I'm a big fan of Erik's myself and don't see his work as any more cliched than a lot of the current crop. And I love it all regardless! Lyrical content isn't what I listen to AOR and melodic rock for - as I have plenty of albums by artists that scratch that itch.
However, if you look at this interview - about halfway down - you'll see that maybe he's not the main culprit in the lyrics department:
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"In a flash of inspiration, you said of every living thing
We're the first in all creation, to live on the ground and sing"