Creeper are out there doing it. They’re creating an entirely new style of music.
I don’t mean just audibly, I mean… well, everything. Creeper (which is made up of Will Gould, Ian Miles, Sean Scott, Hannah Greenwood and Jake Fogarty) bring a level of theatricality and presence to every stage they hit, similar to perhaps My Chemical Romance, Iron Maiden, or even Queen.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Creeper frontman Will Gould often referred to his stage persona as a “character”. A fictional being that exists within the confines of the band’s 45-60minute set. And the details of this character come from the lore crafted between the lines of their music.
This week, Creeper are releasing their third studio album, Sanguivore, and if you thought they were dramatic beforehand, you’ve heard nothing quite yet.
“I’m the most proud of [Sanguivore] than anything that we’ve done until now,” Gould gushed.
Creeper are out there doing it. They’re creating an entirely new style of music.
I don’t mean just audibly, I mean… well, everything. Creeper (which is made up of Will Gould, Ian Miles, Sean Scott, Hannah Greenwood and Jake Fogarty) bring a level of theatricality and presence to every stage they hit.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Creeper frontman Will Gould often referred to his stage persona as a “character”. A fictional being that exists within the confines of the band’s 45-60minute set. And the details of these character come from the lore crafted between the lines of their music.
This week, Creeper are releasing their third studio album, Sanguivore, and if you thought they were dramatic beforehand, you’ve heard nothing quite yet.
“I’m the most proud of [Sanguivore] than anything that we’ve done until now,” Gould gushed.
The star of the show, who seems to be one of the creative forces behind Creeper as a whole, confessed that he feels Sanguivore contains “the best material we’ve ever done”.
The band have already released a few singles from the record (Cry to Heaven, Teenage Sacrifice, Black Heaven), all of which have shown the powerful direction they’ve taken within its ten tracks. Epic, emotional, dreary, and like nothing you’ve heard before – but – crucially – very Creeper.
“It’s all very fresh to us,” he went on. “[We’re] very excited about getting out there and showing people what we’ve made.”
In some ways, though, Sanguivore does feel like it is some kind of final hurrah for the band. Does Gould think it’s the end of a trilogy, so to speak? “I do. It was always the plan to have these three big concert records, and I’ve always seen Creeper as a series of books, almost. Like the name of the author is Creeper, but they’re kind of like Stephen King adventure books.
“This one felt like we had had it planned – the feeling, the story around it, the lore – for a long time. It poses a lot of questions to us now it’s completed. Which is very exciting! But very challenging in itself.”
It’s easy to see that Creeper think of their music as more of a 4D experience, rather than just a few songs thrown into an album. And this comes down to the nostalgia Gould has over discovering and digesting music from his childhood. Specifically, he feels music, as a whole, as an industry, has changed drastically over the past couple of decades. And not all of it is good.
“I think it comes down to a few factors,” he mused. “We have a very short attention span nowadays. I remember waiting outside hmv for records to be released, and having the CD in my Discman on the bus ride home. And, also, you could only fit so many CDs in a CD wallet! You had to scrutinise every shrapnel of it.”
Gould looked back wistfully on deciphering lyrics, listening to the same ten songs ad nauseam until he knew them back to front, inside out.
This is the wondrous feeling of discovery he wanted to bring back to the world with Creeper. “I think the mythology around music is one of the most important things. That romanticness when you listen to classic records that you don’t necessarily get these days … The records I really loved took a little work. And the ones that still stick with me, I didn’t get at first, or I had to interact with. We named the record Sanguivore because lots of people wouldn’t know what that meant, and you’d have to look it up.”
“I think, now, those rules have been broken somewhat, and that’s a little bit sad sometimes,” he breathed, before catching himself. Realising he had found himself on a soapbox, Gould chuckled: “But, obviously, I sound like an old man shouting at a cloud when I talk like this! But I do think it’s important. The mythology is very important, and etching something in time and space a little bit more will have a longer lasting effect.”
Gould pointed at the masked band Ghost as a great example of bringing this mystery and drama to the world, like the good old days, as it were.
Still, this battle to keep music magical is one Creeper are going to continue waging in the coming years.
While Gould wouldn’t give a specific response to what the band’s plans are next, he did divulge: “We always try to keep our cards close to our chest, but we really enjoyed making this particular album. There’s definitely some irons in the fire.”
