By Meltdown
I had the chance to sit down with Triumph’s own Gil Moore and talk about the Magic Power: All-Star Tribute to Triumph album, and let me tell you—this thing is stacked with talent.
The record drops June 6th, and it’s a who’s who of rock royalty. We’re talkin’ Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, Slash, Nita Strauss, Phil X, Joey Belladonna, and that’s just scratching the surface.
“We’re not ready for this. This is so amazing,” Gil told me. “It really makes us—hard to put into words—just a feeling of gratefulness. Mike [Clink], especially, but all the musicians, all the singers… we just feel grateful.”
This project has been in the works since before COVID, but really took off during the pandemic. “Mike Clink has to get full credit,” Gil said. “He orchestrated everything, picked the musicians… his first call was to Phil X.”
Clink—known for his work with Guns N’ Roses and Metallica—kept everything running, even with studios shutting down left and right. “It was like a revolving door of problems,” Gil explained. “A guitarist gets COVID, a session gets canceled… but Mike said, ‘I’m getting this record done no matter how much it takes.’”
And the result? An album where legends pay tribute, some staying faithful to Triumph’s originals and others putting their own spin on things.
“Nancy Wilson absolutely killed ‘Fight the Good Fight’ in only the way she could,” Gil said. “And Alex Lifeson with Envy of None? They made ‘Blinding Light Show’ their own.”
Drummers? You want drummers? Kenny Aronoff, Brian Tichy, Josh Freese, Dean Castronovo, Tommy Aldridge… “There’s no weak link in the chain,” Gil said.
Even Gil got emotional hearing what these artists did with his band’s material: “You hear Dean’s take on ‘Never Surrender,’ and it brings you right back to when we were working that song out in a warehouse.”
If you’re a Triumph fan—or even just a fan of epic rock musicianship—this tribute record is for you. As Gil put it, “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience… and a really nice one.”
Stay tuned for part two—Gil also gave me the scoop on Triumph’s upcoming mixed reality tour. Trust me, it’s wild.
