Hello and welcome to the first edition of Progscars!

Fifteen imaginary awards to give out to the most interesting progressive rock and metal music to come out in 2017. I decided to do this for fun but also to build awareness of bands and artists.

Today we explore the best clean vocal performances on prog songs of 2017. It’s been a cracking year with several of the best vocalists in the genre involved in albums released in the year , so choosing was incredibly hard. Do check out the criteria section below.

Disclaimer:

Everyone has different definitions about which band, album and song is progressive and which isn’t. For simplicity, I have stuck to bands classified as progressive rock or metal either on rateyourmusic.com or sputnikmusic.com and occasionally based on what I think. When it is says Song in the title, it specifically means a song belonging to an album by a band classified as progressive based on point 1. I’m also sure there are a few songs on this list (and the ones to come) that are 4/4 and hardly classify as a ‘Prog Song’ but I’ve included them nevertheless. Albums in December 2017 haven’t been considered! So no Diablo Swing Orchestra. Mainly because I was too busy exploring earlier albums that I might have missed out. I’ll include them in the next edition. If you spot errors anywhere (mostly in the technical side of things), let me know. I’m always open to criticism – constructive or destructive. EPs or Live Albums not considered for any of these lists.

Criteria for Judgement:

Judging clean vocals may not be as hard as the harsh ones, but it can still be highly subjective as there are a few vocal delivery types that appeal to some and a few that don’t. For example, I know a few people who hate falsettos and hence find it hard to admire singers (*Hint, hint*) who are great at them. I’ve tried to be as objective as possible in this sense, as I don’t have a strong like or dislike towards one type. If a vocalist isn’t afraid to expose the range on his or her vocal strings and imbibes sufficient emotion when needed, he or she would find a way in here.

Now that that’s over with let’s get down to business! There are one ‘Special Mention’, one ‘Just Missed’, nine nominations and, of course, one winner. The number of nominations would change depending on category.

SPECIAL MENTION

Maxwell Mobarry on “Death of a Clone”

(from Book I: Dr. Breacher by Others by No One)

Why? This wonderful vocal performance was a shoe-in for my list until I discovered a few days back that Book I… is actually an EP, even though I included it at #2 in the best debut album list and went against my disclaimer above. My absolute favourite moment is the high note at 3:33 (Spotify) or 4:00 (Video below).

JUST MISSED

Anneke van Giersbergen on “The Martyr and the Saint – Beirut”

(from In This Moment We Are Free – Cities by Vuur)

Why? The competition was so high this year that even the ‘Just Missed’ spot had me heavily confused – the other candidate being “Lucidity” by Soen. Among a couple of artists in this list I caught live, Anneke is one of the very few who has a voice powerful enough to not sound out of place in metal. I chose “… Beirut” because it is by far my favourite track, with a strong Devin Townsend influence.

#10

Andrew Groves on “Matter” (from Melancholia Hymns by Arcane Roots)

Why? Andrew’s Groves nasal tone might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I’m a fan of his vocals on the new album. I also found it incredibly hard to pick one song, but finally went with “Matter”.

#9

Glynn Morgan on “Small Dark Lines” (from Legends of the Shires by Threshold)

Why? As someone who hadn’t heard of Threshold more than a month ago, I was very surprised at what I heard. Here is an album with a good balance of catchy music and heavy riffs to please a lot of prog fans but the band doesn’t appear to be very popular despite entering the arena more than two decades ago. Getting back to the point, the ‘catchiness’ of the music can be attributed heavily to Morgan’s smooth, almost pop-ish delivery.

#8

Lee Douglas on “Endless Ways” (from The Optimist by Anathema)

Why? The new Anathema album hasn’t appealed to me as much as I would like, but Lee Douglas is definitely at her best here and incredibly didn’t put a foot wrong live either.

#7

Jim Grey on “Dream the Dead” (from In Contact by Caligula’s Horse)

Why? Jim Grey is one of my favourite vocalists and in any other year this song and performance would have made my top three. This album opener “Dream the Dead” features all that is to like in his voice and is a good representative of what to expect from this Aussie band.

#6

Michael Lessard on “Monochrome (Pensive)”

(from Clairvoyant by The Contortionist)

Why? The Contortionist’s new effort has made fans very divisive – there seems to be no middle ground. Even haters would agree though that this Lessard performance tugs deeply at your heartstrings –

“Maybe I shouldn’t have had another high

Maybe I’m just desperate to think”

#5

Ninet Tayab on “Pariah” (from To the Bone by Steven Wilson)

Why? Already discussed in this list.

#4

Einar Solberg on “The Last Milestone” (from Malina by Leprous)

Why? In an ultimate act of audacity, Einar Solberg cements his position among the best prog vocalists by including this incredible duet with cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne to produce a cinematic, melancholic track many vocalists wouldn’t dare envisage.

#3

Daniel Gildenlöw on “The Passing light of Day”

(from The Passing light of Day by Pain of Salvation)

Why? Gildenlöw’s explores personal tragedy by singing his heart out in the monstrous album closer. The song is a vocal journey in itself, using emotional narration very rarely seen in music nowadays, prog or elsewhere.

#2

Ensemble on “The Day that the World Breaks Down”

(from The Source by Ayreon)

Why? Even for the high standards of Ayreon’s guest vocalists, The Source has got to have the best vocalist line up ever. I’ve already mentioned Tommy Karevik, but there’s so much more. My other favourite power metal vocalist, Russell Allen is there, Tommy Rogers even gets some growls going (In “Everybody dies” albeit), Hansi Kürsch and Michael Eriksen bring their own identity and Mike Mills might be the best Morse code singer ever. The booming voices of Simone Simons and Floor Jansen provide a nice contrast. I’m missing many more, but you sure get the idea!

WINNER!

Courtney Swain on “Land Animal” (from Land Animal by Bent Knee)

Why? Bent Knee has been a new discovery for me and I keep returning to the album because of Courtney Swain‘s unique voice. “Land Animal ” is one of the songs that exposes the entire range of her technique – the almost effortless high note at 1:47 and the beautiful and melancholic lower ones during the interlude (from 2:51). Plug in a pair of headphones and give Land Animal a spin: Lose yourself as you absorb one of the freshest voices of the year (and surely of the ones to come).

So which are your favourite clean vox tracks from 2017?

Would love to hear from you! Let me know either in the comments here, on Facebook (Preferably) or on Instagram. You can follow me on Spotify (You might get a sneak peak of the awards a day in advance!)

Here’s the Spotify playlist of all the above tracks:

ELEVEN awards are already out!

Best Bass Performance in a Song here.

Best Debut Album here.

Best Outro of a Song here.

Best Production on an Album here.

Best Intro to a Song here.

Best Use of Electronica in a Song here.

Best Use of an Unconventional Instrument in a Song here.

Best Instrumental Song here.

Best Collaboration or Guest Appearance on a Song here.

Best Keyboard Performance in a Song here.

Best Vocal (Harsh) Performance in a Song here.