How “Sanguivore” is the embodiment of Creeper’s essence
By Agnetha Van Miegham
Literally meaning an animal that consumes blood, Sanguivore is the successor to Creeper’s 2020 album Sex, Death & The Infinite Void. The era for this new record started out very fittingly; during the band’s last gig for their previous era, a “vampire” grabbed Creeper frontman Will Gould and bit his neck. This album marks the ultimate rebirth of Creeper.
This album was always meant to be a concept album, according to Gould in conversation with Rock Sound. Released on Friday, October 13, Sanguivore is a vampiric, darker concept album inspired by Dracula, The European Vampire. It’s also why the revelation of their original album title European Vampires: A True Story was not much of a surprise to me.
The biggest surprise during my listens to this record was the opening track, “Further Than Forever,” being a whopping 9 minutes long. If that wasn’t enough of a surprise, Creeper continued to surprise me with a bang to start its vampiric storyline. With the peaceful instrumentals, piano and chimes, I hadn’t expected it to suddenly interrupt with the very explosive guitar and drums.
Aside from that, “Further Than Forever” is the first piece of evidence that this is nothing like Creeper has done before. I must praise keyboardist Hannah Greenwood especially for a moment. Greenwood’s backing vocals in this track (and in this record in general) are astonishing, her voice blends incredibly well with Gould’s leading vocals.
“Black Heaven” and “Teenage Sacrifice” feel like they came straight out of a soundtrack for a horror or a slasher movie. The instrumentals of “Black Heaven” are dominated by the very 80s synths, while the previously released “Teenage Sacrifice” has that rock and punky sound. The suspense in the first verse and chorus in “Black Heaven” makes the song sound mysterious to me and it left me curious and wanting more.
“More Than Death” is a peaceful closing track. A track where the piano shines, along with a stunning showcasing of Gould’s vocals. The song’s songwriting scratches an itch in my brain with lyrics such as “I know that our love is cursed and I can't find a cure / But I will love you more than death.” The end of the story is about to be reached, which one can sense by the defeating melodies Gould belts out. The strings in the latter half of the song are a beautiful addition and the song itself is a beautiful ending to a beautiful album.
Over the years I’ve grown very attached to the Sex, Death & The Infinite Void, I’d loved it instantly at the release in 2020. Admittedly, I had slowly become unsure if they were ever going to top that record. Somehow, Creeper has mysteriously managed to do it again: Sanguivore is an album on a whole different level. It can’t be compared to any of their other records. The record has been thoroughly thought of, proven by the in-depth vampiric storyline, the songwriting, the over-all dark aesthetics and even the release date of the record. It feels like Creeper’s inner core was put into Sanguivore.
