Corpse paint

In the 1970s, examples of black and white face paint by rock & roll performers included Secos & Molhados, Alice Cooper and Kiss.

Guitarist Zal Cleminson of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band wore face paint and colorful clothes, performing in a menacing demeanor that evoked the evil clown trope.

[2] Later that decade, punk rock acts like the Misfits and singer David Vanian of The Damned also used black and white face paint.

Per "Dead" Ohlin was the first to explicitly associate stylized face paint with an attempt to look like a corpse according to drummer Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg of Mayhem.

Eventually, some Norwegian bands—such as Emperor and Satyricon—stopped wearing corpse paint, often citing its loss of individualistic meaning, as well as its increased trendiness, due to use by so many bands.