'We're The UK's Halloween Band': Creeper On 'Sanguivore II', Cosplay and Comic Con
Monday, 06 October 2025
Written by Maddy Howell
Photo: Harry Steel
For Creeper, rock music is about much more than just riffs and anthemic choruses. While the Southampton goth-punk outfit certainly do a brisk trade in both, there’s a third key element that defines their vision: world-building. From their earliest incarnations, the band have fused theatricality and storytelling with a level of commitment few of their peers can match, creating universes that expand far beyond the confines of a record sleeve.
From mysteries surrounding missing persons to doomed romances set in 1950s Hollywood, every release has introduced new characters, each with a story of their own to tell. Their forthcoming album ‘Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death’ marks a first in Creeper history, though. Arriving on Halloween, it’s a thematic sequel to 2023’s ‘Sanguivore’, spinning a fresh tale from its twisted bloodline.
“The idea this time around was to do a double turn halfway through,” frontman William Von Ghould says. “It’s a wrestling term, which we’ve played into a fair amount. When you come into the record, the band are portrayed as virtuous people. The Mistress Of Death is on the cover art. She looks terrifying, and she's coming down to kill the band. Really, the truth is that she’s the heroine.”
Portrayed onstage by wrestler and bodybuilder Sarah Page, The Mistress Of Death is the latest character to enter the band’s universe. A heavily muscled figure wielding an axe, an executioner’s hood covering her face, the album follows her journey into a world inspired by the moral hysteria of the Satanic Panic. “I can't even look at Sarah when she’s got the costume on,” Von Ghould admits “It’s really terrifying. She’s a huntress on a quest to try and destroy this vampire rock band…she’s actually one of my favourite things we’ve created of late.”
Produced again by Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Rammstein, Royal Blood), it’s an album that finds Creeper at their most lavish and transgressive. Across its 12 tracks, guitarists Ian Miles and Lawrie Pattison trade duelling leads that nod to the greats, the spirit of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden surging through every towering hook.
A fever dream of hedonism and horror, it draws influence from a variety of sources including 1987 neo-Western film Near Dark, the classic vampire comedy The Lost Boys, the dark sensuality of David Bowie-starring The Hunger, and the camp pageantry of wrestling. Appropriately, the band will embrace the media-crossover aspect of their work by making an appearance at MCM Comic Con 2025 at at London’s ExCel. Taking to the Creator Stage on October 25 for a live panel, the band will also bring exclusive merch, and a signing session to the event.
“I’m absolutely buzzed,” Von Ghould grins. “I go to cons up in Manchester quite a lot, but it’s my first time down in London for one. It’s such a cool thing for us to do, especially on this record. There are more characters than ever now and it’s incredible to be able to explore them onstage somewhere like that.”
While bands have dipped into convention culture before, the blueprint for how to bring music into spaces usually dominated by film, comics, and gaming is still being written. For Creeper, though, the connection is obvious. “So much of what we do with Creeper is based on movies and comic books, all types of media that are heavily represented at a comic con,” the frontman explains. “It just makes complete sense. We’ve spoken about doing comic books and stuff for a long time, and a lot of what we do is about world-building. It made so much sense this time around, especially because it’s in October. We’re the UK’s Halloween band, and it’s Halloween season. It feels like a really good fit for us.”
It may be their debut outing at the event, but it’s hard to deny that MCM Comic Con feels like a homecoming for a band like Creeper. Existing at the intersection of music, horror, cosplay, and theatre, it makes sense that their album Q&A will be hosted in character by Darcia, the same vampiric figure responsible for running their social media accounts. “There’s always a fine line with our band in relation to how much we can talk about the album and the process of creating this stuff without shattering the illusion of it,” Von Ghould reflects. “So, we wanted to offer a unique experience that can tread that line and do both of those jobs at the same time. We can talk a little bit about the creation of the record and the story of how we actually made it, but in universe and in character.”
Alongside the panel, the band will also be presenting a cosplay showcase, inviting fans to put their own spin on the characters within the Creeper universe. Cultivating an audience that has long shown up to their shows dressed in spectacular costumes and donning impressive make-up looks, it’s a chance for those attending to boast their creative skills. “Creeper operates in this kind of weird Rocky Horror Picture Show sort of universe,” Von Ghould smiles. “Because of that, we get lots of cosplay naturally. What’s been cool about the ‘Sanguivore’ era, though, is that we’ve noticed people creating so many different variations on this particular image. In Germany recently, we saw some fantastic looks — like trad-goth versions of the vampire.”
While their focus is currently fixed on the impending release of ‘Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death’, Von Ghould makes no secret of his aspirations to take things even further in the future. With an arena tour opening for Ice Nine Kills looming large in December — having already rounded out 2024 with a huge co-headline show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley alongside Black Veil Brides — things have grown far bigger than the frontman ever envisioned, but there’s still plenty more to be ticked off his bucket list when some space in their diary finally appears.
“I’ve always envisioned Creeper becoming comic books. We’ve always really wanted to do that,” Von Ghould finishes. “The difficulty is, with the way we do music videos, we’re essentially making movies alongside our albums. Sometimes you’re like, am I focusing too much on the movies and not the music? We’ve always had these extreme ambitions surrounding the stories we’re trying to tell — it’s just trying to find the time while supposedly being a rock band. Somewhere in the middle of all this, we are meant to be playing music. I love it this way, though.”
‘Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death’ is out October 31 via Spinefarm.
Mon December 08 2025 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Tue December 09 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Wed December 10 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena
Fri December 12 2025 - LONDON OVO Arena Wembley
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