Despite the songs generally being on the relatively lengthy side, the fact that there are only seven of them keeps the album feeling relatively svelte. Gods of Pangaea is not an overblown release, then, and the songs generally feel pretty lean and heavy despite their progressive arrangements. The vocal diversity does not harm the album much, either. Sometimes I struggle a bit with a multi-singer approach as the final product can sometimes feel a bit messy - but this album does not really suffer from such. de Jongh handles the vocals on the first two songs, then, and the album kicks off nicely with Tyrannicide - a heavy track which sets the tone for what is to come. Opening with a buzzing guitar riff, which Todd soon underpins with some busy drumming, Tyrannicide is generally a pretty mid-paced thrasher with riffing that could have easily sat on a mid-period Megadeth release. Despite this essentially being the solo album of a guitarist, the songwriting here is tight. These songs are not just a vehicle for soloing - and there has been plenty of thought given over the vocal melodies and the lyrics throughout. I am not hugely familiar with de Jongh as a vocalist, but his gritty clean vocal delivery and occasional harsher screams suit the riffing nicely - with the initial verses again channelling some Megadeth vibes before a barked chorus feels heavier and slightly more anthemic. There is plenty of big guitar to be heard here, though, and the aforementioned chorus is packed with melodic leads - whilst some of the instrumental breakdowns are a little longer to allow the riffing to flesh itself out somewhat. Despite the song being mid-paced, it is packed full of energy. It keeps moving nicely, with lots of double bass flurries from Todd, whilst the more aggressive vocal sections add plenty of punch to what is already a pretty weighty track. At around four minutes in length, too, it is the shortest track here - but it segues nicely into the lengthy title track which follows, so the initial de Jongh duo sit nicely side by side. The title track essentially feels like an extension of the ideas of the previous song, although everything is expanded upon somewhat. As such, the song is another pretty mid-paced track - and, again, there are strong Megadeth vibes throughout. The slightly grungy chorus sees de Jongh singing in a cleaner manner, and there is less of his barked delivery in general here, whilst hooky and soaring guitar leads often permeate the riffing to showcase Griffiths' melodic approach. The riffing is less furious here, instead feeling more progressive overall - and the track just feels more groove-based thanks to a more deliberate pace throughout and some moments which allow Green's bass playing to shine through. There are some more slightly atmospheric moments here, too, with clean guitar melodies and gentle vocals providing some respite from the harder riffing found elsewhere - and these sections also allow Todd to showcase a more percussive drumming approach. These more mellow sections are not very Haken-esque, though, and they just slow things down to allow the next big riff or solo to hit hard - which is certainly the case here when Griffiths' mammoth shredded solo takes over from the relatively lengthy period of downtime. The second half of the song is dominated by extended guitar workouts, too, although de Jongh does interject with hooky vocal punchlines on occasion - breaking up the technical, yet melodic, guitar playing.
The next two songs are handled by Lalić vocally, and The Forbidden Zone opens with a spooky and dark-sounding clean guitar melody - which soon expands into a slow-burning, yet groovy, main riff that ups the heaviness of the previous track quite considerably. Whilst the track is not fast-paced, it is easily the heaviest thing heard on the album up to this point - and this is largely down to Lalić's vocal style. Utilising harsh vocals much more liberally than de Jongh, Lalić growls his way through the initial verse here - adding some genuine death metal vibes to the song's early moments. His growls are creeping and doomy, which nicely suit the pulsing and groovy riffing of the track as a whole - but he also showcases quite a bit of vocal diversity later in the track by sounding a little like Nick Holmes during a grittier section and then by delivering some strange clean vocals during a more melodic section. He is a better harsh vocalist than a clean singer, but his thin clean vocals still work quite well when deployed - as they work against a pretty busy guitar melody behind them to create an interesting overall sound. There is little in the way of soloing here, with the guitar diversity instead feeding the overall riffing and approach to lead playing throughout - which, given Lalić's vocal diversity, helps to create a strange and diverse song which moves from death metal to something more progressive. Mesozoic Mantras also opens with clean guitar melodies, but these are much brighter - with the doom of the previous song immediately banished to allow for a more layered and atmospheric sound. Lalić sings again, but this time he opens with his clean delivery. He showcases much more of a diverse clean delivery here, moving away from the thin sound deployed earlier to this time actually sound like a strange mix of Haken's Ross Jennings and the late Warrel Dane - which is not something I was expecting. His tone and vibrato just sounds quite Dane-esque at times - and it works well over this expansive clean guitar soundscape early on. He continues to sing clean even when a heavier riff kicks in - although the song generally retains a much more melodic approach throughout. The riffing is less pronounced this time, with the song overall much more vocal-focused. The vocal melodies and the guitars tend to work in tandem quite a bit here, in that early Black Sabbath mode, but there are times when Lalić cuts loose and diverts from the pattern to allow the vocal melodies to pop. This is clearly a more hook-focused track in that sense, then, but there is still plenty of groove generated from the guitars and the bass - alongside some excellent guitar leads from Griffiths which sit behind the vocals. Fault Lines follows, the sole track to feature Walker, returning to a much more thrash-centric approach - and the song ups the pace, too, easily being the fastest thing on the album up to this point. The track is a real tour-de-force of thrash influences, with staccato riffing and vocal patterns which recall Anthrax at their most fun - whilst some of the NWOBHM influence on the thrash scene can be heard during some more Testament-adjacent moments that up the heaviness. Griffiths' progressive background is on display throughout, though, with some cleaner moments which feature discordant clean guitars and popping bass lines shaking things up - whilst the chorus feels more typical prog metal with Walker's more emotive vocal delivery and plenty of subtle guitar textures instead of the pummelling riffing elsewhere. The song is easily the fastest piece up to this point, but that does not mean that there is not variety - and Walker's strange vocal diversity and some slightly more atmospheric parts allow for such, before a busy and high-octane guitar solo brings the song crashing back down.
Penultimate number Give Up the Ghost sees de Jongh return for one last song, and it is another pretty high-octane thrashy track which builds on the pace and energy of the previous number. It is perhaps less progressive and intricate than the previous song, though, with more of a straight ahead old-school Metallica feel - albeit with the use of harsh vocals at times. de Jongh generally focuses on clean vocals throughout but, like during the opening cut, he goes for a more anthemic barked vocal style at times - which helps to create a strong gang vocal-esque feel at times. This is very in-keeping with the album's more traditional thrash approach, as those sort of choruses were commonplace, but the more aggressive vocal style helps to ground the song in the modern day. The harsh vocal-led chorus is pretty hooky, though, and it is expanded by some groovy guitar playing from Griffiths - which expands into a clean vocal-led section which follows to lengthen the chorus and add some more hooks. The vocal melodies here are pretty infectious, which helps the relatively shorter song to stick, whilst there is a short guitar solo here which is also full of big melodies. Most of the songs here are hooky in one way or another - but this one is perhaps hookier than most. The album then comes to a close with the nine minute-plus Lost Continent - the only song here to feature Rogers. Opening with some big bass notes from Green, the track is the most expansive and progressive on the album - but the classic thrash influences are still very much present. Rogers is known for being a very diverse vocalist - and his early screams suit the fast-paced riff which sit behind them. Todd also lets rip a bit more here, really going all-out to lay down some aggressive and technical drum grooves - with Between the Buried and Me's chaotic and technical sound fused here with Griffiths' thrash influences. The song moves back and forth between these abrasive sounds and moments which are more melodic and smooth, too, with mid-paced sections featuring a mix of screams and clean vocals hitting later - alongside some strange, more robotic, sections which feature snappy riffing and metalcore-esque grooves. There is certainly more prog to be enjoyed here in terms of the song's arrangement, then, and given its length it is unsurprising that there is a lot more lead guitar featured. Lots of little solos pop in and out as the song progresses - and the fast-paced guitar melody which sits beneath Rogers' clean delivery during the main chorus is very memorable. Rogers' vocal diversity and prowess helps the song to feel varied, too, and he forms a great team with Griffiths here to bring the lengthy song to life. Despite the main chorus section, very little here repeats itself. There are always new ideas and riffs being introduced - as well as plenty of time set aside for soloing. Not every song here goes for soloing in a big way, but this one allows everyone to cut loose a bit more. The last big solo here is the album's best - and it is fitting that this lengthy track nicely pulls the album to a close. Overall, then, I have really been enjoying Gods of Pangaea. It showcases a different side of Griffiths' playing from even his first solo effort - and it really showcases what he can do in a more metallic setting outside of Haken. Haken's success will no doubt take up much of his time - but I am sure that we will hear more from him a solo artist in due course, and the Tiktaalika project certainly has legs. The mix of old-school thrash and prog works really well, and I hope that Griffiths decides to write more songs in this style going forward.
The album was released on 14th March 2025 via InsideOut Music. Below is the band's promotional video for Gods of Pangaea.
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