Corpse paint in heavy metal - Definition and Overview

Corpse paint (sometimes a single word, corpsepaint) is a style of black-and-white makeup used extensively by black metal bands during live concerts and photo shoots. Black paint is usually placed around the eyes and lips, and white paint everywhere else, although a great variety of designs have been seen. The norwegian band Dødheimsgard has experimented with other colors, but in general deviations from the original formula are rare. Bands such as Gorgoroth and Ragnarok also make use of blood-colored paint, as an alternative to the "clean" two-tone monochrome look preferred by Immortal.

Celtic Frost were perhaps the first death metal or black metal group to use such makeup, but there are earlier precedents: The Misfits and King Diamond used similar makeup in the early 1980's, and KISS and Alice Cooper may have influenced contemporary corpse paint. Mayhem, Immortal, and Emperor use it often. Recently, some "purists" have complained that corpse paint has become fashionable or trendy and therefore lost its original value. The bands Opeth and Borknagar avoid it altogether.