Great Metal Albums of 1979: Triumph: Just A Game

First of all, I just want to say that whoever the sad individual(s) who said that Canada was a land of shitty music is a complete moron. They probably were Duranies back in the 80s and at this time were of the mind that disco would never die. Their only idea of Canadian artists was Bryan Adams. Canada has given us many great rock and metal artists over the years starting from Rush and going across the board to thrash legends Voi Vod. Of all the great acts from the Great White North (yes, I was a McKenzie Brothers fan too) one that should always be mentioned with them is the great band Triumph. 

Like a lot of acts, Triumph were well into the spotlight and already had some great albums out by the time they came to my attention. When I heard that stuff, I got it into my mind that they were heavy metal although we could debate that for hours. I listened to this 1979 offering by them retrospectively and I wouldn’t call it a metal album. Saying that, in that year, heavy metal was still finding its feet and many of the acts that we would come to know and love as metal were still experimenting with their sound. 

If I were to put this album into a category and I hate doing that, I would call it bluesy hard rock. Tracks like my favourite “Young Enough to Cry” and the title track as well as “Moving On” back up my thinking on that one. This doesn’t bar the listener from hearing the Triumph sound that would later stamp them. What I did notice was when I heard the track, “American Girls,” I thought for a second or two that I was listening to Boston and that’s not a bad thing. So, I did my usual practice of not trying to label the album and sat back and really enjoyed the sound of “Just a Game.”

Track Listing:

1. Moving On

2. Young Enough to Cry

3. American Girls

4. Laying It On the Line

5. Suitcase Blues

6. Just a Game

7. Fantasy Serenade

8. Hold On

Triumph

Rik Emmett: guitars, vocals

Gil Moore- drums, vocals

Mike Levine- bass, keyboards

Forget catagorising and just sit back enjoy “Just a Game” from Triumph. You will see where they started to develop into the major force that they would later become and you’ll never have any doubts about the quality of Canadian music. 

Next post: KISS- Dynasty

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