10 Hard Rock Albums Saved By One Song

After they had conquered the Los Angeles scene with Shout at the Devil, Motley Crue were being looked at as the next great metal band. The band's previous records had offered a punk energy and heavy aggression that marked the birth of the hair metal movement just a few years later. While everything looked fine on the surface, things were pretty dire behind the scenes.

With each member starting to get strung out on drugs, the band's third effort Theatre of Pain is often considered a minor stumbling block in the band's career, with main songwriter Nikki Sixx bringing out some of his most uninspired songs to date. However, the band did have some sparks left in them with "Home Sweet Home." Built around a scrap of a song the band had been toying with, this ode to missing your friends and family while out on the road struck a chord with the public.

The song became so massive that it ended up setting the precedent for the monster ballad scene later down the line, with everyone from Poison to Cinderella balancing their rockers with more stripped down material. Theatre of Pain may be a bit of a rough listen these days, but "Home Sweet Home" was the gem that stood out amongst the rough.