Corpse paint
Encyclopedia
Corpse paint or corpsepaint is a style of black-and-white makeup
, used mainly by black metal
bands during live concerts and photo shoots. The makeup is used to intensify the bands' imagery of evil
, inhumanity, and corpse
-like decay. It is most commonly used just on the face, but also on arms and torso
. Sometimes it involves other colors than black and white.
shapes, but asymmetrical (being seemingly random painted) occurs as well. The patterns are used as trademarks for the musicians who use corpse paint, and change very seldom. Only rarely do musicians use other colors: Gorgoroth
and Ragnarok use blood-colored paint, Attila Csihar
of Mayhem
, and formerly of Tormentor
, uses neon colors, while the Norwegian band Dødheimsgard
has experimented using other colors.
performers in the 60s and 70s, most famously Arthur Brown
, Kiss
and Alice Cooper
, it is debatable whether these were ever a direct influence on the image used in black metal, and there are some earlier precedents worth noting.
groups to decorate themselves with makeup similar to corpse paint included Arthur Brown
in the 1960s, Alice Cooper, Secos & Molhados
and KISS in the 1970s, and, later that decade, punk rock
ers like The Misfits and singer David Vanian
of The Damned. The look was also to achieve what most bands call "Utter Brutality", it was also unintentionally popularized in 1977 through a series of McDonald's
print advertisement campaigns featuring black-and-white photographs of company mascot Ronald McDonald
. In the ads, Ronald's face paint looked very similar to corpse paint, causing fans of bands like KISS to collect and even steal copies of magazines with the ads.
Hellhammer
and King Diamond
of Mercyful Fate
(who used corpse paint as early as 1978 in his band Black Rose) were perhaps the first death
or black metal
groups to use corpse paint in the early 1980s. Other groups soon followed suit, including Hellhammer's later incarnation Celtic Frost
. Brazil
ian band Sarcófago
also pioneered the look, being dubbed by Metal Storm magazine as the first band with a "true" corpsepaint. Early corpse paint designs were intended simply to accent an individual's features and make them look "dead". Later designs typically incorporated more detailed patterns to improve a "demonic" look (most notably Immortal
and King Diamond
).
Norwegian
black metal bands from the late 1980s and early '90s (such as Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Emperor
, Immortal
, Darkthrone
, Dimmu Borgir
, and Satyricon
) are arguably responsible for maintaining the popularity of the corpse paint among today's black metal acts.
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, used mainly by black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
bands during live concerts and photo shoots. The makeup is used to intensify the bands' imagery of evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
, inhumanity, and corpse
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
-like decay. It is most commonly used just on the face, but also on arms and torso
Torso
Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...
. Sometimes it involves other colors than black and white.
Definition
Corpse paint generally consists of the musician's face being covered in black and white makeup, with a bigger part of the face being white, and with other areas being black. The parts being black are very often the eye sockets, in different symmetricalSymmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
shapes, but asymmetrical (being seemingly random painted) occurs as well. The patterns are used as trademarks for the musicians who use corpse paint, and change very seldom. Only rarely do musicians use other colors: Gorgoroth
Gorgoroth
Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus , the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The group is currently signed to Regain Records and have released...
and Ragnarok use blood-colored paint, Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar
Attila Csihar , also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian black metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work on the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. Author Ian Christe describes his vocals as "operatic."-Biography:...
of Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
, and formerly of Tormentor
Tormentor
Tormentor is a black metal band formed in 1986 in Budapest, Hungary. Tormentor was one of the first black metal bands using synthesisers to create a more atmospheric sound. They recorded their first album, Anno Domini, in 1988, but were unable to release it until the end of communism. The album...
, uses neon colors, while the Norwegian band Dødheimsgard
Dødheimsgard
Dødheimsgard is a Norwegian heavy metal band formed in 1994. Dødheimsgard was originally a black metal band, but 1999's 666 International saw them change into an experimental and avant-garde / industrial metal band. In 2000, they shortened their name to DHG...
has experimented using other colors.
Origins
Though makeup styles similar to corpse paint achieved widespread popularity with some rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
performers in the 60s and 70s, most famously Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, it is debatable whether these were ever a direct influence on the image used in black metal, and there are some earlier precedents worth noting.
History and usage
The earliest rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
groups to decorate themselves with makeup similar to corpse paint included Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
in the 1960s, Alice Cooper, Secos & Molhados
Secos & Molhados
Secos & Molhados was an innovative glam-rock Brazilian band formed in 1971 that helped launch singer Ney Matogrosso's career. The other two members were João Ricardo, founder of the group, and Gerson Conrad. Though this frist line-up was short-lived - only two albums were released, one in 1973 and...
and KISS in the 1970s, and, later that decade, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
ers like The Misfits and singer David Vanian
David Vanian
Dave Vanian is a rock musician, famous for being the lead singer of the punk rock band The Damned. The band formed in 1976 in London and Vanian is the only ever-present member of the group...
of The Damned. The look was also to achieve what most bands call "Utter Brutality", it was also unintentionally popularized in 1977 through a series of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
print advertisement campaigns featuring black-and-white photographs of company mascot Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
. In the ads, Ronald's face paint looked very similar to corpse paint, causing fans of bands like KISS to collect and even steal copies of magazines with the ads.
Hellhammer
Hellhammer
Hellhammer was an influential extreme metal band from Switzerland, active during 1982–1984. They are regarded as being one of the first extreme metal bands and are a key influence on later black metal and death metal bands.-Biography:...
and King Diamond
King Diamond (band)
King Diamond is the heavy metal band that King Diamond formed after the split up of his heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, and the departure of Hank Shermann. He was joined by most members of the then defunct Mercyful Fate. The Satanic focus was replaced by a focus on horror stories...
of Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...
(who used corpse paint as early as 1978 in his band Black Rose) were perhaps the first death
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
or black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
groups to use corpse paint in the early 1980s. Other groups soon followed suit, including Hellhammer's later incarnation Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
. Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian band Sarcófago
Sarcófago
Sarcófago was an influential Brazilian extreme metal band. They were fronted by Sepultura's original singer, Wagner Lamounier, and Geraldo Minelli. They have been described as Brazil's most controversial metal band....
also pioneered the look, being dubbed by Metal Storm magazine as the first band with a "true" corpsepaint. Early corpse paint designs were intended simply to accent an individual's features and make them look "dead". Later designs typically incorporated more detailed patterns to improve a "demonic" look (most notably Immortal
Immortal (band)
Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
and King Diamond
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen , better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond...
).
Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
black metal bands from the late 1980s and early '90s (such as Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
, Immortal
Immortal (band)
Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
, Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
, Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
, and Satyricon
Satyricon (band)
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
) are arguably responsible for maintaining the popularity of the corpse paint among today's black metal acts.
Corpse paint outside metal
Corpse paint has been associated mainly with black metal and metal in general, but it has inspired artists in music and other entertainment businesses:- In the fall of 1996, professional wrestler Sting began wearing corpse paint in a persona inspired by the film The CrowThe Crow (film)The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...
featuring Brandon LeeBrandon LeeBrandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...
. - Another professional wrestler, The Undertaker, wore make-up similar to corpse paint in the mid-90s in reference to his stage name.
- Japanese Pro wrestler, Onryo, uses extensive corpse paint.
- Professional wrestler, Jeff HardyJeff HardyJeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
, wore corpse paint similar to Nattefrost, vocalist of Carpathian ForestCarpathian ForestCarpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
. - Also, Mexican Wrestler ChessmanChessman (wrestler)Kevin Citlali Zamora is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Chessman. He currently performs for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , where he is one half of the current AAA World Tag Team Champions with partner Abyss...
uses Red and Black Corpse paint. - Rap artists on The Insane Clown Posse'sInsane Clown PosseInsane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...
record label Psychopathic RecordsPsychopathic RecordsPsychopathic Records, also known as "The Hatchet", is an American independent record label based in Farmington Hills, Michigan that specializes in hip hop music. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip hop group Insane Clown Posse....
regularly wear make-up similar to corpse paint during performances and photo shoots.
External links
- Rate My Corpse Paint Examples of different styles of corpse paint.
- How To Apply Corpse Paint