Time was, when the best - or worst, depending on your point of view and/or taste - AOR came out of the States. Already mentioned Journey, REO Speedwagon, Toto were big names, as was Boston (well, for one song mostly, and one album for a long time), Kansas, Styx and a whole lot of others. But in recent times it seems the balance of power, as it were, has shifted and the best new AOR/melodic rock acts are now coming from the frozen wastes of the north, like their marauding ancestors of old, pouring down out of the lands of ice and snow and bringing their particular brand of American-tinged-and-yet-quite-original AOR and melodic rock to the shores of Europe (the continent, smartarse), the UK and Ireland, and even playing the Yanks at their own game.
Sweden has
Work of Art
Europe of course, and the already-mentioned Houston
Finland has
Human Temple
Hanoi Rocks and The Von Hertzen Brothers
Norway gives us
Jorn Lande
Issa and TNT
and from
Denmark we have
Royal Hunt
Pretty Maids and, um, Ronnie Atkins
I'll be writing a major article on Scandinavian AOR and melodic rock (oh, no!) later, but for now this is just to give you an idea of what's happening up in those Viking lands.