It has the trio blending the major influences found on their previous albums: the earthy rock of Splendor Solis, the world music inspired arrangements of The Edges of Twilight, and the industrial edge of Transmission.

After the gloom of Transmission, which relied heavily on sampling and electronica, for Triptych the band wrote with both melody and content, while using electronica subtlety.

In June 2000, the EMI labels in Europe released Triptych Special Tour Edition 2000, which included a bonus disc of eight unreleased songs.

In 2005, Triptych was ranked number 435 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

[3] The unlisted 13th track is the sound of a clock chiming.