  Poison and Winger and Warrant did power ballads.  As fodder for female fans and for hits and to get play on MTV.  That, to me, is the era of the power ballad.

For me, a song like LSOAD is cheapened by being called a power ballad.  And TALW is just a ballad, there is no power there.

I dunno, it's just me, I guess.

[The Holy Tune]

Even though I don't particularly like the phrase "power ballad", my choices go like this:

LSOAD
Misunderstood
TITL

[cramx3]

I always thought of power ballads as being a song that is mostly soft but has a heavy powerful outro.  Like I always considered Abandoned by Kamelot as a power ballad.  Maybe I am wrong, but I mostly agree that none of the songs listed here are real power ballads and mostly just ballads.  Maybe This is the Life?

[TheGreatPretender]

Personally, in spite of the original intention behind the concept of a power ballad, I think even back in the 80s, quite a few of them were very beautiful and have become something from the 80s that people remember quite fondly. So I see nothing wrong with the term.

As for the definition, I think that To Live Forever perfectly fits the criteria of what a Power Ballad is, and it definitely should've been on the list, as it's a fantastic song.