Album Review: Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill (Pale Wizard Records)

Psychedelic, groove rock from the dark realms of Somerset, it’s Sergeant Thunderhoof and on November 15th, 2024, they will release their fifth studio album ‘The Ghost of Badon Hill’ via Pale Wizard Records. An album that finds the band delving deeply into local history, mythology and folklore to deliver a true conceptual piece, set in the 4th Century AD and positively charged with raw emotion and Arthurian mysticism.

A history lesson that colours reality through a shifting and shimmering make up of mythology and fantasy. Sergeant Thunderhoof’s The Ghost of Badon Hill is, at its simplest, a story about simple people leading simple lives in times long-past. The band delving into the history around the city of Bath and the area that was known as Badon Hill.

A conceptual idea that could have resulted into something far more intangible and far more elaborate than what we get. In a rare showing for this band, The Ghost of Badon Hill is a tight and focused effort that avoids detours on its story-telling path. Which certainly works in favour of the concept but doesn’t take away from the recognisable Sergeant Thunderhoof enigmatic style that makes their sound so unique.

A unique sound that creates a burgeoning sense of emotional atmosphere with opening track, Badon. Where the softness of the guitar melody and strength of the drifting vocals that dominate the first few minutes is wonderful. Yet, the power grows effectively in the background leading to a punchier and heavier burst that transforms the track into a different, but equally as effective beast.

With that track, and everything that follows, it’s clear that Sergeant Thunderhoof’s approach here is grand and that they’re poured a lot of heart and soul into this. Finding even more creative ways to tell their story. First, via a heavy, robust, and melodically charged epic like Blood Moon which has its own share of infectious moments. Then with The Orb of Octavia, a dazzling display of how deep their progressive depths go, while having a heady and thick flavour of history to it.

These two tracks, perhaps more than any other and especially because they come one after the other, are the best example of this album’s incredible profundity. Not only intensely listenable, but having a sense of importance about it too. Like what is being displayed here must be heard and no matter how many times you need to hear it to unpack all the detail, you must. Yet, there’s no question that the myriad of feeling that Sergeant Thunderhoof create will result in anything but a constant hungry desire to hear them, and the rest of the album, over and over again.

It’s an album that is worth every second of your time, and that time investment continues to be paid off with aplomb as Salvation for the Soul brings forth a peppier tempo and some serious rock groove. Before Sentinel changes the tone with a stronger showcase of melancholic moodiness, once again proving that they are second to none when it comes to making the listener feel something. However, it’s when this track ‘rocks’ up that it truly stands out.

It’s not just the music that captivates though, and enough good things can’t be said about how Sergeant Thunderhoof tell the story of this album. Delivering clarity through incredible lyrics and vocals, while the instrumental side of the band helps make the entire thing so much more palpable. It’s why, come the final track that is Beyond the Hill, a near-eleven-minute runtime isn’t off-putting, it’s exciting.

Consistently brilliant, Sergeant Thunderhoof have, once again, delivered something truly special with The Ghost of Badon Hill.

Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill Track Listing:

1. Badon
2. Blood Moon
3. The Orb of Octavia
4. Salvation For the Soul
5. Sentinel
6. Beyond the Hill

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