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 14th, 2025. 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.
Today he launches video for the track “Fault Lines”, featuring guest vocals from Rody Walker of Protest The Hero. You can watch the clip below.
Charlie comments: “I was incredibly lucky to have Rody Walker from Protest the Hero as the featured singer on ‘Fault Lines’. In the video, not only do we get to see Rody delivering the lines, but also Darby Todd and Conner Green in their natural habitats, totally owning the rhythm sections department. Lyrically you can take the song literally from the POV of the Earth’s surface fracturing beneath your clawed, scaly feet and burying you alive. Or you can read it as a kind of bitter break up track, and I had some fun with some word play connecting those two themes. Rody sings this one in a really fun way and he hits a couple of notes that’ll hit you right in the feels!”
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 flavors of Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Metallica.
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), and Vladimir Lalić (Organised Chaos) all joining the aforementioned de Jongh.
“Art genius extraordinaire Dan Goldsworthy and I worked very closely on the animated video in which you’ll see the paleo preacher from the Gods of Pangaea artwork in action. We have him visit a few locations thrash and death metal fans will recognize. There’s also the return of an old Tiktaalika friend, albeit in an evolved form!”
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 being there for a good reason, with a guitar riff that propels the song.”
“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!”
