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Sanguivore (album)

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Sanguivore
Studio album by
Creeper
Released13 October 2023 (2023-10-13)
StudioPsalm Studios (Wiltshire, England), Rockfield Studios (Monmouthshire, Wales)[1]
GenreGothic rock
Length42:06
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerTom Dalgety
Creeper chronology
American Noir
(2021) 		Sanguivore
(2023)
Singles from Sanguivore
  1. "Cry to Heaven"
    Released: 26 May 2023
  2. "Teenage Sacrifice"
    Released: 10 August 2023
  3. "Black Heaven"
    Released: 21 September 2023
  4. "Further Than Forever"
    Released: 18 October 2023
  5. "Lovers Led Astray"
    Released: 6 March 2024

Sanguivore is the third studio album by English rock band Creeper. Produced by Tom Dalgety, it was released on 13 October 2023 as the group's first album on Spinefarm Records. The album's release was preceded by the singles "Cry to Heaven" on 26 May, "Teenage Sacrifice" on 10 August and "Black Heaven" on 21 September.

Background

[edit]

The concept for an album based around vampires was inspired by the end of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom and the return of live music. Gould explained in an interview with Rolling Stone that both are about "breathing new life into an old body and falling back in love". He also stated this sentiment was echoed in the revival of a number of aspects of the band that had not been present since the Eternity, in Your Arms cycle, such as jackets with matching back patches and songs about friendship.[2] In an interview with Kerrang! just after the album's announcement, Gould explained that "We'd always planned to do a vampire record. We'd been thinking about it for a couple of years and knew that now was a good place to go after where the last one left off. We wanted to make something darker than we'd ever made before."[3]

When the band began working with producer Tom Dalgety, the first song they brought to him was "Ghost Brigade", which had been written just after the release of Eternity in Your Arms in the same writing session as "Born Cold". The band used the track as a way of testing their chemistry with Dalgety.[1] Album opener "Further Than Forever" had been partially written and demoed by Gould as a piano led song, with a number of different verses and choruses, for years prior to recording the album. After some time, Miles introduced its pedal note introduction and eventually the song was brought to Dalgety who had his own incomplete progressive rock segment influenced by "Easy Lover". As a collective, they merged these sections, and wrote the remaining song. Then final part of the song to be written was its chorus, which was influenced by Bruce Springsteen.[2]

When first writing the album, Creeper intended for the album to be titled European Vampires: A True Story, however became disheartened by this title following Brexit.[4]

A special edition of the album, featuring two unreleased songs, a remix of lead single "Cry To Heaven", and a cover of Shadows of the Night, made famous by musician Pat Benatar was released to streaming services on 26 April, 2024.

Promotion and release

[edit]

The finale of the album cycle for Creeper's previous album, Sex, Death & the Infinite Void, took place at the Roundhouse in London on 4 November 2022. During this performance, Gould was beheaded as a representation of the end of the previous album's cycle and the beginning of the subsequent album cycle, announcing they had signed to Spinefarm Records. As this happened, the band's merchandise table swapped to selling merchandise for the new album, which included a free cassette tape of the then unreleased track "Ghost Brigade", of which 666 numbered copies were made.[1] This news was announced on social media the following day once "Ghost Brigade" was released on streaming services.[5] The promotional posts on social media for this single was the introduction of a character named Darcia, a vampire familiar.[6] Darcia would go on to feature in much of the album's promotion material.[7]

After almost seven months without further news regarding new material, "Cry to Heaven" was released and Sanguivore announced on 26 May 2023.[8] That night, the band performed at the Heavy Music Awards at Wembley Arena, playing both new tracks live for the first time.[9] On 10 August, they released the album's second single "Teenage Sacrifice".[10]

Creeper are set to promote Sanguivore on the Sacred Blasphemy Tour, consisting of five UK shows, between 5 and 10 November 2023.[11]

Composition and lyrics

[edit]

The albums follows the love story of characters Mercy, a violent vampire who was turned at the age of 19, and Spook an old man whom she has control over. Opener "Further Than Forever" tells the story of Spook being turned into a vampire,[2] with "Cry to Heaven" following Mercy on her ensuing murderous rampage.[3] As the album continues, Mercy regains much of her humanity.[12]

Critics have categorised Sanguivore as gothic rock.[3] The song "Sacred Blasphemy" merges "emo sensibilities... with rock'n'roll glitz",[13] while "Lovers Led Astray" is synth rock[14] and "Black Heaven" is dark wave.[15]

The band have cited the Sisters of Mercy, Danzig, the Damned, the Cult, Jim Steinman's Bad for Good,[16] the Misfits, Meat Loaf, Nick Cave, Bonnie Tyler, Gary Numan and Depeche Mode as influences on the album. In particular, "Sacred Blasphemy" was influenced by the Misfits, "Teenage Sacrifice" by tradition heavy metal, "The Ballad of Spook & Mercy" by Nick Cave and "Further Than Forever" by Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell".[4] Many of the guitar riffs included on the album were influenced by Metallica.[17]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic89/100[28]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute72%[18]
Clash9/10[19]
Classic Rock[20]
DIY[21]
Dork[22]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[23]
Kerrang!5/5[24]
Metal Hammer[25]
New Noise Magazine[26]
The Skinny[27]

Sanguivore received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Metacritic, the album holds a score of 89 out of 100, based on reviews from seven critics, which indicates "universal acclaim".[28]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Will Gould, Ian Miles and Tom Dalgety

Sanguivore track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Further Than Forever"9:12
2."Cry to Heaven"4:27
3."Sacred Blasphemy"2:53
4."The Ballad of Spook & Mercy"4:39
5."Lovers Led Astray"4:40
6."Teenage Sacrifice"4:17
7."Chapel Gates"2:23
8."The Abyss"0:42
9."Black Heaven"4:15
10."More Than Death"4:38
Total length:42:06
Special edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Shadows of the Night" (Pat Benatar Cover)David Leigh Byron, Rachel Sweet4:03
12."Love And Pain" 4:13
13."Phantom Fantasia" 3:07
14."Cry to Heaven - Count Dalgula's Queen Of The Night Extended Mix" 5:27
Total length:58:56

Personnel

[edit]

Creeper

  • Will Gould – lead vocals
  • Ian Miles – guitars
  • Hannah Greenwood – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Sean Scott – bass
  • Jake Fogarty – drums

Additional personnel

  • Jack Boston – backing vocals
  • Joanna Nye – backing vocals
  • Daan Temmink – grand piano (tracks 1 and 10)
  • Tom Dalgety – production, mixing, keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, spoken word on "Further Than Forever"
  • Robin Schmidt – mastering
  • Welder Wings – artwork
  • Dan Capp – layout
  • Andy Ford – photography

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Sanguivore
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 29

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Petrarca, Valentino. "A 'Happier' Record Created in Old Churches? Yup, Creeper Tells Us About 'Sanguivore'". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Porter, Sophie (11 October 2023). "Creeper on third album 'Sanguivore': 'This is our most realised version'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Law, Sam (30 May 2023). "Creeper: "We wanted to command a sense of majesty with this record. We want to take you to another place..."". Kerrang!. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b Wilson-Taylor, James (28 July 2023). "Creeper, "Sanguivore" The Album Story". RockSound. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  5. ^ Hollingsworth, Ashley Perez (4 November 2022). "Creeper Launch New Era With 'Ghost Brigade'". Genre Is Dead. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  6. ^ Rogers, Jack. "Creeper Release Glorious New Track 'Ghost Brigade'". RockSound. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  7. ^ Taylor, Ims. "CREEPER "Sanguivore"". Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  8. ^ Carter, Emily (26 May 2023). "Creeper return with new single Cry To Heaven, from upcoming album Sanguivore". Kerrang!. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  9. ^ Clare, Katie (29 May 2023). "Hello Wembley! The Heavy Music Awards 2023 Has Its Winners". Flick of the Finger. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  10. ^ Jamieson, Sarah (10 August 2023). "Creeper Share New Track 'Teenage Sacrifice'". DIY. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  11. ^ Johnson, Laura (26 May 2023). "Creeper Announce New Album 'Sanguivore' And The Sacred Blasphemy UK Tour For November". Stereoboard. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  12. ^ Jamieson, Sarah (12 October 2023). "CREEPER: DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN". DIY. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  13. ^ Wilkes, Emma. "Album Review: Creeper – Sanguivore". Kerrang!. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  14. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (10 October 2023). "Sanguivore is a magnificent, goth-punk rock opera that confirms Creeper as one of the most vital British bands of their generation". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Album Review: Creeper – Sanguivore". The Soundboard Reviews. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  16. ^ Law, Sam (30 May 2023). "Creeper: "We wanted to command a sense of majesty with this record. We want to take you to another place..."". Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  17. ^ Ian Miles, Will Gould (11 October 2023). 'I love Kirk!' Creeper On New Album Sanguivore And Meeting Kirk Hammett (Radio broadcast). Event occurs at 4m5s. Retrieved 17 May 2024. Ian Miles: There were a few ideas I had kicking around for another project that I was gonna start years ago, I was gonna start a Metallica-esque kind of band and I thought about putting them forward for Creeper and I was like 'Uh... no it's not there'. Because, at that point we'd just gone into writing for Sex, Death and the Infinite Void and I was like 'Oh, it's definitely not gonna fit anywhere on that record. But this time around, they managed to get in there.
  18. ^ Amen, John (18 October 2023). "Album Review: Creeper – Sanguivore". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  19. ^ Greer, Vicky (13 October 2023). "Creeper - Sanguivore | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  20. ^ Beaumont, Mark (12 October 2023). "Creeper's Sanguivore: a blood-drenched Bat Out Of Hell for goths and vampires". Classic Rock (loudersound). Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  21. ^ Tipple, Ben (11 October 2023). "Creeper – Sanguivore review". DIY. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  22. ^ Press, Jack (18 October 2023). "Creeper – Sanguivore". Dork. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  23. ^ Taylor, Ims (13 October 2023). "Creeper: Sanguivore Review - gothic ambition soars | Rock". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  24. ^ Wilkes, Emma (11 October 2023). "Album review: Creeper – Sanguivore". Kerrang!. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  25. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (10 October 2023). "Sanguivore is a magnificent, goth-punk rock opera that confirms Creeper as one of the most vital British bands of their generation". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  26. ^ McGrady, Logan (13 October 2023). "Album Review - Creeper - Sanguivore". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  27. ^ Sneddon, Chris (11 October 2023). "Creeper – Sanguivore". The Skinny. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  28. ^ a b "Sanguivore by Creeper". Metacritic. n.d. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
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