Gods of Pangaea (Deluxe Edition) Charlie Griffiths

• 1 Tyrannicide 03:54
• 2 Gods of Pangaea 08:36
• 3 The Forbidden Zone 05:52
• 4 Mesozoic Mantras 06:32
• 5 Fault Lines 06:30
• 6 Give up the Ghost 05:15
• 7 Lost Continent 09:12
• 8 Chicxulub (Bonus Track) 07:41
• 9 Tyrannicide (Instrumental) 03:54
• 10 Gods of Pangaea (Instrumental) 08:36
• 11 The Forbidden Zone (Instrumental) 05:52
• 12 Mesozoic Mantras (Instrumental) 06:32
• 13 Fault Lines (Instrumental) 06:30
• 14 Give up the Ghost (Instrumental) 05:15
• 15 Lost Continent (Instrumental) 09:12
• Total Runtime 01:39:23

Info for Gods of Pangaea (Deluxe Edition)

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’. 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 & Metallica.

Charlie is joined once again by drummer extraordinaire Darby Todd (Devin Townsend), and this time the bass frequencies are covered by Haken bandmate Conner Green. On vocals, Charlie is helped by a collection of some of the best in the business, with Tommy Rogers (Between The Buried & Me), Daniël de Jongh (Textures) and Vladimir Lalić (Organised Chaos) all making returning appearances, as well as Rody Walker (Protest The Hero) adding his vocals to one track.

Charlie Griffiths, guitars, bass
Darby Todd, drums
Conner Green, bass
Additional musicians:
Tommy Rogers, vocals
Daniël de Jongh, vocals
Vladimir Lalić, vocals
Rody Walker, vocals

Charlie Griffiths
guitarist for British Progressive Metal band Haken, proudly presents his debut solo album 'Tiktaalika'. With musical roots still firmly in the progressive realm, Charlie draws from his love of old-school 80s thrash, 90s tech-metal and alternative rock. Running the gamut from melodic to avant-garde to straight-up heavy, you might say Tiktaalika bridges the gap between King Crimson and King Diamond! This concept album was 375 million years in the making, with the 9 tracks drawing inspiration from themes of geological time, fossilisation, transformation and humanity's connections with each other and the planet we inhabit. The Griffiths-penned lyrics are given voice by some of the best vocalists in the business: Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried And Me), Danïel De Jongh (Textures), Vladimir Laliu0107 (Organised Chaos) and Neil Purdy (Luna's Call). As well as handling guitar duties, Charlie also takes care of bass, keyboards and on one track, makes his debut lead vocal performance. Of the creative process Charlie explains, "I picked up the 6 string guitar again, which ironically has become the more unusual option for me, after 10 or so years writing with an 8-string guitar for Haken. It definitely sent me into a different creative headspace, with riff after riff seemingly falling out of the guitar. I naturally began forming those riffs into song structures, while simultaneously writing vocal melodies and building the lyrical concept. It was a great form of escapism from my usual environment and I had a lot of fun doing it". The album also features a host of guest musicians: Drummer Darby Todd (Martin Barre, Frost, Devin Townsend), Keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Saxophonist Rob Townsend (Steve Hackett). "All of the guest musicians took the songs to another level" Charlie explains, "I had everything written and demoed, so the guys could quickly learn the parts, but I gave free rein for them to bring their personality to the party. Darby's drumming style, is so beautifully improvised and more jazz-fusion influenced, when paired with my riffs, it resulted in something unexpected. It blows my mind that the synth solo Jordan played was the very first take! Capturing that spirit of spontaneity within a structured piece is always very special". The album was mixed by Adam 'Nolly' Getgood and mastered by Ermin Hamidovic. The artwork was created by Dan Goldsworthy.

This album contains no booklet.