Abstract: << Black and white makeup of Kiss influenced later heavy metal acts such as King Diamond and, even later in the 1990s onward, Scandinavian black metal. The current chapter sketches a brief history of the usage of makeup and masks in heavy metal and related sub-genres. Black metal and to lesser extent death metal artists, use corpse paint, and occasionally masks, to portray a potentially transformative dimension of artistic personas, antinomian sociocultural values, and aggressive stage performances.
However, experts on black metal and death metal are skeptical about the extent to which these artists and values represent authentic transformation and not just superficial genre paraphernalia. Furthermore, in relation to Ghost, a popular heavy metal band from Sweden, intertextual influences from film characters are highlighted in a context signified by entertainment. Thus, masks and makeup in heavy metal might be seen as performative but with both entertaining and antagonistic elements. >>
[source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-16978-5_11]