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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. The decoration is used to intensify the bands' imagery of forboding Evil , inhumanity, and Corpse -like decay. Most commonly, the musicians' faces are painted white, with areas such as lips and eyes painted black. Only rarely do musicians use other colors: Gorgoroth and Ragnarok use blood-colored paint, Attila Csihar of Mayhem and formerly of Tormentor uses neon colours, while the Norwegian band Dødheimsgard has experimented using other colours. Still, the clean two-tone style is the more common one. ORIGINS Though corpse paint achieved widespread popularity with some Rock And Roll performers in the 1970s, there are some earlier precedents worth noting. Corpse paint might be traced back to Germanic folklore. Particularly striking are the similarities between modern black metal corpse paint and the Ghoul ish appearance of the members of the Oskorei , a legion of dead souls in Norse Mythology . One can also note similarities between Metal corpse paint and the makeup worn in Expressionist films, such as worn by Conrad Veidt in '' The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari ''. Interestingly, expressionist film flourished in Germany, raising the possibility that the makeup in expressionist films of the early 1900s was influenced by old Teutonic tales like the Oskorei. HISTORY AND USAGE The earliest Rock groups to decorate themselves with makeup similar to corpse paint included Arthur Brown in the 1960s, KISS and Alice Cooper in the 1970s, and, later that decade, Punk Rock ers like The Misfits and singer Dave Vanian of The Damned . .]] ). 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 , and Satyricon ) are arguably responsible for maintaining the popularity of the corpse paint among today's black metal acts. Cradle Of Filth also have been known to wear face paint (as opposed to corpse paint) during their early career in albums ''The Principle of Evil Made Flesh and V Empire'' (or ''Dark Fairytales in Phallustein''). In the fall of 1996, professional wrestler Sting began wearing corpse paint in a Persona inspired by the Brandon Lee film '' The Crow ''. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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