2. Creeper - "Sanguivore"

As utterly inconceivable as it might seem Creeper have followed two stunningly original attempts at world-building with an even more ambitious and preposterous fully formed narrative ecosystem. 

With “Sex, death & the infinite void” you could hear the spectre of Jim Steinman lurking in the background. This time around they have invited him in (metaphorically as the man is no longer with us) and put his bombastic style of larger-than-life rock opera front and centre. 

This is the vampire and leather album that Meatloaf should have made. It is high high concept and ludicrously extroverted. But it is also bloody (pun intended) brilliant. This is rock music at its most pop. Big, extravagant, and full of decadent grandeur. Every track has bridges as wide as glaciers and choruses that you can situate entire air forces on. 

This is an album that not only crosses the line into pomposity but does the fandango on it. It embraces rock ‘n’ roll’s obsession with creatures of the night and throws in every cliché that it can find in the dressing-up box. It is also immensely enjoyable. Because the songs are so well written, you never tire of its shameless self-absorption. Yes, it’s retro cheese that borrows from countless well-worn highways but it is high-quality cheese that very much knows its way around a tune. Just just wonderful.