Unless you spent the latter half of this decade living on Mars, you’ve most probably encountered Creeper at some point. Established in Southampton in 2015 and featuring ex members of Our Time Down Here and Hang The Bastard, the south coast horror heartthrobs swiftly sprung up the ladder of the national scene before becoming a global phenomenon – all before releasing a full length debut. With the years ticking by, the group have jumped from achievement from achievement, with their 2017 full length debut Entirety, In Your Arms being praised as one of the best releases of the year by critics and pundits alike and with many stating how the horror punk outfit are destined to be one of the decade’s greatest success stories. Such events recently accumulated on Friday where the group headlined the historic Koko, performing with riff lords Puppy and relative newcomers Delaire, The Liar. Marketed as a one off celebration of their successes at one of London’s most iconic venues, the show played out as a typical and theatrical Creeper show, with the group treating the masses to all their hits and a few deep cuts for good measure. However, prior to capping off the evening with ‘Misery’, front man Will Gould had a few words to say; Yep, that really is Gould announcing the immediate end of Creeper. After performing the group laid their callous heart emblazoned jackets on the stage whilst being basked by a projected video of their career highlights thus far. Of course, whilst there was a few tears shed, the blanketing atmosphere was one of pure bemusement. Thanks to Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, the internet rumor mill was running on overdrive even before the Koko occupants washed out into the street. Why on earth are Creeper breaking up? Well, they’re probably not. Here’s why. They’ve Just Been In The Studio Compared to previous years, Creeper haven’t been massively active this year. Whilst they may be taking a well deserved break, many have speculated they’ve been crafting their sophomore record. A mundane claim, yes, but there’s several pieces of evidence suggesting this is very much the case. Earlier this year Travis Barker (Blink 182) posted an image on Instagram of the group recording at an American recording studio with renowned music producer John Feldman (All Time Low, Good Charlotte, The Fever 333). On top of this there’s been tons of ‘through the grape vine’ rumors of the group frequently visiting UK studios throughout the past year. The Cryptic Promotional Material Following the Koko performance, several pieces of physical promotional material where found in and around the venue. One such item was found scrunched up in the photo pit after the show. Here’s the image; Those familiar with the band will recognize the signee of the letter; one James Scythe. A fictional character created by the band and a major player in the conceptual narrative within Eternity, In Your Arms, many have stated how the capitalization of characters within the letter refer to the bible passage of Luke 2:4. For those who never put any effort into GCSE religious education, Luke 2:4 revolves around the resurrection of our boy Jesus. At the time of it’s discovery, many fans viewed it as a hint towards a potential new single being premiered on the Sunday night Radio One Rock Show. Of course, no new content was presented, but this isn’t the first time Creeper have toyed with their fanbase by using cryptic and ambiguous material. The Bowie Connection Creeper have frequently stated that David Bowie has consistently remained one of their greatest inspirations. With his fantastically flamboyant persona, theatrical aesthetic and forefront showmanship, it’s transparent to see how Bowie’s legacy has rubbed off onto the horror punks. Gould even recently discussed the legacy of Ziggy Stardust on the That’s Not Metal podcast. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the exact announcement made by Gould at Koko; “Of all the shows we’ve played in this last four years, this one will remain with us the longest, because not only is it the last show of this album, but it’s the last show that we’ll ever do” Pretty prophetic. However it resembles a striking resemblance to the speech made by Bowie at his Hammersmith show in April 1973, also known as the show where Bowie killed off the Ziggy Stardust persona. Here’s the quote that saw the end of Stardust; “This has been one of the greatest tours of our life… Of all the shows on this tour, this one will remain with us the longest, because not only is it the last show of the tour, but it’s the last show that we will ever do.” The Radio Silence Since the revelation on Friday night, there has been nothing but silence from the band, their PR and their label. What’s even more confusing that the group only signed to the mighty Roadrunner Records (Slipknot, Gojira, Trivium) in 2018 and have only released one album on the label thus far. Pretty odd that no party has made a statement, but a perfect way to add yet more fuel to this blazing mystery. The Conclusion Well, let’s take a look at the poster for the Koko show. From analyzing the poster, the eventual outcome is transparent. Creeper will return in early 2019 under the name of Creeper-1000, or C-1000 for short. They will retire the callous heart aesthetic and take on new persona’s inspired the the gritty futurism of late nineties sci-fi before providing the soundtrack to a Terminator reboot. The film will receive mixed reviews at best but will usher in a new golden age of those music videos that are just made up of footage of action blockbusters.
