Photo Credit: Harry Steel
Roll up, roll up and step right into the blood-soaked spectacle of vampire rock ’n’ roll theatre. When Creeper flew their razor-toothed roadshow into the intimate Cathouse, it sent an entirely sold out show into a full-blown gothic opera crammed into a packed venue. Over ninety minutes, they plunged fang-first into Sanguivore and its sequel for a bloody deep dive, delivering a set that rose and fell like with towering peaks, dark valleys, and gut-punches into the feels with moments of wonder and the odd tear of joy.
Throughout the night in the Cathouse, frontman Will Gould stalked the stage like a man possessed, part preacher, part ringleader, pouring his soul into every line as though it might be his last confession. The entire set was as gloriously camp and magnificently overblown as we have come to expect from this current iteration of the band and it was stacked with drama and more bone rattling hits than a best of prime Brock Lesnar highlight reel.
From the eerie swell of A Shadow Stirs bleeding into Mistress of Death, Creeper had Glasgow locked with his teeth on our collective jugular. Gould’s voice soared, slicing clean through the chaos as the band powered through Blood Magick (It’s a Ritual) and Lovers Led Astray with ferocious precision.
Headstones kept the momentum surging before Sacred Blasphemy and the sprawling drama of The Ballad of Spook & Mercy whisked us all down a neon-lit Vampire Lane. A standout moment came as Hannah Greenwood stepped forward for Razor Wire, proving once again she’s such a talented musician whether behind the keys or front and centre on vocals.
Midway through, the band locked into a hypnotic groove. Daydreaming in the Dark and Prey for the Night dialled up the gothic grandeur, swelling into something cinematic. It’s here that Creeper’s love for theatrical excess, echoes of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman-style grandeur, really came to the surface, transforming the sweaty club into something closer to a dark cabaret.
But then came the moment of the night for us.
Despite catching Creeper multiple times in the Sanguivore era, More Than Death had always eluded us … until now. And in that packed-out Glasgow sweatbox, it hit like a revelation. The opening chords signalled a collective roar with arms aloft, voices primed, a united surge of anticipation. By this point, the entire crowd was ready with hoarse voices and giddy grins.
As the opening chords rang out, there was an immediate reaction and collective arms raised. More Than Death is epic, it is grand, it is theatrical high art. It is our song. But looking around we think we might be sharing it with everyone in Glasgow. It sounded enormous and somehow more impactful live with Gould leaning into every lyric with a sincerity and it landed exactly where it should: heartfelt, defiant, and unashamedly emotional. The chorus was a mass sing-along, hundreds of voices colliding into one, echoing back at the band with big, bold, heartbreak-turned-to-11 rock ’n’ roll. And in the Cathouse this week it was nothing short of perfect. There’s something undeniably Meat Loaf-esque about it. Not just in the pomp, but in the commitment. It’s big, melodramatic rock performed with absolute conviction, where heartbreak is amplified into something unforgettable and in that cramped Glasgow venue, it was perfect and a room full of people shouting every word in unison together.
By the time it closed the main set, it felt like a finale but Creeper weren’t done bleeding us dry just yet. Returning for an encore, Further Than Forever kept the emotional throttle pinned, before Cry to Heaven brought the black curtain down with a blistering, triumphant close.
An unforgettable night. Easily one of the best gigs of the year for us. With Download Festival on the horizon, and arguably the most stacked festival line up we’ve ever seen, don’t be surprised if Creeper ends up stealing the entire weekend. We’ll be there. Front. Centre. Ready.
Creeper are undeniable. Unstoppable. The benchmark.
9/10
Written By: Eric Mackinnon
