The band have always worn their influences on their sleeve, and ‘Sanguivore’ is no different, with Sisters Of Mercy, Metallica, and The Damned all making their mark across the record. Creeper have always been a fan of the gothic glam of the 80s, and working with producer Tom Dalgety allowed them to lean fully into that world. “He’s got this vast knowledge of how to make something sound real, big and immersive,” Will says.

There’s a lot going on with ‘Cry To Heaven’, with the brooding harmonies, sultry lyrics and that guitar solo making it easily the sexiest song Creeper have ever put their name to.

Will goes on to describe the lyrics of ‘Sanguivore’ as “overblown to the maximum”, with nods to Depeche Mode and American Nightmare. “It’s a conceptual fantasy, which is what we’ve always done, but this is the most out there we’ve ever been.”

“Each time around, Creeper feels like a different band,” says Will, with ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’ feeling like a grand departure from everything else that had come before. “Again, this feels different to either of those two bands,” he adds.

So, why has it taken Creeper so long to make the 80s vampire record?

“We couldn’t have started this way because the songs would have been sketchy,” explains Will, with the group needing the experience of making ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’ behind them. “We wrote over 80 songs for that record, and we scrapped most of them because they were dogshit,” he laughs.

“This has been the quickest record we’ve ever made by a considerable margin, but they’re harder songs than we’ve ever written before,” he continues. “’Cry To Heaven’ might seem simple, but it’s so reliant on that hook, you have to build the whole song around it.” And be confident in your abilities to do that. “We’re very comfortable playing this music because we grew up with it,” adds Will.

Following the emotional and personal struggles that dominated the recording of ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’, ‘Sanguivore’ saw Will and guitarist Ian Miles back together in a room, throwing ideas around between them. “It kinda felt like it did at the very, very, very beginning,” says Will before going on to call this era “a rebirth in the truest sense we’ve ever done it so far. It’s not been scary; it’s been pleasant... which is weird,” he adds.

Previous Creeper albums have dealt with religion, shame, belonging and grief. Will is hesitant to get too in-depth about what ‘Sanguivore’ has in store for people but does say the record reflects that feeling of rebirth. “The metaphor with the vampire is kinda obvious.”

“This record has layers, and it sent us in a really weird direction,” he continues. “The first song is nine minutes long, talks a lot about the main character’s sexuality and is absolutely fucking outrageous The conclusion to the record is a song called ‘Modern Death’, which is about dying and being happy with who you are. This album corrects past mistakes and is very much a new lease of life for the band. We’re so excited about this one; it feels like there’s a real fever in the air,” he adds.

Despite the hype of debut album ‘Eternity, In Your Arms’ and the continued success of ‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’, Creeper weren’t worried about living up to what’s come before with ‘Sanguivore’. “You make these things for yourself, and you hope people like them. If you start making records to try and please other people, though, you’ll end up with something awful.”

“Creeper exists in its own little world,” he continues. “That’s never more evident at somewhere like Slam Dunk. We are strange theatre people, wandering around a festival full of people who fit into certain scenes a little easier. We’re far too panto for a lot of people in that world. I’m not trying to say we’re reinventing the wheel by any means on this album, but we are still the weird kids at the table. If we were in The Breakfast Club, we’d be the kid with the dandruff,” he grins. “I don’t worry about it too much.”

“People look at Creeper and see the surface-level pantomime and assume the whole thing is one-dimensional, but we tell you it’s insincere from the offset,” Will says, pointing to the massive vampire on the album’s artwork. “We’re presenting this story as something that’s fantastical and otherworldly, but if you look past that and spend some time with it, you’ll probably see it’s far more sincere than you first thought,” he explains, a balm to the countless bands trying to constantly force sincerity down their audience’s throats.

“There is a deeper meaning behind what we’re trying to say, but it’s wrapped up in this wild story. As with all the records we’ve made, you come for the fantasy but stick around for the crisis in the middle. It’s a very emotional record,” says Will. “It’s the most dramatic thing we’ve done as a band, and it’s also the darkest. There’s campy gore, but it has heart behind it.” ■

Taken from the July 2023 edition of Upset. Creeper’s album ‘Sanguivore’ is out 13th October.