Corpse paint

Corpse paint or corpsepaint is a style of black-and-white makeup, used by black metal bands during live concerts and photo shoots. The makeup is used to make the musicians appear inhuman, corpse-like, or demonic.

Corpse paint typically involves making the face and neck white and making the area around the eyes and lips black. Sometimes it is mixed with real or fake blood. Musicians will often have a 'trademark' style. Other colors are seldom used, yet some artists will do so to emphasize their individuality; Attila Csihar of Mayhem uses neon colors, while the Norwegian bands Satyricon and Dødheimsgard have experimented using other colors.

Besides black metal musicians, face-painting has been used by a variety of other public figures such as shock rock artists (notably including Alice Cooper and members of the The Misfits) and by professional wrestlers (such as Sting).

History and usage

The earliest rock groups to do makeup similar to corpse paint included Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Arthur Brown in the 1960s, Secos & Molhados, Alice Cooper and Kiss in the 1970s and, later that decade, punk rockers like The Misfits and singer David Vanian of The Damned.