Rik Emmett Says Reunion Tour Is Like ‘Triumph on ‘Roids’

Triumph’s long-awaited reunion tour has been going strong for nearly two months now, and frontman Rik Emmett couldn’t be happier with the response.

During a recent interview on the Tuning In With Thom Jennings podcast, Emmett reflected on the overwhelmingly positive reaction the reunion tour has gotten from fans.

“In some cases it’s a little overwhelming, and in other cases it’s just a beautiful celebration of joyful noise with these new guys,” he explained. “And the harmonies and the songs and the hard work that we all put in, and now we get this payoff of having these audiences… And every night it gets better. That’s the thing, too. It just keeps kind of resonating and growing.”

Emmett noted that a lot of hard work has gone into making the reunion shows great.

“You can imagine when you’re inside a band and you’re playing these songs that have such a long history, you’re still looking for a way to kind of have them come alive and this building of a rock ‘n’ roll machine reloaded,” he admitted. “You’re always tightening up the screws and adjusting the fan belt or whatever. It’s very rewarding, that process.”

New Additions Help Give Triumph More Power

In addition to original members Emmett, Gil Moore and Mike Levine (who is currently absent due to ongoing health issues), Triumph’s lineup is augmented by guitarist Phil X, drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns. Emmett offered high praise for the band’s newcomers, who have added new energy to Triumph’s set.

“It’s not what Triumph was,” the frontman pointed out. “It’s Triumph, but it’s kind of this ‘über Triumph’, like this kind of Triumph on ‘roids. So the reload actually seemed to give it a lot more cylinders in the engine.”

Triumph’s reunion tour is scheduled to conclude in June 10 in Quebec, a rescheduled performance which was postponed earlier in the trek.