Abney Park is the creative brainchild of Robert Brown, who formed the band in 1997 and continues to be the lead singer, principal songwriter, artistic director, and chief manager of the band. Brown released the first full-length album "Abney Park" in 1998, and in 1999 released "Return to the Fire". The band's third album "Cemetery Number 1" drew from their first two albums as well as introducing several new songs. These early albums pioneered steampunk themes prior to the band's adoption of the steampunk label with lyrics depicting clockwork boys and steampowered dystopian cities ("the Change Cage", and "Twisted and Broken").