Triumph Essentials

Rush wasn't the only long-haired hard-rock trio with a high-pitched singer to break out of Toronto in the '70s. But Triumph were able to distinguish themselves from their more popular peers by dialing down the prog and cranking up the power. As their 1977 breakthrough album not-too-subtly advertised, the early Triumph were indeed a Rock & Roll Machine, modelled after the asphalt-ripping likes of Deep Purple and Aerosmith. But by 1979's Just a Game and 1981's Allied Forces, Triumph had come into their own, with lighter-sparking FM-radio staples like “Hold On,” “Magic Power,” and “Lay It On the Line” foregrounding Rik Emmett's gracefully melodic voice and electric 12-string shimmer.