At KOKO, Creeper closed the book on their Sanguivore era with a performance that felt like a midnight mass – equal parts celebration and mourning. The venue’s shadowed balconies and red velvet glow only added to the sense that this was more than a concert; it was a gothic ritual shared by the faithful.
Opening the night, Lowen wove an entrancing spell that set the perfect tone for the darkness to come. Their set felt like a whispered invocation, drawing the audience in with an intoxicating blend of folk-infused doom and haunted elegance. Fronted by the commanding presence of Nina Saeidi, Lowen moved with the quiet intensity of a storm gathering on the horizon. Her vocals – both ethereal and fierce – soared through the venue like a siren’s call, demanding the room’s rapt attention.
The band’s layered instrumentation created a lush, immersive atmosphere that seemed to shimmer in the candlelit gloom of KOKO. Tracks like ‘Talisman’ and ‘Bitter Perfume’ were highlights, weaving melancholy melodies with crushing heaviness. Their sound was a perfect balance of light and shadow, each note weighted with the promise of something ancient and powerful. The crowd responded with hushed reverence at first, then roared their approval as each song built to its cathartic climax. Lowen’s set was more than just an opening act – it was a gateway into another world, a fitting prelude to Creeper’s own journey through heartbreak and resurrection. In their brief time on stage, they left an indelible mark on the night’s proceedings.
From the sweeping drama of the opening number ‘Further than Forever’, Creeper held the crowd in a dark embrace. ‘Cry to Heaven’ soared with haunted elegance, while ‘Sacred Blasphemy’ carried an air of doomed romance that seemed to hang in the air long after the final notes. Throughout the night, a steady stream of crowd surfers drifted over the sea of outstretched hands – a testament to the electric connection between the band and the audience. It felt like everyone in the room was caught in the same wave, carried forward by the music’s urgent pulse. ‘Lovers Led Astray’ was a moment of quiet magic and raw power, its bittersweet melody drifting like candle smoke through the hall before crashing into a powerful, heavy breakdown that rattled the very walls of KOKO. The crowd swayed together, caught in the bittersweet current of the song’s confessions, before surging forward as the song’s crushing climax took hold. Even in the heavier anthems like ‘Teenage Sacrifice’ and ‘Chapel Gates’, the surging bodies overhead added to the sense that this was a night to give in entirely to the music.
When ‘More Than Death’ finally arrived later in the set, it felt like the night’s most poignant revelation. Its haunted refrain echoed throughout KOKO, like footsteps down an old cathedral aisle, stirring something deeply buried. It was a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there’s a strange comfort in the beauty of the shadows.
The appearance of Tyler from Save Face during ‘Suzanne’ was an unexpected spark of energy, a bright flame amidst the gloom. Their voices clashed and merged with a raw electricity, giving the song a new edge that had the crowd roaring.
As the show reached its final act, ‘Midnight’ became a shimmering highlight, equal parts desperation and grandeur. ‘Ghosts Over Calvary’ and ‘Cyanide’ carried that same haunting sense of finality before the band closed with ‘Misery’ – a song that always feels like a last confession offered up in the flicker of a dying candle. When Creeper announced Sanguivore 2: Mistress of Death, there was a shiver of anticipation in the room. The night might have been a farewell, but it was also a promise – that there is still more darkness to come and more beauty in the ruin.
It was a night of endings and beginnings, of shadows that linger and echoes that never fade – and the steady surge of bodies overhead was proof that this music will always carry us forward.
Review & Photos By Rebecca Bush
https://www.instagram.com/beckybphoto/
Lowen
Creeper
