It’s a busy evening at The Craufurd Arms with shows in both the bar and the main venue. Creeper’s gig in the larger room sold out in double quick time and that means it is standing room only as we await opening act The Howling. Formed by former members of As Sirens Fall along with players in James And The Cold Gun, this quartet have an obvious chemistry and opening track (and debut single) ‘Little Promises’ finds their cauldron bubbling nicely. It’s perhaps the best way to make their acquaintance and it immediately adheres the band to the crowd, their dark aesthetic covering the venue like night descending. When there’s a headliner as strong as Creeper, supports acts can often be treated with indifference, yet such is the buzz surrounding The Howling that the live room is almost full, the crowd is filled with the desire to catch a band who are very much on the upswing. Taking on Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ is a brave move, but it’s one The Howling tackle head on, stamping their own mark on proceedings and claiming ownership. It all adds up to a solid set, and next time we see The Howling, I think it will be as headliners.

Having just returned from an extensive 23 date jaunt across the USA (that found them clocking in an impressive amount of miles), Creeper could be forgiven for looking a touch tired and jaded. But not a bit of it: it seems as if performing live is their lifeblood, the food that gives them sustenance and tonight’s gig finds them in ruddy health. A Creeper show is so much more than a concert, it’s a quasi-religious experience that’s a gathering of their tribe into an (un)holy communion. That’s certainly the aesthetic that’s hanging in the air as the lights dim and a huge cheer erupts as the band appear stage left and launch into ‘Mistress Of Death’. Tonight’s set is culled (almost) entirely from the band’s past two albums, 2023’s Sanguivore and 2025’s second instalment Mistress Of Death. Such a tight focus on those two records means that the set hangs together as a collective whole, the overarching concept transferring very well to the stage and it makes the set more than just a gig, it’s more akin to performative theatre. Aided by a thick, creamy, lustrous sound and some inventive lighting, cuts such as ‘Headstones’ and ‘The Ballad Of Spook & Mercy’ are like the love-children of Richard Wagner and Jim Steinman, whilst vocalist Will Gould prowls the stage like some cooler version of Elvis (who has just returned from the dead). The whole band look like a gang from A Clockwork Orange or Psychomania, and they sound like it too, delivering songs such as soon-to-be-classics like ‘Black Heaven’ and ‘Razor Wire’ that hold the crowd’s undivided attention.

It is with ‘More Than Death’ that the set comes to a conclusion, before the crowd launch into an impromptu version of ‘Misery’. Perhaps this entices the band from the wings, rewarding the crowd with not one, but two encores, ‘Further Than Forever’ and ‘Cry To Heaven’ sending even the clinically depressed home happy.

Creeper Set List:

1. Mistress Of Death
2. Blood Magick (It’s A Ritual)
3. Lovers Led Astray
4. Headstones
5. Sacred Blasphemy
6. The Ballad Of Spook & Mercy
7. Daydreaming In The Dark
8. Prey For The Night
9. Black Heaven
10. Razor Wire
11. Chapel Gates
12. The Crimson Bride
13. Parasite
14. Love And Pain
15. The Black House
16. More Than Death

Encore:

17. Further Than Forever
18. Cry To Heaven

The Howling Set List:

1. Little Promises
2. Incantation
3. Linger
4. New Religion
5. Like A Prayer
6. The Murder Capital
7. Unholy