Hello Metalheads! This is John back with another album review. This time Tiktaalika released the album Gods of Pangea on March 14th, 2025. Tiktaalika is the solo project of Charlie Griffiths!
Charlie Griffiths is one of the two guitarists in the band Haken, who in my mind blend the lines between the of progressive rock and metal. This is his second solo album and I love it. I really liked his first album(Tiktaalika), but this second one is a huge step up. Hearing the heavily influenced metal side of Haken in full force is so cool. He clearly has heavy metal and thrash metal coursing through his veins. While Richard Henshall shows off the jazz and more abstract aspects of Haken, this is straight up metal!
While this may be a solo project, Charlie had a whole cast of people lending their talents to make this album great. Every song had a guest vocalist which makes every song sound even more unique. Tommy Rogers(Between the Buried and Me), Daniël de Jongh(Textures), Vladimir Lalić(Organized Chaos) and Neil Purdy(Luna’s Call) were all on this album and the previous. Rody Walker from Protest the Hero joins for one song on this album as well. Darby Todd(Devin Townsend) is playing the drums and Connor Green a bandmate from Haken is his bassist.
There are no weak tracks at all on this album, but I would like to discuss my two favorite offerings. My favorite track on the album is Lost Continent hands down. Not only is it because I am a huge Between the Buried and Me nerd, and it features Tommy from Btbam, but it’s a great progressive look at thrash, heavy metal and some damn near death metal moments. This is by far the heaviest track which should come to no surprise with the work that Tommy has done with btbam but also Charlie’s last record. The intro riff to this song is this slogging, slow and plodding melodic passage that starts as a great starter. As soon as the main riff and Tommy join in with his growls it’s all over though. The full on assault on our ears is underway fast! The riff is a chugging fast and downright heavy bop. Shortly after there is a chorus of sorts that paints the picture that Pangaea is coming apart.
The other track of note for me is Fault Lines. I’m not a huge listener of Protest the Hero, but Rody has such a distinct voice and he always sounds great! The whole song is a trash inspired sprint to the end. The chorus that is in this song is a great headbang as fast as possible and lose all control while having a smile on your face passage every time it comes up. Right after the chorus, there is a sudden shift to an almost ballad, then right back to the main riff of the song. The sudden shifts are over the place in this track it creates such a cool contrast.
The heavy metal and thrash worship on this album is absolutely out of control in the best way possible! The way Charlie managed to take all of these influences and just spin them ever so slightly in a progressive way is so refreshing to hear. In my thoughts this album is an easy 9/10 and will be in my rotation for quite a while. I love hearing music of Haken and their side projects including this fantastic one. As always don’t forget to listen to this album and even buy it if you love it like I do. Links to all of the streaming and social media sites will be listed below!
https://www.facebook.com/share/15vxYVJ3Nj/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.instagram.com/charliegriffithsguitar/?hl=en
https://music.apple.com/us/album/gods-of-pangaea/1785044973
https://open.spotify.com/album/3LyyS4wgbw9h8bEQrhVNdg
https://insideoutmusic.bandcamp.com/album/gods-of-pangaea-24-bit-hd-audio
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