Creeper - Sanguivore (LP) - Purple w/ Black Splatter Vinyl

Released on 27 October 2023, Sanguivore finds Creeper at their most grand, fanged and gloriously over the top. The Southampton goth-rock outfit have always had a flair for theatre, but this record takes that instinct and feeds it a steady diet of Jim Steinman melodrama, crimson romance and midnight movie camp. It is a concept album that introduces Mercy and Spook, doomed lovers whose story plays out across a suite of songs that feel designed for candlelit stages and crowded clubs, the sort of thing you put on before a show at the Forum and keep humming on the tram home.

The first sign that Creeper were swinging for the fences was “Cry to Heaven,” a single that arrives with a leather-jacket strut and a hook big enough to hang a mirrorball. It set the tone. These songs chase a pulp-goth high, but they are built with care. Tom Dalgety, known for working with Ghost and Royal Blood, produces with a glossy punch that suits the band’s taste for epic crescendos and velvet-lined shadows. Will Gould’s vocal is the star, all croon and snarl, but the engine is the band around him. Ian Miles’ guitar lines cut clean through the reverb, Hannah Greenwood’s keys and harmonies add a cold-lipped elegance, and the rhythm section keeps everything thundering forward like a hearse with fresh tyres.

Creeper have talked about their love of Steinman and Meat Loaf in interviews, and you can hear that devotion in the scale of the arrangements. The album opens with “Further Than Forever,” a nine-minute overture that doesn’t waste a second. It is a statement of intent, switching between ballroom swagger and galloping rock, the sort of track that makes you grin at the audacity. Yet the record works because it balances that bombast with sleek, dark pop instincts. “Teenage Sacrifice” goes for gleaming, radio-ready hooks without losing the band’s gothic heartbeat. Even when the lyrics sink their teeth into classic monster-movie imagery, the melodies stay human and warm.

What keeps Sanguivore engaging is how it threads narrative and mood without getting lost in its own lore. Mercy and Spook are present in the lyrics, sure, but you do not need a character map to feel the pull. Love is dangerous. Nights are long. The city takes on a blue-black glow. Creeper have always known how to turn that into anthems. Here, they refine it into something cinematic. When the guitars drop out and the piano rings, you can almost see the spotlight tightening.

Critical reaction backed the ambition. UK rock press praised the album’s scale and songcraft, and live crowds greeted the new material like old favourites. That makes sense. Sanguivore has the bones of a crowd-pleaser. Choruses land on first listen. Bridges soar. The record puts faith in the shared ritual of big, communal singalongs, with just enough sardonic bite to keep it from sliding into parody. It is camp, but it is not cheap. It knows the difference between kitsch and craft.

On vinyl, this stuff really breathes. The low-end has room to bloom, the layered vocals sit in a plush pocket, and the crescendos feel properly enormous. If you are hunting for Creeper vinyl, this is a no-brainer, and Sanguivore vinyl has already become a talking point among fans who care about artwork and shelf presence as much as sound. The cover looks sharp in a 12-inch frame, and the sequencing suits a side-flip pause. If you like to buy Creeper records online, you will find a handful of variants floating around, and it sits nicely beside earlier Creeper albums on vinyl. I have seen it show up in a few Melbourne record store bins too, which is handy if you prefer to dig in person and support vinyl records Australia.

What lingers after a few spins is how confident it all feels. The band could have retreated after previous reinventions and cult expectation, but they doubled down on the thing that makes them special, that intersection of sincerity and spectacle. Sanguivore is full of blood, yes, but it is really about life, about the thrill of going too big and landing it. If you already loved Creeper, it feels like a victory lap. If you are new to the coven, it is the perfect entry point. Turn it up, light a candle, and let it bite.