Tiktaalika – Gods of Pangaea
Release Date: 14th February 2024
Label: InsideOut Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash Metal
FFO: Metallica, Megadeth, Evile, Fates Warning, Haken, Testament, Exodus.
Review By: Eric Wilt
On Charlie Griffiths’ solo debut, Tiktaalika, he kept to the progressive metal genre in which he has made his name with Haken. While he brought a number of various influences into the creation of his debut, at the end of the day, it was undoubtedly a prog metal record. On Griffith’s sophomore album, Gods of Pangaea, which he has released under the Tiktaalika moniker, he focuses on thrash metal. As he did with his debut, Griffiths has enlisted the help of a handful of his contemporaries, including Darby Todd, Conner Green, Tommy Rogers, Danïel De Jongh, Rody Walker, and Vladimir Lalić, to help him bring his vision to fruition. The results are seven tracks of thrashy metal that is flawlessly executed and always exciting.
Those who listened to Griffiths’ first album, Tiktaalika, probably noticed that Prehistoric Prelude is pure unadulterated thrash metal from its The Thing that Should Not Be meets Fade to Black intro to its balls-to-the-wall second half note-fest. It was obvious then that Griffiths was a fan of thrash metal, but it wasn’t until I listened to Gods of Pangaea that I realized just how big a thrash fan he really is. The album opens with Tyrannicide, a Testament-style number that lets the listener know that this might not be a run-of-the-mill prog metal album. By the time you get to the end of track two, the title track, it’s obvious that this is not Tiktaalika part two, which may be why Griffiths decided not to use his name as the artist. Gods of Pangaea, the song, and The Forbidden Zone are more mid-paced in tempo, but the riffs and vocals are quite thrashy with The Forbidden Zone even having some death metal growls. Mesozoic Mantras begins in a Fates Warning style. While this track is the closest to a prog metal song on the album, it is never overtly proggy and has its fair share of thrash metal riffing. Lost Continent appears to be Exodus influenced with a vocal delivery that is very similar to Rob Dukes. Finally, Chicxulub is an album-ending instrumental that blends some clean sections with the mid-paced thrash that Griffiths played so much on the album. This song includes a lead that, while not a shredfest, is as tasty as anything he has ever played.
While Gods of Pangaea is obviously influenced by thrash metal, it never sounds derivative. Even when a song makes you think of a certain band, it’s less like Griffiths is trying to rip them off and more like you and Griffiths are in a club and you are enjoying references that not everyone will get. Gods of Pangaea is filled with phenomenal thrash metal compositions played at the highest level by one the best guitarists in the game. Whether you’re a fan of his previous solo album, his work in Haken, or thrash metal in general, this is an album that is not to be missed!
(4 / 5)
