Triumph

Late-'70s and early-'80s prog metallists Triumph faced repeated comparisons to Rush across their entire run for understandable reasons, given the musical and lyrical parallels between the two acts, their shared status as Canadian trios, and the fact that Rush had arrived first while attaining far greater commercial heights. The Toronto-formed outfit began in 1975 when guitarist and vocalist Rik Emmett joined drummer and vocalist Gil Moore along with bassist and keyboardist Mike Levine, resulting in their self-titled debut album the next year on the independent Attic label. Though largely overlooked upon release, the record gained traction after a San Antonio, Texas radio DJ championed it, sparking a regional fan base that grew stronger once the band toured the area.

That same exposure secured a contract with RCA Records, prompting reissues of the debut alongside the 1977 follow-up Rock & Roll Machine, whose cover of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" became the group's first modest chart single. Around the same period, Triumph earned a reputation for elaborate stage productions that leaned on pyrotechnics and complex lighting designs, a point the trio underscored themselves by writing the track "Blinding Light Show."

Rising popularity among hard rock listeners led to a fresh deal with MCA, ushering in the band's strongest artistic and commercial phase. Albums such as 1979's Just a Game and 1980's Progressions of Power brought them nearer to mainstream breakthrough, achieved with the consecutive gold-certified releases Allied Forces in 1981—widely viewed as their finest work and home to the hit anthem "Fight the Good Fight"—and 1982's Never Surrender. Later efforts including 1984's Thunder Seven, 1985's Stages, 1985's The Sport of Kings, and 1987's Surveillance did not match those earlier commercial peaks yet allowed the group to maintain a dedicated audience. Rik Emmett departed in 1988 to launch a solo career, yet Gil Moore and Mike Levine continued with a replacement singer and guitarist; an 11-track best-of collection titled Classics appeared the following year.

Their initial choice for the new frontman role, ex-Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes, proved unavailable while assembling his Blue Murder project, so the position went to Phil X, previously associated with Frozen Ghost and Aldo Nova; the band also constructed its own studio, Metalworks, in Mississauga, Ontario during this era. The Phil X lineup produced only one album, 1993's Edge of Excess, before the group disbanded permanently. Post-breakup archival material surfaced afterward, among them 1995's In the Beginning and 1996's King Biscuit Flower Hour, the latter documenting a 1981 performance, while Rik Emmett sustained his solo output with regular releases throughout the 1990s.

Triumph received word in 2007 of their forthcoming induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The original members Rik Emmett, Mike Levine, and Gil Moore then reconvened for several prominent concerts ahead of the ceremony at the 2008 Juno Awards. The 2012 DVD and CD package Live at Sweden Rock Festival captured their 2008 reunion appearance.