Album of the Month: Creeper, Sanguivore

This is the second time I've reviewed a Creeper album as an album of the month this year. I'm reviewing them out of order after reviewing Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death back in January. 

Sanguivore was Creeper's vampire concept album from a couple of years back. It very much has the feel of a band developing their style and storytelling technique. The singer-narrator becomes a vampire in the first song, the lengthy opener, Further than Forever. The song is in multiple parts as the story develops with riffs that felt at time like a homage to Bat Out of Hell (particularly the refrain about his "Armageddon Girl").

The echoes of Meat Loaf isn't the only stylistic tribute on the album. The Ballad of Spook and Mercy is a dark folk tale about a vampire on the hunt reminiscent of Nick Cave. The simply sublime Chapel Gates sounds like it could have been a Ramones song. It's a great piece of punk rock artistry. Black Heaven is a goth rampage underlaid by fizzing synthetic drums. More Than Death is a lost musical theatre number. Sacred Blasphemy is an arena anthem with soaring vocals driven along by metal guitar riffs. Lovers Led Astray is lounge rock gone awry.

A very vampirey castle on the back

Can you tell I loved this record? I listened to it several times over a solo car journey and for the next few days had lyrics and riffs from different songs interrupting my thoughts and running through my head. Good music is as infectious as vampirism. 

Lyrically, there are plenty of clever moments to catch, as well as some very strong singalong bits. ("I pick a rose, for every bloodstain on your clothes"). I particularly liked the despairing line "Some nights you're pining for the pine box" - the cry of a vampire exhausted of unliving their undead unlife - in More Then Death.

I can't really put my finger on why I have fallen so hard for this band, except I admire how they have chosen to tell a story and have really committed to it by creating some wonderful music. Vampire stories are ridiculous and yet seem to be unkillable, however much the tales are retold into parodies of terror. So why not turn the trope into singalong stories? Especially if along the way you create a twisted celebration of life and love through the jealous, zealous bloodlust of unholy resurrected monsters? 

I've got a ticket to see Creeper perform live in October. I can't wait. 

Details

Year of release: 2023

Tracks: 10 (although one is a 30 second instrumental break between 2 songs

Favourite track: Chapel Gates, closely followed by Black Heaven

Track to skip: Further than Forever is almost ten minutes long. It sets the scene, rock opera style, for the album so is essential when listening to the album first time around. But on subsequent plays, it's skippable.

Album of the Month: Creeper, Sanguivore II

A new feature for the blog, mainly because I got some new CDs for Christmas and I thought it would be fun to review them a bit like my Book of the Month posts. I'm not sure how I'm going to format these posts so I can't promise there will be consistency in how I rate the albums if it does turn into a monthly series.

My first album of the month is Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death by Creeper.  

It's an unusual concept album in an emerging genre called "horror metal". The story arc is supposed to be about a vampire rock band on tour leaving behind them a trail of victims, and hunted in turn by an avenging dark angel, the Mistress of Death (who I presume is pictured on the album cover). The band dress as vampires for their live shows. 

I must admit, the first time I heard one of their songs playing on Planet Rock I thought it was a joke. The song was Blood Magick (It's a Ritual) and when the lead singer, William Von Ghould, intones "Drink the Blood!" at the end of the chorus, I burst out laughing. But then I heard the song a second time and realised this wasn't just a silly spoof. There is some real musicianship behind the speed metal riffs in that song and it was catchy. Vampire lore generally is a fine line between gory and silly and, in a way, I was impressed how much they committed to the bit.

Then Planet Rock played the title track Mistress of Death and I got the soaring chorus stuck in my head. By the time Prey for the Night was on the Planet Rock playlist, I decided to add the album to my wishlist and my sister-in-law, Abby, bought it for me for Christmas. 

There is plenty of ambiguous wordplay throughout the album, reflecting how vampirism is often metaphor for sex. The gap between 'so give us head' and 'stones' in the chorus of Headstones, feels deliberate. Even more blatant is the command to "Suck" Suck! Suck!" in Parasite. The incredible chorus of The Black House includes this couplet

Come night fall, I want to hold you like a hammer in my hands

I want to nail you on the cross at your command

It might just be me hearing the double meaning of nail there, but I doubt it. I feel what shines through on this album is a group of accomplished musicians who know exactly what they are damn well doing, lyrically and musically.

This is theatrical rock metal. The story canters along, layering riff on riff before cutting away into a fuzzy lounge number (Razorwire), and a final confessional track that starts off as a mournful song of regret and climaxes with an operatic sign off for the album (Pavor Nocturnus). 

Like all successful vampires, Creeper are very much playing with their audience. The tunes for all the songs are mesmeric and strangely uplifting when played at high volume. This isn't gloomy goth music, it's life-pumping bloodrush music designed to get your heart rate up and your vigour fizzing. 

It's a short album too, romping through at less than 45 minutes. Which means, you can hit repeat on your favourite tracks as the album plays without extending the run time too much. I like to listen to The Black House at least twice each time it comes on. 

Details

Year of release: 2025

Tracks: 12 (including a narrated introduction to the album and a short interlude at track 9)

Favourite track: The Black House

Tracks to skip: none, although I have been known to skip the narrated intro and get straight to Mistress of Death, which is the first proper song on the album.

7 things that really probably do not exist

The Mongolian Death Worm
The Golden Plates that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from (sorry, Mormons, I like you, but you have to admit, the provenance is ropey and the claim that the plates had to be returned to a celestial librarian seems a little "convenient")
Thetans
Glittery vampires
The Force (ooh, controversial)
Altruistic cats
Aliens in flying saucers probing people

What would you add? (Or what of these does exist?)

Even so, I'm not watching your vampire porn

My friend Elaine was very disappointed that I didn't watch the first terrestrial airing of Deep South vampire series True Blood. ("Mm gunna bite y'alls nayk!")

My main reason for avoiding it was Elaine and another friend describing it as "vampire porn". I said as much to Elaine, prompting this reply:

"Oh, it's not really that bad. The sex is very tongue-in-cheek."

Hmm.

Beware the vampire antelope

It truly is amazing what you can find when you have a sort out. I was going through some old folders of writing and misc scribble the other night when I found 'Dreamship', a story that I wrote a number of years ago and had completely forgotten about.

There was no date on the ms, but given that it was printed on Ab's old dot matrix, it must have been written on her ancient computer that was dumped at the tip a while ago. That means I'm probably going to have to retype it up, but hey, at least that means I can make a few changes.

Also in that file I found a doodle of a antelope with vampire-like fangs, hence the title of this post. He also had a name - Vlad the Impala. I thought that was pretty funny, although when I told my work collegues none of them really got it. (An impala is a kind of antelope and Vlad the Impaler was the historical figure behind the Dracula myth, in case you're wondering.)