"The songs, the fans and the firm grasp of their own craft to push them to the biggest stages possible." Creeper just showed Brighton why they're one of the UK's most vital rock bands

South Coast vampire punks Creeper blow Brighton away with an anthem-stacked, fun and emotional set

Creeper on stage in Brighton
(Image: © Harry Steel)

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

It's half past eight on a Saturday night in Brighton, and a packed-out room of makeup-clad, histrionic alt kids are singing their hearts out to hallmark Rocky Horror Picture Show hit Time Warp. Not unusual scenes, all things considered, but this isn't Cabaret Carousel at the Charles Street Tap: it's a rock gig starring one of the most exciting British bands of their generation, and the pre-show playlist is throwing out bangers. 

It's clear this is a crowd in the mood to party, and as soon as Creeper stride out on stage - bathed in blood-red light, clad in matching biker jackets, slick hair and facepaint and slamming into fangtastic, Lost Boys-core banger Cry To Heaven - it's clear they're in the mood, too. Following the success of last year's magnificent Sanguivore album and the successful Academy-sized tour that followed, tonight marks the latest stop-off in a bolt-on run around some more intimate haunts, though with around 800 lost souls squeezing into Chalk this evening, it's hardly a grotty, toilet venue punk gig.

Probably for the best, because as much as Creeper have their hearts in the UK punk scene, theirs is a schtick that deserves big stages and mass singalongs, and boy do they get the latter. Be it the sexed-up, 80s metal drama of Lovers Led Astray and Teenage Sacrifice, the anthemic adrenaline of Down Below and Hiding With Boys or the glammy Britpop stomp of Cyanide and Annabelle, whatever era the band pull from, every song aired is greeted like a timeless classic as just about everyone in the room jumps, dances, surfs or pits their arse off.

Will Gould remains a cooler-than-cool, unshakeable focal point, veering from ice-old, vampiric biker-punk to foppish, gothic dandy, leading Brighton through fist-pumps, singalongs, synchronised sways and Bruce Dickinson-esque call-and-responses. Creeper do, of course, have another ace up their sleeve when it comes to stage presence these days: keyboardist and backing vocalist Hannah Hermione's now customary mid-set tag-in to front the band for a couple of songs adds another layer to proceedings, Hermione showing her own versatility by guiding the crowd through a raw, emotional singalong of delicate ballad Crickets and lairy, full-throttle arena rocker Ghosts Over Cavalry. She jokes that she's "everyone's favourite female member of Creeper", but she's a vital part of a band who mean an immense amount to a particularly dedicated fanbase. 

It's a love-in that's very much mutual; Gould pauses a venue-wide, deafening, acapella singalong of Misery to let everyone know just how appreciated nights like these are. "Thank you," he says sincerely, taken aback by the scenes in front of him. "This song is particularly hard for some of us to play. This means everything." At this stage of their career, Creeper have the songs, the fans and the firm grasp of their own craft to push them to the biggest stages possible. With any justice, they'll get there sooner rather than later.

Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site. 

Read more
the singer from Bad nerves onstage laughing
“This could be the last show we ever play!” Bad Nerves prove why they're Billie Joe Armstrong's favourite new band
Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix performing live in 2025
“Few bands could have so effortlessly handled Wembley as this”: Papa Roach put on a nostalgic classic in London’s most historic arena
Spiritbox live at Alexandra Palace
"I feel like crying, that was beautiful." Spiritbox's Alexandra Palace show is the end of an era: where they go from rising stars to metal's next big thing
Gatecreeper in 2024
"Cannibal Corpse have made it to a level where they’re playing to thousands." Gatecreeper want to make death metal as big as possible
Christopher Lee's Dracula/Creeper's Will Gould
"It’s gory and romantic and brutal and I think that’s what keeps people coming back again and again." Why metal is obsessed with vampires
Cradle Of Filth Press Shot 2025
Twiddly Iron Maiden harmonies, thrash riffs, horror, rapping (kind of) and sexy goth allure: The Screaming Of The Valkyries is peak Cradle Of Filth
Latest in
Foreigner at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2024
Foreigner will complete their Historic Farewell Tour with four different singers – and one of them has recorded Spanish versions of their hits
The cover of Classic Rock 339, featuring Pink Floyd
"It's the father and mother of The Dark Side Of The Moon!": The full inside story of Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii - only in the new issue of Classic Rock
Asia
"The haters won’t stop us from doing what we do": Geoff Downes on Asia's new lineup and the band's future plans
Fleetwood Mac group portrait
"The soundtrack to the greatest rock'n'roll soap opera ever": The mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up albums in one handy box
Pete Townshend - The Studio Albums cover art
"This collection embodies both the best and worst of Townshend the artist and arch conceptualist": An overview of the solo career of Pete Townshend, the man who never meant to have a solo career
Linkin Park 2024
Linkin Park launch "the best song we've ever made" Up From The Bottom
Latest in Review
Fleetwood Mac group portrait
"The soundtrack to the greatest rock'n'roll soap opera ever": The mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up albums in one handy box
Pete Townshend - The Studio Albums cover art
"This collection embodies both the best and worst of Townshend the artist and arch conceptualist": An overview of the solo career of Pete Townshend, the man who never meant to have a solo career
The Horrors
Ghouls Aloud: The Horrors come back from the dead with "a dazzling nocturnal spectacle of sombre reflections and oozing catharsis"
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Sex Pistols at the RAH
"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more
Arch Enemy posing in an alleyway
Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass