10 Best Hard Rock Power Ballads You've Probably Never Heard

Running at almost seven minutes long, cult rock group Valentine’s Never Said It Was Going To Be Easy is a musical odyssey consisting of laid-back acoustic guitar and piano alongside bombastic drum fills and virtuosic solos, all of which are tied together with lead singer Hugo Valenti’s electrifying vocals.

Part of the New York group’s self-titled album, which contains a mix of glam metal tracks alongside other excellent power ballads Tears In The Night and You’ll Always Have Me, this song sticks out as a notable highlight – and not just because of its length.

The band’s ability to move seamlessly from the stripped-back intro to the heavier melodies and back again envelopes listeners within the soundscape as it shifts from one gear to the next. Moreover, Valenti’s (who now works as a solo artist and vocalist for Journey tribute band Voyage) remarkable vocal range is the stuff of rock royalty, and a collection of high-octane guitar solos are ample opportunity for listeners to practice their air guitar. And this isn’t even mentioning how catchy the song’s main hook is.

The group would continue to perform under the name Open Skyz before eventually splitting up.