Having blown us away with their dramatic performance at Rock City in 2023 before then supporting Ice Nine Kills at Motorpoint Arena last December, each show from Southampton goth-rockers Creeper in our city feels like a monumental event. So, as they brought their Sangui-Tour to Rescue Rooms in April, where they performed songs exclusively from their albums Sanguivore I & II in intimate venues across the UK, we had to go along to experience their live show once again…
Arriving at Rescue Rooms on a warm Sunday evening, there is one thing that becomes immediately apparent – this is definitely a sold-out show. So much so, as soon as we put a foot inside the main room, we are greeted by a wall of bodies that has stretched right to the entrance way. This isn’t right before Creeper’s stage time either; this is not long after support band The Howling have begun their performance. As they blast through a rousing metal version of Madonna’s iconic Like A Prayer with the whole room singing along, we manage to fight our way up onto the balcony. After a quick stop for some merchandise in the Red Room, we then find a decent vantage point on the balcony for the rest of The Howling’s set, which is filled with gothic, My Chemical Romance-esque drama and plenty of hair-raising guitar shreds. A fun warm-up!
After a short interval and around five minutes before tonight’s headliners are due on stage, the lights go out and the sound of Alice Cooper’s Poison plays over the speakers, followed by Metallica’s Fuel. It gets the crowd further amped up, and before you know it, A Shadow Stirs - the intro track to Sanguivore II - plays over the speakers: “Rock music is a horny vampire, and tonight it is feasting upon you…”
As the ominous message concludes, Creeper take to the stage in their black leather outfits and vampiric make-up, with frontman Will Gould the last to emerge from the shadows, sporting himself an eye patch. It is then straight into the action with fast-paced opener Mistress of Death, the crowd on the floor immediately bouncing around and singing along. Gould removes his eye patch at the end of the song, with the band launching straight into Blood Magick (It’s A Ritual) as Gould urges the crowd to sing the “Drink The Blood!” refrain. Lovers Led Astray is up next, which sees guitarists Ian Miles and Lawrie Pattison take centre stage, face each other and exchange face-melting riffs.
“Make some space – this is a circle pit song!” exclaims Gould, before the anthemic Headstones. It’s one of the highlights of the night, the crowd at full volume as they sing the chorus and those down the front engage wildly in the circle pit. From there on it feels almost like a greatest hits set, despite the songs all pulling from their most recent two albums. Sacred Blasphemy gets a huge ovation, before torches are held aloft during The Ballad of Spook & Mercy. Thunderous claps echo around during Daydreaming In The Dark, the crowd belts out the chorus for Prey For The Night, and Black Heaven is every bit the synth-charged nightmare live as it is on record.
The stage goes dark and a ghoulish voice over the speakers marks a brief interlude, with half the band exiting the stage. Keyboardist and vocalist Hannah Greenwood then returns to take centre stage, waving a mace around during the fun, cabaret-like theatrics of Razor Wire. The sound of a storm sounds over the speakers, as percussionist Jake Fogarty compliments it with a pounding drum solo, as the full band finally returns to the stage for the ghastly Chapel Gates.
"We were here just before Christmas with Ice Nine Kills, were you guys there?" asks Gould, to which a large portion of the crowd confirm they were indeed there. "I love Nottingham - The Pit & Pendulum, what a place!" says Gould, showing some love for our city’s institutional dungeon pub.
The stage lights then turn blood red for The Crimson Bride, before an infectious (pun intended) rendition of Parasite. “Thank you so much for being here – we’re sold the f**k out tonight!” says Gould with a smile on his face, acknowledging the capacity crowd. The band treat the audience to B-side Love & Pain before it is back to Sanguivore II for another gothic deep cut, The Black House. This brings rapturous applause from the crowd, followed by “I love you!” messages yelled at each member of the band individually, until eventually someone screams "I love you all… equally!" It’s a sweet and funny moment, which seems fitting before the main set closing track - More Than Death. It’s another highlight of the night, the crowd looking on in hushed silence as Gould delivers a gut-wrenching and passionate vocal performance.
The band leave the stage, but the audience knows full well two of the biggest songs off the two Sanguivore records have yet to be played. Soon the band return as ominous piano keys mark the start of 10-minute epic Further Than Forever, the band leading the crowd on a rollercoaster ride through soaring riffs and a Meat Loaf-inspired chorus.
“Nottingham, you’ve been awesome tonight!” says Gould, before introducing the band members and reinstating the importance of the rock music community. “We’d love to come back – will we see you again?" asks Gould, to which the crowd cheer unanimously in response.
They then finish a terrific night on Cry To Heaven, which sees a mini tsunami of crowd surfers and a giant wave of euphoric human limbs. A typically excellent and dramatic performance from Creeper tonight, and with Gould forgetting on occasion that he is in fact in Rescue Rooms rather than Rock City, there’s no doubt about where they will play when they return to Nottingham in the near future.
Creeper performed at Rescue Rooms on 19th April 2026.
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