Rik Emmett: “I left Triumph Cause I Couldn’t Do Things I Wanted To Do In The Band Situation”

The Metal Voice‘s Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon spoke via Zoom Triumph longtime guitarist and solo artist Rik Emmett. Emmett spoke about the re-release of 11 of his solo albums, why he left Triumph and the upcoming Triumph Documentary.

July 10, 2020, Round Hill Records reissued 11 solo Rik recordings in the digital format, including Ten Invitations (1998), Swing Shift (1998), Raw Quartet (1999), Live at Berklee (2000), Handiwork (2003), Good Faith (2003), Strung-Out Troubadours (2006), Live at Hugh’s Room (2007), Liberty Manifesto (2007), Push & Pull (2009), and Marco’s Secret Songbook (2012):

When asked if Triumph was considered a Heavy Metal Band
“The Truth of Triumph is I think the other guys more so Gil Moore the drummer would have preferred to have been a Metal band and (bassist) Mike Levine was kind of happy to go along with that journey. When they first initially envisioned the band (Triumph) before I was even in it, I think they sort of saw it as a Jimi Hendrix, Cream kind of thing. However I did have more progressive bones in my body. Plus I would also write a tune and hope that it would cross over to AM radio and Heavy Metal never did that.”

When asked about leaving Triumph
“The reason why I left the band (Triumph) was because I couldn’t do things I wanted to do in the Triumph situation. There was also pressure from managers, agents and even the record company at the time saying, you don’t want to get too far away from the hard rock sound. I think it’s true the band reflected the personalities and the characters of the three of us and it’s kind of like sometimes the things that make a band good and unique are also the kind of things that creates tension and stress inside the band. That eventually maybe are the things that are going to break the band up. John Lennon and Paul MCcartney would be the supreme example. “

When asked about the direction of his solo albums
“I was never concerned about trying to retail records in a record company situation. I was a musician, I would write, record, I would put out these records and if I made my money back I would go oh great. On those records I was all over the map. I was doing stuff like jazz, classical guitar, blues etc… I was fulfilling all of the things that have been frustrated dreams when I was in Triumph, now I was going to do whatever I wanted to do. After decades along comes Round Hill Records and they started with putting out the Triumph albums on Vinyl
and now my solo albums. “

When asked about the upcoming Triumph Documentary
“Banger are pros and they are digging around your life and they are going in deep. There is a surreal nature to it, you are going back in your life and they (Banger) remind you of things you completely forgotten and sometimes it hurts. I have seen a rough cut, it’s really good it really gets to the heart of the band, the music, the connections to people and how we were a soundtrack to the fans lives and how it matters to them.”

For decades, Rik Emmett (largely considered one of the greatest rock guitarists of all-time) has been a prolific recording artist – whether it be as a member of Triumph, offering solo material, or collaborating with others. And now, fans will be able to enjoy quite a few of his solo releases once again – which covers a wide variety of styles.