Haken guitarist, Charlie Griffiths, returns with a follow-up to his 2022 solo album. This time Charlie assumes the moniker Tiktaalika and presents Gods Of Pangaea, set for release on March 14t. The album picks up where the last left off, and continues with an exploration into an ancient forgotten world, colliding with the human-centric planet we inhabit today.
To coincide with the announcement, the title track from the album has been launched, featuring vocals from Texture’s Daniël de Jongh. The video sees Charlie colouring in the striking cover art, once again created by Dan Goldsworthy (Sepultura, Body Count, Aborted). Watch below.
Musically the album pays tribute to the art of the guitar riff, with its DNA strands reaching back to the golden era of metal with flavours of Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Metallica. Of the creative process Charlie explains, “This time around I wanted to be more song oriented, rather than having an overarching concept. Although I had a rough blueprint for the shape of the album in my head and was always conscious of the balance and flow of the album experience; starting with a fast thrasher, following up with a longer progressive track, then a slower sludgy song, followed by a softer track and so on. I finished all the music first and really focused on each section be there for a good reason, with a guitar riff that propels the song.”
The album sees Charlie joined by drummer Darby Todd (Devin Townsend) and basis Conner Green (Haken). He is also helped by a collection of some of the best vocalists in the business, with Tommy Rogers (Between The Buried & Me), Rody Walker (Protest The Hero), Vladimir Lalić (Organised Chaos) all joining the aforementioned de Jongh.
“I had all the music written for a good while”, comments Charlie, “I was able to allow them to really percolate in my mind before moving on to the lyrics and vocal line demos. I’m very specific with melodies and word placement so the singers can focus on just delivering it 100% without having to figure too much out. Of course every single track came out a thousand times better than I’d hoped; everyone did an incredible job!”
The album was mixed by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street studios.
The album will be available as a Limited CD Edition (incl. 1 bonus track), Gatefold LP & as Digital Album. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
“Tyrannicide” feat. Daniël de Jongh
“Gods Of Pangaea” feat. Daniël de Jongh
“The Forbidden Zone” feat. Vladimir Lalić
“Mesozoic Mantras” feat. Vladimir Lalić
“Fault Lines” feat. Rody Walker
“Give Up The Ghost” feat. Daniël de Jongh
“Lost Continent” feat. Tommy Rogers
“Chicxulub” (Bonus Track on CD & Digital)
“Gods Of Pangaea” video:
(Photo – Jake Ten)