The Prog Mind was established to flesh out the lyrics on many beloved albums in the progressive community.  Obviously, lyrics and concepts are very important and dear to us here.  I was pleasantly surprised at the numerous intelligent and emotional offerings in 2017, and so here are my top 10 favorites.

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10. Hibernal – “The Dark of the City”

Author Mark Healy’s masterful sci-fi story-telling continues in “The Dark of the City”.  His vibrant use of adjectives to describe human emotions and the gritty setting creates a vivid, relatable story that never gets old.

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9. Lonely Robot – “The Big Dream”

John Mitchell’s dark inner journey of reflection and humanity features amazing lyrics and a grand theme.  The lyrics on “The Big Dream” concern the afterlife; where we are going and what it’s like to transition to another form of existence.  The album contains voiceovers from a philosopher who discusses the similarities between sleep and death.

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8. Single-Celled Organism – “Splinter in the Eye”

Jens Lück, producer of Isgaard, released his own solo album this year, and the concept was very well written and conceived.  It revolves around a scientific experiment in which a human girl is kept secluded for her entire life; fed and raising by robots, and taught by screens.  The concept, however, does have an added twist where the outside world experiences catastrophic bio-weapon deployment, and this girl is left to uncover the world outside her cage on her own after the rest of humanity dies.  It gives me goosebumps.

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7. Beatrix Players – “Magnified”

The Beatrix Players released their debut album this year, and I was pleasantly surprised by the strong lyrics, as they are poetic, nostalgic, and emotional.  Some of the tracks have beautiful stories about love and loss, and they really speak to me.

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6. Cosmograf – “The Hay-Man Dreams”

Robin Armstrong always delivers when it comes to lyrics and concepts.  The concept here revolves around a farm hand who dies tragically.  His wife builds a scarecrow as a sad monument to him, and it seems to contain the spirit of her lost love. This “hay-man” observes the world around him as the years pass.  He sees the problems in the world that skirt the edges of his vision, and he also dreams and longs for the wider world around him, seeing as how he is rooted in the same field for all time.  It’s an emotional and very human album.

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5. Pain of Salvation – “In the Passing Light of Day”

Speaking of human albums, Daniel Gildenlöw’s recent bout with death is the basis for Pain of Salvation’s latest album.  His lyrics are dark, very dark; and they reach to the very bone of human suffering.  His message is intense, scary, and even sexual at times, but the album ends in a much more hopeful tone than you might expect.

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4. Lunatic Soul – “Fractured”

Mariusz Duda delivers yet again with the newest LS offering.  However, I will assert that the emotional content has never been this deep and impacting.  Duda has experienced an inordinate amount of loss in recent years, and so we get to hear his heart as he works through and even conquers his sorrow.

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3. Transport Aerian – “Therianthrope”

Hamlet’s Transport Aerian project always contains fantastic and thoughtful ideas and lyrics.  On his new outing, the lyrical content revolves around human emotional reactions to various broken situations.  The lyrics are very raw, yet poetic in a profane sort of way, and you can feel every bit of the anguish, brokenness, and sorrow.

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2. Persefone – “Aathma”

Persefone’s lyrical content is the most uplifting, spiritual offering of the year.  The album has very enlightened lyrics concerning the individual soul that lies at the center of each of us; not our body, not our intelligence or brain.  Each of us is an aathma, an essence that will exist forever and which is connected to all others.  It’s an album about the unseen spiritual truth of our existence and the universe around us.

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1. Nordic Giants – “Amplify Human Vibration”

I struggled to decide which album offered the best lyrics and themes of the year.  Something kept me coming back to this ethereal, powerful album from Nordic Giants.  This album truly causes my heart to fly and dream of a better world.  The album features voiceovers from various philosophers and social activists, and they come across as powerful, hopeful, persuasive, and convicting.  I love this album, and I love the way that the words are part of the movements and climaxes of the album.

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