Charlie Griffiths
Tiktaalika

After Ross Jennings, guitarist Charlie Griffiths also takes advantage of Haken's break (they have already announced their return scheduled for March) to release a solo album. And it's one of the surprises of the year because you don't exactly expect a solo work to be such a unique and inspired album.

We can say that Griffiths represents the more metal side of Haken; usually, it's his parts that are the heaviest in the group. He is the roaring and rhythmic engine, while Richard Henshall is more of a composer in a 360-degree sense, effectively being the mind of the group. Henshall's solo work released in 2019 indeed presented more stylistic variety. In contrast, Griffiths' solo debut is decidedly heavy in the true sense of the word, seemingly confirming what would ultimately be mere suppositions.

To appreciate “Tiktaalika,” one needs an ear somewhat predisposed to a certain extreme and technical prog-metal. Otherwise, it might seem harsh or even annoying or boring. But the true prog-metaller should understand that there is also an extreme side of the genre and appreciate it for what it is.

Daringly, I say that the foundations are even thrash metal, and I don't think it's wrong to talk about technical thrash. The guitar sometimes hits like a jackhammer, without mercy, with an almost industrial strength; sometimes, it really feels like being in a mechanical workshop. Then there's the bass, personally, I've never heard a bass so sharp. Let's say if the guitar is the hammer, the bass is a rotating blade. However, I wouldn't compare it to a certain tech metal of the late '80s, or rather, I would; it might appeal to that fringe but it doesn't have the vintage sound of Watchtower or the very first Sieges Even, rather it has something of Meshuggah or even Fear Factory. The tracks maintain a lethal punch for more or less their entire duration and are a veritable sonic tornado that literally sucks in the listener, not even making the possible length feel burdensome.

The virtuosic aspect, however, makes the difference; without it, it would only be a thrash metal record stretched out. However, it is not a showy and exhibitionist virtuosity, nothing that leads back to Dream Theater, to say. Mastery and speed are handled on the fretboard, but everything merges into the pounding sound fabric. It's as if that virtuosity disrupts the rhythm just enough, a pleasant and slight series of seismic shocks that make the music uneven and adventurous.

There are also keyboard parts, but their slight presence seems quite superfluous, almost a forced element, an impurity that wasn't truly necessary; however, the solo by Dream Theater's virtuoso Jordan Rudess in "In Alluvium" is not at all disdainful.

However, beware of thinking that there aren't elements slightly different from the usual technical metal. Acoustic parts pop up here and there, never too pronounced but effective. It's possible to find some jazz/fusion inserts like the striking one in “Luminous Beings,” and the use of the saxophone in “Dead in the Water” captures attention as well; then there's the non-metal track, “Digging Deeper,” based on sharp arpeggios and massive electronic percussion, very much echoing certain sounds of the '80s and subsequent King Crimson.

Surely one of the surprise albums of 2022, not a dispensable solo album but a fresh and resounding example of extreme prog-metal. Highly recommended.