Triumph (band)
| Triumph | |
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Triumph's reunion performance in June 2008 at the Sweden Rock Festival.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1975–1993, 2008–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | triumphmusic |
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Triumph is a Canadian hard rock band that was popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. Between the band's 16 albums and DVDs, Triumph has received 18 gold and 9 platinum awards in Canada and the United States. Triumph was nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including Group of the Year Award in 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Like their fellow Canadians Rush, Triumph began building their reputation across North America as a live band, peaking in the early to mid-1980s. Triumph is most known for the guitar-driven rock songs "Lay It on the Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight the Good Fight." The band was formed by Toronto music veterans Gil Moore (drums, vocals), Mike Levine (bass, keyboards), and Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals) in 1975. This lineup, spanning thirteen years and nine studio albums, lasted until 1988, when Emmett left the band to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Phil "X" Xenedis, and Triumph recorded only one album with him, which remains their last to date, before going on indefinite hiatus in 1993. The classic original lineup of Moore, Levine and Emmett reunited for a series of live concerts in 2008.
Guitarist Emmett's songwriting style showed a progressive rock influence, as well as displaying his classical music influence; each Triumph album included a classical guitar solo piece. Moore also doubled as lead singer on many of the band's heavier songs and in their later years, some softer ballads; bassist and pianist Levine produced their early albums. Triumph's style proved unpopular with rock critics, much like many progressive rock and heavy metal bands. Rolling Stone reviewers labeled them a "faceless band."
Moore and Levine scouted Emmett one summer night in 1975 at a west-end Toronto club on The Queensway, called The Hollywood Tavern, where Emmett was playing in a band called ACT III. The three musicians subsequently got together for a jam session in the basement of Moore's house in Mississauga, after which Moore and Levine showed Emmett promo materials and contracts they had already secured for gigs starting in September of that year. They offered Emmett a guaranteed minimum weekly paycheck of $175, and Emmett agreed to join as an equal founding partner.
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