voila_la_scorie Fireball steamer, heavy metal screamer, playin’ licks hotter than hell

One of my big interests is scrounging about in the annals of heavy metal history in search of trivia. One of my recent quests has been to discover who first sang about heavy metal music. From 1980 onwards, the ball gets rolling pretty quickly. But prior to that, I have only two examples so far: Triumph’s 1976 and 1977 releases.

Back in those days, I don’t believe anyone commonly referred to any bands as heavy metal bands. There were rock and roll bands who played heavy metal music, but even a band who - like Triumph - would sing about playing heavy metal, or talk about it, would still consider themselves a rock band. Just listen to interviews with Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilminster. He continuously insisted that heavy metal was just another way of playing rock and roll.

These days we look back upon the hard and heavy rock of the seventies and classify most of it as either hard rock or proto-metal. But sometime around 1974/5 the music press began to refer more frequently to those heavy guitar rockers as heavy metal music. Triumph picked up on it and included references to heavy metal in two tracks from their first two releases. I’m still searching for other examples from around the same period.

Triumph was part of Canada’s 1970’s hard/heavy rock explosion. April Wine, A Foot In Cold Water, Thundermug, Moxy, and of course Rush and Bachman Turner Overdrive had already been blazing the way with albums, and Triumph dropped their debut in 1976. What’s remarkable is how they had already established their familiar sound right from the start. That distinctive sound of Rik Emmett’s guitar, his talent on both electric and classical guitar, Gil Moore’s drumming, the dual lead vocal attack of Emmett and Moore, Mike Levine’s solid bass playing, and a touch of synthesizer for atmosphere was there from album one.

Their second album continues the band’s modus operandi with Gil Moore taking the lead vocals for the heavy sluggers like “Takes Time” and “Little Texas Shaker” and Rik Emmett often singing many of the lighter and more progressive tracks.

If Triumph were a rock and roll band that played heavy metal then some of the lighter tracks are not diversions but part of the band’s repertoire. “New York City Streets Part 1” sticks to clean guitars and a light funky feel, breaking into a sped-up jazzy instrumental break at the end. Part 2 is a typical Triumph heavy rocker. Most of the album, though, is pretty solid rock out heavy bombast.

Two tracks that are worthy of a more detailed description are the two part, single track “The City” and the album’s titular song. “The City” begins with an arrangement from Holst’s “Mars - God of War”. It will be familiar to metal fans because Diamond Head famously used it for “Am I Evil”, later covered by Metallica and it was also the inspiration for Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” riff. You’ll also find it on Andromea’s 1969 album. After the “Mars” climax, there’s a burst of classical guitar followed by a flamenco guitar instrumental. At last the lyrical part of the song begins, slow, slightly solemn and melancholy. The final part of the song sees the return of the heavy metal Triumph. It’s no wonder with a track like this that Triumph are often included in prog rock conversations.

The title track is Triumph showing off their heaviness and speed, an intentional display of 1977 heavy metal music. Rik Emmett gets to show of his speedy fingers with a guitar solo - a real solo sans band - that scorches the fretboard. Personally, I feel the guitar sound is a bit scratchy and the use of delay doesn’t help the effect. While the fancy finger work is meant to impress, I enjoy many of Rik’s other solos much more just because they sound better. Nevertheless, “playin’ licks hotter than hell” is not an understatement!

Triumph tends to be overshadowed by compatriots Rush who just seemed to achieve so much more. But for a solid hard/heavy rock act that deviated for only one album, Triumph are worthy of recognition. Not to mention that they might just be the first band to release a song that sings about heavy metal music.

siLLy puPPy The Canadian power trio TRIUMPH had been on an upward trajectory of gaining popularity in their home country and with their second album “Rock & Roll Machine” finding a global market, their reputation as a hard rock and heavy metal band was growing by the day which included a small crossover from prog fans who were hoping that they would delve more into those arenas. However on their third album JUST A GAME, the comparisons to Rush had finally taken their toll so TRIUMPH streamlined their sound more into the hard rock camp but also found their niche with those catchy AOR power ballad hooks that found two of their most popular tracks of their career hitting the top 40 worldwide including the Billboard charts. “Lay It On The Line” and “Hold On” showcased Rik Emmett’s high pitched vocals while the more heavier tracks focused on hard bluesy rock which were primarily written by drummer Gil Moore.

As a result of the world of popular music ditching prog oriented music in favor of punk and heavy rock in the latter part of the 70s, TRIUMPH jettisoned the ambitious longer tracks presented on their first two albums and created a more cohesive albeit less exciting collection of nine tracks. JUST A GAME as well played as it is, sounds very much in tune with the mainstream hard rock of the era with not only the Styx and Journey sounding AOR tracks but with the bluesy rockers such as “American Girls” that remind me a lot of 38 Special and other Southern-tinged hard rock of the late 70s / early 80s turnover. Musically TRIUMPH basically sold out as JUST A GAME doesn’t even feature any outstanding virtuosity of Emmett’s guitar skills as heard on the previous albums however as a standard commercial sounding hard rock album of the era, all tracks are catchy and pleasurable to listen to as they are well performed, well produced and take the final step in finding their unique sound that jettisons many of the characteristics of fellow Ontario mates Rush.

While JUST A GAME may not be the most sophisticated album musically, the album cover is absolutely brilliant with the original LP vinyl version that folded out to display a giant board game that could actually be played although bassist Mike Levine convinced the band that it should be impossible to win and so it was! The futuristic looking front cover also contains a symbol that depicts every song on the album, so apparently they weren’t quite ready to let go of the all the prog urges which becomes even more apparent by the short classical guitar number “Fantasy Serenade” that sounds a bit out of place actually. When all is said and done, JUST A GAME is a competent album that plays it all too safe. While commercially it was the right thing to do, it seems a little too tame in comparison to the albums that surround it. While the singles are some of the strongest TRIUMPH had to offer, the rest of the album seems a little mediocre in terms of quality. Pleasant album but not outstanding either.

siLLy puPPy TRIUMPH, the Canadian power trio of Rik Emmett (vocals, guitar), Gil Moore (drums) and Michael Levine (bass, keyboards) followed up their debut just a year later with their second release ROCK & ROLL MACHINE which at first was released only in Canada but due to increasing popularity they scored an international recording contract with RCA and then soon after MCA Records. Unfortunately the album was released with one album cover and track listing for the Canadian release and another for a global market with even a few tracks donning completely different titles. Obviously this has led to a ridiculous amount of confusion over the years as one version even went as far as mixing several tracks from both the debut and this album under the title ROCK & ROLL MACHINE. Thankfully this marketing faux pas has been corrected with the newer remastered albums at last donning the original superior album cover with the band’s profile in the space sphere as opposed to the cheesy neon lit guitar and sparkles under the band’s logo.

While no sophomore slump haunted the band, comparisons to Rush certainly did however ROCK & ROLL MACHINE successfully sounds like a foray into their own world of bluesy hard rock with more idiosyncratic heavy riffing which would become the trademark sound of Gil Moore’s songwriting contributions . Also debuting is the classic AOR ballad sound that would showcase Emmett’s powerful vocal style on “Bringing It Home” and “New York City Streets - Part 1,” a style that would yield them their biggest hits in the future. As with the debut, TRIUMPH also continued their dabbling into the progressive rock world as heard on the ambitious fusion frenzy of “City: War March / El Duende Agonizante / Minstrel’s Lament” which would hijack a sampling from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” as well as display a superb Spanish classical guitar workout by Emmett. The beginning thunderous march actually brings Rush’s progressive works to mind (think “La Villa Strangiato”) as well as showcasing a percussive rhythm workout that would find a home on Dream Theater’s “Images And Words” album a decade and a half down the road. Worth mentioning is the second part of “New York City” with its jazzy guitar segments and genre shifting restlessness.

Also of extreme importance is the fantastic title track finale which jumps back into the hard rock arena and pumps out the heaviest track on the album with one of the best heavy rock guitar solos the 70s had to offer displaying Emmett as not only a gifted vocalist but a bona fide virtuoso guitarist of the first degree. This track would remain a staple of live performances and remains one of the most memorable tracks of TRIUMPH’s entire career. The only track that is a misstep to my ears is the ill-placed Joe Walsh cover “Rocky Mountain Way.” While i absolutely adore the original and Walsh’s music in general, there is something just so wrong when it’s performed without his distinct vocals at the helm. TRIUMPH does a veritable job but it really seems like a fish out of water on this release. The only other gripe i have is that the beginning heavy guitar riff on “New York City Streets - Part 2” sounds too much like Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein.” Other than these quibbles, TRIUMPH produced one of their best albums of the 70s. ROCK & ROLL MACHINE is an excellent collection of hard rock, power pop and prog related treats and not a bad place to check out what made them stand out. Be sure to track down the album with the original listing as it is the superior format as well as the intended one.

siLLy puPPy Personally i think the band TRIUMPH is a tad underrated in the footnotes of history and part of this reason is that they get tagged as a Rush wannabe band and to be honest the comparisons are quite warranted in many ways. First of all, they were a power trio consisting of a bassist and keyboardist (Mike Levine), drummer (Gil Moore) and while in this case it was guitarist who was the lead singer (Rik Emmett) he actually sounded kind of like a less goofy yelping version of Geddy Lee. Not to mention that they also emerged in the Toronto area of Canada about the same time AND to be fair there is very much on their debut album that really does sound like the first Rush album. Originally album number had an eponymous title but was retagged in 1996 as IN THE BEGINNING with an entirely new album cover. The album was pretty much limited to Canada in those days but is now easily available with a recent remastered version emerging.

While the band would grow musically and become both notable for their catchy hard rock bordering on heavy metal melodies as well as for their AOR radio with Rik Emmett’s high pitched vocals creating a distinct mark on the world of hard rock, on IN THE BEGINNING they sound very much like a 70s hard rock band. The album kicks off with a bluesy hard rocker that sounds a bit like a hard Alice Cooper bluesy shuffle with a party all night Kiss attitude. Yeah, the lyrics on this one weren’t too developed at this point and are a little focused on teenage obsessions such as partying all night! Love! Easy living! And of course rock ’n roll. Many of the tracks sound like they could have fit right in on Rush’s debut release and the influence is undeniable and understandably so given time and place however TRIUMPH-isms do exist like Emmett’s signature guitar solos sounding nothing like Alex Lifeson’s and their riffing while similar is still all their own. “Let Me Get Next To You” however is a little too close to early Rush territory for its own good sounding like “Finding My Way.”

“Don’t Take My Life” sounds a bit like “I’m 18” from Alice Cooper and simultaneously a bit like “All Along The Watchtower” by Hendrix showing a couple more influences in the mix. The most interesting track that deviates from the blues and hard rock queue is the near nine minute closer “Blinding Light Show / Moonchild” which sounds completely different from the other tracks. It begins with a hard rock Celtic type of jig but completely shifts gears and becomes a spacey Pink Floyd sounding acoustic arpeggio run and really sounds like something off of “The Wall” a full three years before that album was released! It has a rock chorus but evolves into a beautiful classical guitar sequence that gets quite accomplished thus the type of track that often gets them in progressive rock related territory.

While not completely finding their own distinct sound quite yet, IN THE BEGINNING is a well performed debut that is a pleasure to listen to. Emmett had some of the best vocals in the world of hard rock and AOR and TRIUMPH sort of was a much more sophisticated version of Journey rather than a mere Rush clone at least after the first couple albums. On this one they do sound a lot like early Rush but that’s not a bad thing for me since i happen to love the early Rush albums before they blossomed into prog behemoths. While TRIUMPH albums have traditionally suffered poor production values and neglected due to the fact that despite finding some success never really hit the big time either but the new remastered releases sound excellent like they were made for modern day consumption. Even if 70s hard rock isn’t your thing, i highly recommend the closing track for prog heads however if you do fancy bluesy heavy rock from that era, TRIUMPH’s first album is quite the pleasant listening experience.