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It is amazing to look back to the music that so many of us grew up listening to. Heavy metal has taken the back seat in the rock music industry. No longer do we hear the hard core riffs of AC DC, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Motley Crue. The general public no longer wants to hear songs about prostitutes, drugs, and parties; they want to hear songs about love and heartache.

In the 1980's the power ballad became a new household favorite among rock fans. Bands like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Poison took center stage even among the teenage girls who normally did not listen to the heavy metal bands. Metal bands were trying to compete against top charting singles like: Cryin' by Aerosmith, Always, by Bon Jovi or Every Rose has its thorn by Poison. The old school method of making music was no longer selling albums so many heavy metal bands had to compensate. They ended up jumping on the power ballad bandwagon.

Ozzy Osbourne deterred from his norm to record "Dreamer, Goodbye to Romance, and Close my eyes forever" with Lita Ford which were a drastic change. His previous songs, with lyrics like "screams break the silencevengeance is boiling," and "mother screaming in the fire, Satan points at me again," make way for "Im living in a dream, a fantasyIf only we could just find serenity."

Motley Crue also decided to make the transition. From "Shout, Shout, Shout at the devil" to more meaningful lyrics like "If I die tomorrowYou're my everything, you make me feel so alive".

Once bands noticed that power ballads were selling records, many more bands gave in. This leads us to the music of today. Many bands are trying to bring back heavy metal. The music itself it a bit harder, but the lyrics are still about the heart. True heavy metal is laden with explicit lyrics, and adult content that usually have nothing to do with the heart. With soft rock bands like Hinder, Nickelback, and 3 doors down, it looks like hard core, heavy metal is gone forever.

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